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TORONTO – The difference was as simple as special teams on this night. Charles Sims Buccaneers Jersey . The ongoing funk on penalty kill and an unusually quiet night on home ice for the power play divided the Leafs from the Bruins at the ACC in a rare Sunday night affair. “Theres a responsibility thats borne out by special teams in tonights hockey game,” said Randy Carlyle after the 5-2 loss to Boston, which snapped a brief two-game win streak. Combative with their top rival for much of the 60 minutes, the Leafs were ultimately undone by both special team units. Their once prideful penalty kill allowed two more power play goals – falling to fifth-worst overall – while a typically potent man advantage stood empty in four chances. “Our PK just let us down again,” said Jay McClement after the loss. “Its a huge momentum builder for us and right now its going the other way. Its killing our momentum.” Up 1-0 on the Bruins after a period – on a goal from Peter Holland – the Leafs veered off the road when penalties to Carter Ashton and Carl Gunnarsson struck early in the middle frame. Boston scored twice in less than two minutes with the consecutive power plays, momentum spiraling downward in rapid order for the Leafs. “It was bang-bang,” said Carlyle. “All of a sudden they score two goals and the life went out of our hockey club.” The Bruins scratched out another marker at even-strength late in the period, a puck from rookie Kevan Miller squeezing through the pads of Jonathan Bernier. And though they would claw back to cut the deficit to 3-2 on McClements first of the year, the Leafs failed to score with consecutive man advantage opportunities in the third. “We made a few mistakes on our penalty kill and thats the difference against top teams,” said a terse Dion Phaneuf. At equal with the Atlantic division-leading Bruins for the most part at even-strength – the shots were 32-25 in Bostons favour – the failure on special teams proved disappointing, especially in light of the daunting schedule that lays ahead. The Leafs clash with the Kings, Blues, Blackhawks and Penguins over the next week, clutching just two regulation victories in their past 17 games. Five Points 1. Penalty Killing Funk Countering the effects of a potent Toronto power play (more below) is an increasingly ineffective penalty kill, one that surrendered two more goals to the Bruins on Sunday night. The unit, now stumbling at just 77 per cent, has allowed an astounding 13 goals over the past eight games – at least one in all eight – and two or more in five of the past 10. “Our penalty kill is something that definitely needs work,” said Jake Gardiner, the 23-year-old leading the Leafs with over 25 minutes against the Bruins. “Youve seen that in the past few games or even weeks I guess so its something we need to work on.” Simple mistakes were punished. The Leafs failed to clear pucks on each of the two Boston power play goals; Dion Phaneuf moments before the first marker from Carl Soderberg, Mason Raymond shortly before the second from Torey Krug, a blast that ricocheted off the shin-pad of Gardiner. “Those two specifically came back to haunt us,” said Carlyle. His team has allowed a league-leading 28 power play goals this season. 2. More Penalty Kill Carlyle slightly altered the composition of the penalty kill in the past couple games, cutting down on the minutes of the increasingly over-worked James van Riemsdyk while inserting rookie Jerry DAmigo, a mainstay for years on the Marlies typically strong unit. Personnel aside, the confidence of a group that finished as the leagues second-best last season has simply vanished in recent weeks. “I think when were going really good with it – last year and then the start of this year – we had almost a swagger when we went out there,” said McClement. “We expected to kill it and we were all working together. And right now were just making tiny little mistakes and it seems like we just cant get away with anything so we have to correct those [mistakes].” Not helping matters much either is the amount of penalties taken. The Leafs have earned more power play opportunities than their opponent in just one of the past nine games. 3. A Little Depth The Leafs entered the night with 83 per cent of their offence emerging from just seven different sources, but against the Bruins they finally managed to find some depth. Energizing the fourth line – and later moved up to the third unit – Peter Holland scored his second goal with the Leafs, setting up McClement with his first this season in the third. “Obviously weve been relying on our big guys pretty much completely all year,” said McClement, who has just three points all season after posting 17 in 48 games last season. “Its huge if we can get contributions from the rest of us and take the weight off our big boys a little bit.” 4. Power Play Right up there with goaltending, the Toronto power play has been a consistent hub of success so far this season. Though it came up empty against the Bruins, the unit still ranks third-best in the NHL through 31 games. “We work on it a lot and we focus on trying to execute cleanly,” said Cody Franson prior to the game, the 26-year-old leading the team with 11 power play points. “When you can do that it enables things to speed up a little bit and its harder to defend as a penalty kill.” “Just movement, lots of traffic, timely goals,” said Nazem Kadri, asked whats made it effective to date. “Theres a few things that have been contributing; the way we bring the puck up the ice to set up the power play. Its definitely been working for us and one of our strengths of the year. But weve got to keep going and weve got to keep putting pucks to the net. Sometimes maybe we get a little too cute and sometimes were just better off just looking for those bang-in rebounds around the crease.” Especially potent on home ice – save Sunday – the Leafs have clicked on 31.9 per cent of their power plays at the ACC, tops in the league this season. Of note is the limited number of penalties drawn, just 97 on the year, seventh-fewest in the NHL. 5. Critical Areas Harping on the need to cut down on goals against from the critical areas, Carlyle was bothered by the various locations of the Bruin markers on Sunday. “The disappointing part for us as a coaching staff is where the goals are scored from,” he said. “We have got to have better coverage in those areas. If they score them from the outside those are going to happen … Its where theyre scoring the goals from is the most important thing for us to attend to right away.” After yielding 50 shots in consecutive wins against Dallas and Ottawa, the Leafs allowed a comparatively scant 39 on Sunday night against Boston. Stats-Pack 13 – Power play goals against the Leafs in the past eight games. 8 – Consecutive games in which the Leafs have allowed at least one power play goal. 25:21 – Ice-time for Jake Gardiner, leading the Leafs against the Bruins. 28 – Power play goals against the Leafs this season, most in the NHL. 14-19 – Jay McClement in the faceoff circle against the Bruins. 32-25 – Shots advantage for Boston at even-strength. 3 – Points for Peter Holland in nine games with the Leafs. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4 Season: 26.7% PK: 1-3 Season: 77% Quote of the Night “Our PK just let us down again.” - Jay McClement, following the 5-2 loss to the Bruins. Up Next The Leafs host the Kings at the ACC on Wednesday night. Jonathan Casillas Buccaneers Jersey . Brendon Kay hobbled around on a bad ankle and matched him in the fourth-quarter cold. It went down to overtime for the second year in a row. Mason Foster Buccaneers Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets re-signed veteran guard Willie Colon to a one-year deal Wednesday.EDMONTON -- If adversity reveals character, Taylor Hall is making a bold statement about his willingness and ability to lead at a time when the Edmonton Oilers need him most. The injury-riddled club is mired in a stretch that has seen them win just twice in their last 13 games, but the 20-year-old former two-time Memorial Cup champion and MVP is doing what he can to shake his team from its slump. After scoring five goals during a seven-game stretch on the road in which the Oilers won just once, Hall was easily Edmontons best player in Wednesdays 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. Beaten again, but not beaten down. "I expect a lot out of myself," Hall said Thursday. "No matter whats going on around you, you always want to worry about your own game and how youre playing. "From there, you focus on how you can help the team as best you can. Im just trying to play the best I can so help out my linemates and the team. We come to each game with a fresh mindset. We dont worry about the last one. We try to win the next one. I think every player on the team is doing their best." Injuries to Jordan Eberle and rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins during the trip have left the Oilers without their top two scorers. Eberle is out for two to three weeks with a sprained right knee, while Nugent-Hopkins will be gone until the NHL all-star break with a shoulder injury. Defencemen Tom Gilbert, Ryan Whitney and Cam Barker are also out. Enter Hall, a man on a mission against the Devils who fired five shots at Johan Hedberg, assisted on Ales Hemskys 1-1 goal, set up a half-dozen scoring chances and logged 23:10 of ice time for coach Tom Renney against New Jersey. "Id like to think thats symbolic of our team," Renney said of Hall elevating his game during a frustrating stretch. "Hes certainly one of those guys who leads the way with that whole approach. "This is a fabulous player. A huge passion to play and very driven. I just love that. Thats so much about what we need to be moving forward." Hall has 14 goals and 30 points in the 34 games season. Seven of his goalss have come in the 12 games hes played since he returned to action after missing seven contests with a shoulder injury.Buccaneers #97 Jersey. "You cant really worry about the situation youre in," said Hall, who won two Memorial Cups with the OHLs Windsor Spitfires. "You have to treat every game like a new game and go out and play it. "You play it the very best you can, the most desperate you can. You try to be consistent every night because thats what your teammates want and expect out of you." Without Eberle, who has 43 points, and Nugent-Hopkins, who leads NHL rookies in scoring with 35 points and has been named to participate in the rookie skills competition at the all-star game, Hall is playing on a line with Sam Gagner and Hemsky. "Its a big lift for everyone when you see a guy who goes out there like that and just plays fearless," Gagner said. "We can learn a lot from him in that regard. It doesnt seem like worries about negative things happening or is scared of anything. "He just goes out there and plays the game the way its meant to be played." Like Hall, Gagner has been playing his best hockey despite the lack of team success. He had a five-game point streak snapped against the Devils. "He plays with passion and hes obviously got a lot of skill to go with it," said Gagner. "Its a lot of fun to watch and a big lift for our team. If we can continue to follow guys like him, were going to have some success here soon." While the Oilers picked up a point against the Devils, theyve lost four straight games as they prepare to face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. "I dont recall any of these games, other than the last period in Long Island, where we quit at all," Renney said. "Im not suggesting we quit then. We just had one of those nights. We had four posts or something like that. "Id like to think our team is sort of taking on that look, too. Maybe we do have others in our dressing room who need to learn how to sustain that and continue to pursue it, but its sure nice to have that example. Certainly, Taylor is all about that." ' ' ' |
