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NEW YORK – Jonathan Bernier had one thing running through his mind amid an avalanche of shots in what was a wildly tilted second period for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Luis Hernandez Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. "I thought Bernie stood on his head and gave us a chance to steal another point," said Randy Carlyle after the 2-1 shootout defeat, the teams 10th loss in the past 11 games on the road. Nudging a puck past the pads of rookie Cam Talbot, Nazem Kadri evened the score at one with less than two minutes to play in regulation. His efforts would have been for not if it wasnt for the sterling play of the 25-year-old between the pipes. The Rangers outshot the Leafs 22-5 in a penalty-filled second frame, firing 18 shots in a span of just 12 minutes. "We had a bit of a rough stretch there," Kadri said, "but thats why weve got great goaltenders. We werent worried because we know Bernie can hang in there and make some big stops for us. Obviously weve got to find a way to tone that down, but he gave us a chance to win the game." Toronto goaltending has been that kind of rock through hard times all season, the lone bit of solace amid continued spurts of inconsistency. The bookends of Mondays performance were solid for the Leafs, nearly undone though by a second frame under siege. "Im just trying to keep it close," said Bernier of the experience in the second. "I know were going to score one goal and Im just trying to do my job and go shot by shot." It was the fourth 40-plus save performance for Bernier in 22 starts this season. He now boasts a .929 save percentage on the year, good for seventh-best in the NHL. But the Quebec native wouldnt go so far to say hell stole a point for his team. In fact, he couldnt help but lament the two goals that snuck by in the shootout. "I didnt steal one," he said. "I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." Five Points 1. Bernier Shootout Struggles Bernier dropped to 3-8 lifetime in the shootout and 2-4 this season. His career .500 save percentage is amongst the worst of any active goaltender (tied for 68th in a class of 77). He was beaten on this night by Mats Zuccarello, who flipped a shot over his left shoulder, and Derek Stepan, who potted the eventual winner. "I thought the first two I was a little bit impatient," said Bernier. "Ive got to go get that extra point for my team." 2. Road Woes The road has offered nothing but misery for the Leafs since the start of November. With Mondays shootout defeat, theyve now dropped 10 of the last 11 games away from the ACC (1-6-4), outscored 36-20 in that span. Their lone victory in that stretch came on Dec. 7, a 4-3 shootout triumph over the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Now 6-8-4, the Leafs have the fourth-worst road mark in the Eastern Conference. 3. Means to Victory Saved often by the efforts of Bernier and James Reimer, the Leafs now sit 13-1-2 on the year when theyve yielded two goals or less. Conversely, their record is just 5-15-3 when theyve allowed three goals or more. 4. Christmas Break "This is the dog days of hockey when you get close to the 40-game mark," said Carlyle. And with a three-day break lying in wait for the holidays, he and the Leafs are just hoping to reset with an increasingly taxing second half ahead. "Its been a real hectic schedule here for the last three weeks, Ill tell you that," Carlyle said of a stretch which saw his team play 12 times in 23 days. "It seems like we play every second day and theres no relaxing time and then theres very limited practice time." With just one regulation victory in the past 18 games, theyll need to find a path towards improvement. "You just cant look at all the negatives," said Kadri, who scored his 11th goal of the year in defeat. "Youve got to look at the positives. I know thats a bit cliché, but its the right thing to do. You also point out the negatives and you go to the chalkboard and you work on it. But I think a few of those games weve played some of our better games of the year and still come out with losses. Thats just how this league works." 5. Lengthy Shift For one stretch in the Rangers dominant second frame, Dion Phaneuf was caught on the ice for a taxing two minutes and 56 seconds. New York fired five shots on goal before Peter Holland was finally whistled for roughing, the first of four penalties for the Leafs in the period. "Not very good," said Phaneuf, asked how he felt during the near-three minute shift. "When you get stuck out that long its tough. "I was trying to change obviously. I wouldve liked to not get stuck out there for that long, but its part of what happens. Sometimes teams are able to hem another team in and thats what happened tonight." Stats-Pack .929 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier this season, seventh-best in the NHL. 3-8 – Career record in the shootout for Bernier. 1 – Regulation victory for the Leafs since Nov. 19. 1-6-4 – Leafs record on the road in the past 11 games. 5-4 – Shootout record for the Leafs this season. 13-1-2 – Leafs record when yielding two goals or less this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 22.4 per cent (4th) PK: 4-4Season: 78.4 per cent (26th) Quote of the Night "I didnt steal one. I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." -Jonathan Bernier, following his 42-save performance. Up Next The Leafs are off three days for the Christmas break, returning to host Buffalo on Friday night. Rafael Marquez Jersey . A CFL source told TSNs Matthew Scianitti that Smith will re-sign with the Toronto Argonauts. Cuauhtemoc Blanco Jersey . Hell be hard-pressed to match an unbeaten streak like this, though. Tanaka had his unbeaten regular-season run snapped at 42 starts, allowing a career-high four runs in six innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Yankees 6-1 on Tuesday night.First things first, congratulations to the Canadian athletes who did our country proud at the Olympics in Sochi. It wasnt just the medal count that was impressive, but the manner in which our Canadian men and women carried themselves on the World stage. Canadians proved once again that when they have the support they need, they can compete with any country in the world. And a very special thanks to our mens and womens hockey teams. They are the two teams that every four years seem to have more pressure on them to perform than any team in the history of sport. One observation before we get to football. Im not a hockey analyst, but Im a hockey fan, and fan of watching excellence, and it is very impressive to watch head coach Mike Babcock in action. Two things stood out while watching Babcock bring a group of superstars together. First, at about the midway point of the tourney, Babcock was asked why Sidney Crosby wasnt scoring. His reply: "everyone evaluates Sid on scoring, and I evaluate Sid on winning." He went on to suggest that Canadas lack of scoring shouldnt be judged as a poor offensive effort. "Dont get confused, we outchanced these teams big-time; we didnt score. We were a great offensive team. Thats how we coached." Babcock had asked this group of talented players to check their egos at the door and play a well rounded team game, and they complied. Proof of that was after the Gold Medal game, when Jonathan Toews was asked about the teams low offensive output in the tourney, and Toews answer suggested that at any time anyone on the Team Canada roster could have become more creative offensively and tried to put up big points, but that wasnt the plan and this team was going to stick to the plan. Yes, there were some close games including the 1-0 win against the Americans, but in the end Babcocks plan was bang on, and clearly not one player on Canadas roster was confused. Great stuff! Now to football, where one story has been in the shadows while we watched the Olympics. It involves the leagues newest team, the Ottawa Redblacks, and their quarterback situation. Lets hit the refresh button on the computer for a second. Just prior to the start of the Olympics, the Redblacks signed Henry Burris, and named him the starter at the press conference. This occurred not long after the expansion draft where Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins chose Kevin Glenn from the Calgary Stampeders. In a conference call after the draft Glenn talked about how excited he was to have his own team to lead in the 2014 season. Then after the Burris announcement, Glenn had a bit of a Twitter issue where it looked like he was trying to direct message a couple of other players and accidentally sent a comment to the masses that wasnt exactly a ringing endorsement for the organization. Now Glenn claimed he was hacked, and maybe he was, but it doesnt change the fact that there could be a quarterback controversy brewing in the Nations Capital before they even take their first offensive snap. In a brief chat with Desjardins at the CFL Congress, the Ottawa GM indicated that he would listen to all trade offers of course, but would like to go to camp with all the QBs he currently has on his roster. However, will that be easier said than done? Glenn turned down my request to an interview for this story, as I tried to gauge where he is at mentally with regards to all that has developed in Ottawa. Now I respect Glenns choice to avoid hhaving to comment on the situation, but it does force us to speculate. Jorge Campos Jersey. Does Glenn not want to talk publicly right now because he has nothing positive or constructive to say about the situation? Or is he declining interviews because he doesnt think there is anything to this story and that he is perfectly comfortable going to camp as the back-up to Burris? I know where my vote would go, but again it is only speculation. There are a few teams that could benefit from the addition of Kevin Glenn, and at the top of that list is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers have been searching for stability at QB for years now, and if they could somehow swing a trade with Ottawa, they would finally have it. In fact with Drew Willy getting his shot for the Bombers this year, acquiring Glenn would create a situation similar to what we have watched in Calgary the last couple of years. The Stamps have felt the future is Drew Tate (and now possibly Bo Levi Mitchell) and over the last two years had Glenn as the best insurance policy in the game. Willy with the veteran Glenn behind him is the same scenario and all of a sudden would give the Bombers a real chance to turn things around. Then again, how will Glenn feel about backing up Willy? Glenns situation is another example of the cliché that you hear from general managers all the time. "It is a great game but a terrible business." You cant fault Desjardins and head coach Rick Campbell for trying to acquire the best talent possible and create competition in camp. On the other hand, it is impossible to not feel for Kevin Glenn who just doesnt ever seem to be able to shake that back-up label, despite leading the Stamps to a West Final and a Grey Cup over the last two seasons. Also it is not that much of a stretch to suggest that the team that is able to acquire Glenn will become the best team in the league at the most important position on the field. Pick a team: BC, Travis Lulay and Kevin Glenn, not bad especially since Lulay is coming off another shoulder injury. Edmonton, Mike Rielly, Glenn and Matt Nichols. Reilly was very good last year and will be better, Nichols is working his way back from injury, Glenn gives them stability. Saskatchewan, Darian Durant and Glenn, tough to beat that experience. Toronto, Ricky Ray and Glenn, working in Scott Milanovichs offensive system, yikes! Montreal, the young Troy Smith learning from the veteran Glenn in meetings and on the practice field. I have left out Calgary and Hamilton because Glenn returning to either of those teams seems like a longer shot, however its not out of the realm of possibility, and both those teams would improve their chances of winning by adding Glenn. Which camp Kevin Glenn attends is a question that may not be answered for a while as teams sort through their rosters. However, it is a story I wanted to wedge in between the Olympics and the NHL trade deadline and one to watch as the off-season continues. In the meantime we can continue to speculate as to whether or not Glenn is angry with Ottawa and wants out, or is content to be the back-up to Burris and just doesnt want to talk about it. If the situation becomes confusing for Glenn or the brass in Ottawa they can refer back to Team Canadas Babcock and what he was able to do with that group of superstar hockey players. "Everyone evaluates Sid on scoring, and I evaluate Sid on winning." Dont get confused. ' ' ' |
