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BUFFALO – Randy Carlyle chose his words carefully. Cameron Wake Dolphins Jersey . "If I say what I wanted to say wed be reading that there would possibly be a nominal fine against the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs so no comment on what was happening out there," Carlyle said with a large grin. A wild scrum in front of Ben Scrivens lasting seconds on end concluded with Jordan Leopold tying the score at five in the final seconds of regulation, the precursor to Derek Roy winning it in overtime as the desperate Sabres scratched back to beat the Leafs by a 6-5 final at First Niagara Center on Tuesday night. It was a game Buffalo had to have – its playoff hopes hanging in the balance – but one the Leafs had in their grips. Sporting a comfortable 3-0 lead after the opening frame (and 5-3 in the third), the Leafs "got a little satisfied" in their final trip down the QEW, eventually bested by a Sabres club fighting with every inch of desperation. A roster brimming with inexperienced talent – Scrivens, Joe Colborne, Matt Frattin, Jake Gardiner and Carter Ashton will all soon rejoin the Marlies for their playoff run – offered glimpses of its potential in defeat, the final result ultimately standing as a lesson for the road ahead. "Those are games we have to close out," Frattin said. "Youve got leads like that, doesnt matter who youre playing youve got to close those ones out. Those are the games we have to close out next year if we want to be a playoff contender and make the playoffs." Five Points 1. Frattin fired a one-time bullet past Ryan Miller for his second in as many games against the Sabres and eighth in 54 games this season. Asked a day earlier what hed learned in his rookie season about scoring in the NHL, Frattin offered a snapshot in simplicity. "I think just trying to hit the net," he told TSN.ca. "Theyve been kind of harping on me a little bit [to do that]. Getting quite a bit of chances, but Im just trying to be a little too precise and just pick the corners a little too much when its big goalies. I think the biggest thing is just getting pucks on net nice and quick and making the goalie make a save." A product of the University of North Dakota, Frattin also picked up another lesson from his first go-around in the league. "Probably how long the year is," he said. "In college youre working out all year. With NHL theres not much time to work out, like in between games. Its more of just stretching out and trying to recover your body because youre maintaining your muscle mass in games. Thats probably the biggest difference between college and the NHL; Ive already played close to double as many games as I did last year." Frattin played 44 games with the Fighting Sioux last season, totaling 75 a year later, split between the Leafs and Marlies. 2. The Edmonton native also added an assist on the first of two goals from Tyler Bozak, completing the Gordie Howe hat trick later in the period with his first career scrap against Marcus Foligno. Frattin surely earned points with both Carlyle and Leaf brass for his gutsy effort versus Foligno, who delivered a pair of thundering hits to the Leafs, the first on Gunnarsson – knocking him from the game – and the second on Bozak, inciting the fight. 3. Colborne returned to the Leafs for the first time since December, notching an assist in his first game under the new head coach. "I dont have quite the nerves that I had when I was called up last couple times," he said hours before game-time. "Im more excited just that I get a chance to show the new coaches what I can do." Colborne had been in the midst of a real slow spell offensively at the time of his call-up, totaling just two assists (zero goals) in the previous 19 games. "The pucks arent going in right now," he said a day earlier. "The chances are there; Ive been hitting different posts and generating chances, its just a matter of finishing. Ive been saving up for my time up here if I get a chance [Tuesday], break out in that way. But Im excited for the playoffs with the Marlies and hopefully well go for a long run. And like everyone in the management has been saying, its going to be huge for all the young guys confidence to learn how to go through a playoff stretch." 4. While the entire roster is under dutiful inspection by Carlyle, its the current crop of young talent who may have the most to gain in the final days of the regular season. Gearing toward the AHL playoffs, the likes of Colborne, Frattin, Gardiner, Scrivens and Ashton all hold a short window of opportunity to impress Carlyle ahead of training camp next fall. "I think all the young guys that they brought up are all auditioning for the new coaches and the management that have been watching us all year so itll be a good step forward," Colborne said before the game. In addition to the offensive contributions from Colborne and Frattin on Tuesday, the Leafs also received a YouTube-like goal from Gardiner, who circled the Buffalo net and a number of Sabre defenders before beating Miller far-side. 5. With a three-point night on Tuesday, Phil Kessel became the first Leaf to hit the 80-point plateau since Mats Sundin in 2001-02. Kessel has 37 goals, 44 assists and 81 points after 80 games this season, all three career-highs. "Hes been involved in a lot of goals," Carlyle said when questioned on Kessels underrated passing ability. "He has a special skill-set that he can create space out of nothing; those are the type of plays you become accustomed to when you see him do it every day." Bonus Points Clarke MacArthur snapped a 13-game drought with his 20th goal of the season. The 26-year-old has hit the 20-goal mark in each of the past two seasons...The Leafs had dropped nine of the previous 10 against the Sabres in Buffalo...Gunnarsson left the game one shift after the Foligno hit (12 seconds into the game) and did not return, sidelined with an upper-body injury...Mike Komisarek took his place alongside Dion Phaneuf, logging over 22 minutes...Bozak added an assist for the three-point night, also totaling nearly 23 minutes...Colborne finished 5-18 in the faceoff circle. Cortland Finnegan Dolphins Jersey . The IceHogs scored three unanswered goals, capped by Jeremy Morins third-period goal, to beat the Marlies 3-2 in American Hockey League play Wednesday. Brian Hartline Dolphins Jersey . -- Philippe Cadorette made 22 saves as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar shut out the Victoriaville Tigres 3-0 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action Monday.TORONTO -- Jeremy Lin peered up from a podium at a virtual sea of cameras and reporters in a scene he could never have envisioned a week ago. The New York point guard who in the span of five games has gone from a seldom-used player to NBA phenomenon arrived at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday as his Knicks set to battle the Raptors -- and Linsanity prevailed. More than 75 journalists and 16 cameras, squeezed into a news conference that was as crowded as that for an NBA playoff game -- and its been a while for one of those in Toronto. Last week saw the 23-year-old Harvard grad come off the bench to lead the Knicks to five consecutive victories in his first week as a starter. "I think this is a miracle from God, the way I would describe it, just because obviously, I dont think anybody expected this to happen the way it happened," Lin said. A day earlier, the NBAs first American-born player of Asian heritage, was named Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 27.3 points and 8.3 assists in his first four starts. His sudden arrival in the spotlight comes after Lin went undrafted, worked out for but was passed over by several teams including the Raptors, then was cut by Golden State and Houston. Knicks coach Mike DAntoni -- whose search for a point guard had been frustrated by injury and poor performance -- called Lins story, dubbed "Linderella," a great one for the game. "Its whats right with sports," DAntoni said. "Hes an underdog who came on, does it right, the right way. . . Probably the biggest point is to be able to step on national TV with all the scrutiny, Madison Square Garden against the Lakers, against Kobe (Bryant) and produce what he did. "To me thats remarkable, its unbelievable that he could do that in that game." Linsanity is sweeping every city where Lin touches down. He got a huge cheer from the capacity crowd at Air Canada Centre just before tip-off. Blue and orange Knicks jerseys dotted the crowd, and one group of fans wore T-shirts that spelled out L-I-N 4 M-V-P. Raptors officials said they had handed out about 75 additional media credentials, including more than 25 to Chinese journalists from the Toronto area. They had to turn down requests from journalists to cover Tuesday mornings availability with Lin, to prevent overcrowding. Jared Odrick Dolphins Jersey. Lin, who is due to make US$789,000 this season, was a hot ticket Saturday in Minnesota as the Timberwolves drew their largest crowd since 2004. The unassuming guard was asked if its difficult to focus on basketball with all the distractions around him. "I try to just not pay attention to it as much as possible, spending a lot of time with my family and friends in my free time," Lin said. "When Im with the team we stay focused, and we know what we have to do. And then just staying in my Bible, basically." Lins story is so inspirational, Hollywood writers could not craft a better script, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "In the biggest market in the world, in New York, he becomes an overnight sensation," Casey said. "You go from being in the D-League on waiver wire, getting picked and now hes a starter on one of the prime teams, historical teams in the NBA." Both Casey and DAntoni insist Lin is the real deal. "You cant say hes a flash in the pan, hes done it for five games, against some quality teams," Casey said. "Hes taking advantage of his opportunity, and thats what you tell players all the time, be ready when your number is called, and hes done that." Lin has already had a huge impact on Chinese fans, becoming that countrys most popular player since Yao Ming virtually overnight. A Chinese journalist presented Lin with a book of "Year of the Dragon" stamps from Canada Post. "I know you are a dragon, so this is for you, from the heart of Canadian fans," she said. She then asked him to say something in Mandarin to children who look up to him, and he obliged before translating for English reporters: "I just said thank you to everyone for watching us play basketball." "My whole thing as I try to live my life is have fun, explore your opportunities, your dreams, find something youre passionate about, and then just go after it," Lin said. "And I think thats true for kids whether they play basketball, or they want to do whatever they want to do. "So hopefully I can be an inspiration to them." The Knicks came into the game with a 13-15 record, compared to 9-20 for Toronto. ' ' ' |
