TORONTO a€“ The team president stood there at ice-level in a corridor just beyond the Air Canada Centre glass for the first 18 minutes or so of an opening period that did little to bring a smile to his face.
Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys . Brendan Shanahans Maple Leafs were already in a three-goal pit at that point late in the first frame, well on their way a second straight loss to open the season. They were dominated by Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and company on this night, Pittsburgh scoring three power-play goals in a rout of all kinds at the Air Canada Centre. Particularly ineffective (and often without the puck) in the loss was the teams top line, which has been held off the score-sheet entirely at even-strength in the first two games. Again, we didnt play that great, said winger Phil Kessel following the 5-2 loss, which comes three days after a season opening defeat to Montreal. My line in particular we didnt get [expletive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. Kessel had just one shot attempt all night and was eventually bumped from his normal spot on the right side with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, all part of a shuffling in the third period by head coach, Randy Carlyle. The Leafs were stuck down three at that point a€“ trailing 4-1 a€“ but it was earlier in the night that Carlyle expected and needed some sort of response from Kessel and the teams top guns. Joffrey Lupul brought it to 3-1 early in the middle frame, but then with the Leafs on a power-play, Kessel was called for hauling down Brandon Sutter in the offensive zone a€“ his second minor penalty of the night. Power-play over. Momentum zapped. When the tide of the game swung so hard against our hockey club we didnt have much of a response, Carlyle said. You look to those big guys on your team to be able to grab it back for you and right now, in these two games, theyve had some difficulty doing that. The Penguins scored twice in a minute early in the opening period, including the third already this season from Crosby and his 21st in 29 career games against the Leafs. Pittsburgh would add two more with the man advantage, wreaking havoc with Torontos continued trips to the penalty box. They also dominated the possession battle at even-strength, emerging with 55 shot attempts to just 32 for the home side. Part of the problem, said Stephane Robidas afterward, was the amount of lost puck battles, even singling himself out on the Crosby goal. They were hungrier on the puck, he said. Its a tough one to swallow. Its not the way were supposed to play. Its not the way we wanted to play. The compete level has just got to come up another notch. Its definitely not good enough so far, Kessel concluded. Tonight was not a good enough performance by us. Me in particular I didnt have a good night again. Ill be better [Sunday]. Five Points 1. Top Line James van Riemsdyk tried to dance around Paul Martin at the Pittsburgh blue-line late in the second frame and was vanquished. Martin picked the puck free and then pinned van Riemsdyk and Torontos top line in the defensive zone for upwards of a minute. Its been that kind of start for van Riemsdyk, Kessel and Bozak, one thats seen the line spend more time defending than creating much of anything offensively. The unit has gone point-less at even-strength in the first two games, only Bozak finding the score-sheet with a pair of power-play goals. We just havent got the puck very much right now, said Kessel, who owned 30 per cent possession rating at even-strength. I dont think any of us have really touched it. Its a little sloppy. Weve been in our defensive zone a little too much and I dont know if either way when were out there were getting the puck that much. Its just all over the place you know. David Clarkson replaced Kessel alongside van Riemsdyk and Bozak in the final 20 minutes. Kessel, who played about 17 minutes, finished the night with Lupul and Nazem Kadri. 2. Compete Level Carlyle talked about compete level early and often last season and it appears he may have to visit that well again here soon. The Leafs altered their system in training camp a€“ including in defensive zone coverage and the neutral zone a€“ but Robidas, the 37-year-old veteran, said that had nothing to do with what took place against Pittsburgh. I dont like to use excuses, said Robidas, who played just under 14 minutes. Its not a complicated system. Its just a matter of working and working as a unit of five. Thats what we didnt do. Youve got to win one-on-one battles. It doesnt matter which system youre playing, it doesnt matter which league youre in, if you dont win one-on-one battles youre not going to win too many games. The fifth Penguins goal in particular saw a series of Leafs a€“ Joffrey Lupul, Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri among them a€“ out-willed for the puck, Brandon Sutter eventually beating Kadri to the front of the goal. Robidas said it was unacceptable, additionally, that Crosby beat him to the puck on Pittsburghs second goal. Thats stuff that I cant personally do, he said. Thats something I need to focus on. 3. Bernier The opening two starts of Jonathan Berniers second season in Toronto have not gone to script. Bernier has allowed nine goals on 73 shots a€“ .877 save percentage a€“ including a pair that he needed to stop. Max Pacioretty scored on the Canadiens first shot Wednesday, sneaking one under the pad and then on Saturday it was Hornqvist scoring on the Penguins second shot, tucking it through the five-hole. Obviously you want to win every game and be sharp every night and I dont think Ive got my game yet, Bernier said afterward. James Reimer is likely to make his season debut at MSG on Sunday. 4. Hollands New Opportunity With no power-play minutes to go around, Peter Holland approached the coaching staff with another idea. He wanted an opportunity to kill penalties instead, something he hadnt done since he was in junior with the Guelph Storm. Two facets the head coach will be closely monitoring in regards to Hollands new duties is how he handles himself on the draw a€“ he went 2-0 in the opener a€“ and whether hes able and willing to clog shooting lanes and blocks shots. Those are the things were asking of Peter Holland, Carlyle said. For his part, Holland is not only keen on the added minutes, but on the potential scoring opportunities while shorthanded a€“ breakaways, odd-man rushes etc. 5. Richard Panik Debut Richard Panik scored the first goal of the Norfolk Admirals Calder Cup-clinching Game 4 at Ricoh Coliseum in early June 2012. And now the 23-year-old is back in Toronto as a member of the Leafs organization, claimed off waivers from the Lightning earlier this week. A second-round pick in 2009, Panik is a low-risk, high-upside type of get for the club, similar in some ways to the inexpensive one-year bets made on Mike Santorelli, David Booth, and Daniel Winnik in the offseason. Toronto was a little surprised to find him on the waiver wire given his age, size, and skill, but Tampa was crowded with forwards and ultimately failed in their attempt to sneak him through to Syracuse, their AHL affiliate. Were getting a guy that can make plays, said Carlyle of Panik, most of his exposure to the 6-foot-2 212 pounder coming during that AHL playoff series a couple years back. Hes a big strong kid. And hes got a skill-set that wouldnt designate him as a fourth-line hockey player. He can play higher than that in your lineup. The issue for Panik, Carlyle said, would be consistency. He initially teamed the Slovakian with Brandon Kozun and Holland, his former Guelph linemate. Over his past two NHL seasons a€“ 75 games a€“ Panik, who played eight minutes against the Penguins, tallied eight goals and 22 points. Stats-Pack 21 a€“ Goals for Sidney Crosby in 29 career games against Toronto. 0 a€“ Points in the opening two games by Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. 55-32 a€“ Possession battle at even-strength on Saturday, favouring the visitors. 1 a€“ Shot attempt for Kessel in the loss. 9 a€“ Goals allowed by Jonathan Bernier in two starts this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-5 Season: 37.5% PK: 2-5 Season: 57.1% Quote of the Night Again, we didnt play that great. My line in particular we didnt get [exceptive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. -Phil Kessel, following a second straight poor performance to open the season. Up Next The Leafs get right back at it against the defending Eastern Conference champs in New York on Sunday a€“ their first of 18 back-to-backs this season.
Red Wings Jerseys 2021 .Y. -- Mike Zigomaniss goal at 5:53 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Rochester Americans hung on to defeat the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 on Saturday in American Hockey League action.
Fake Red Wings Jerseys . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday.Toronto - Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew will square off at BMO Field on Saturday in the second Trillium Cup match of the season. TFC was victorious in the first meeting between the two sides with a 2-0 win at Columbus, but the result sparked a run of three straight defeats for the Canadian club. You can catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 beginning at 5pm et/2pm pt. The Reds appear to back in form though, managing four points from their last two league matches. They most recently came back twice to get a point form a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City. It was a tremendous point for Toronto given that the team was without several key players due to international duty. The Reds were also reduced to 10 men in the match as Steven Caldwell was issued a straight red card in the 63rd minute. "We had three of our starting midfield out, so we had a lot of absences," TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen said after the match. "We had three starting players out in three different positions and (SKC) had two out. So everybodys made (a deal) about their injuries and weve got a few out as well. Since the start of the season weve only had to pick a starting 11, the actual starting 11, once." Toronto will look to get Gilberto going this season. He has logged 10 consecutive starts but is still searching for his first goal with the club. "Weve got to pick (Gilberto) up," Nelsen said. "Weve all been through it as players and weve all been through it inn jobs.
Detroit Red Wings Store. And when you move to a new country like that its very difficult, and we forget hes only 24. "We know how good of a player he is and its our job to pick him up and obviously get his confidence up and get him going and it will. Maybe we could get a penalty one of these days and he can get on the scoreboard." Like Toronto, Columbus has taken four points from its last two games. After an enthralling 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers, the Crew ran out to a 2-0 home victory over the Chicago Fire to put an end to an eight-match winless run. "I think weve been frustrated that weve been playing well and not getting the results. Were still trying to focus on the product were creating and how were playing," said Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter. "Its nice when you get results. From that standpoint were happy. I think it was a good effort. Obviously were missing some guys but we did a great job." Federico Higuain played a starring role the Crews defeat of the Fire, but the striker will miss Saturdays clash at Toronto due to yellow card accumulation. "You dont replace Federico, simple as that. We get someone on the field that can play their game and were not going to ask someone to come in and play like Federico that would be foolish of us," said Berhalter. "Were going to ask someone to come in and play to the best of their ability. Im confident that we are going to be able to get that out of someone." ' ' '