Gustav » e. After a scoreless first period,

TORONTO - Whatever momentum they built up before the 18-day Olympic break is suddenly gone. Three straight losses have quieted the Maple Leafs - winners of 11 of 14 before the stoppage - who dropped a 2-1 decision to Columbus at the ACC on Monday night, their third loss in as many games to the Blue Jackets this season. Alongside overtime defeats in Long Island and Montreal, the interim trends in Toronto are subtly veering in the wrong direction, though they still have ownership of the first wild card position in the East. "The three losses hurt because we had points available to us on the road," head coach Randy Carlyle said, referring to overtime defeats against the Islanders and Canadiens. "Thats the hard part is when you lose two overtime games on the road and we had a one-goal lead in both games. That kicks you. That doesnt feel very good." The most recent case saw his team start strong, stall midway through and eventually push back with a charge that was ultimately too late. "I think part of it is somewhat of an Olympic hangover," said James Reimer, making a rare start in place of Jonathan Bernier. "The last three games its been anyones game, its been a one-goal game and two of them have gone into overtime. I think were right there; were just missing it by a little bit. All three games couldve been Ws for us so I dont think its anything to worry about." The Leafs started the evening strongly with a flurry of opportunities and pair of power-plays, but failed to get anything beyond the reach of Sergei Bobrovsky, nor the multiple bodies that stood at his defence. Phil Kessel snuck one shot through the pads, but it spun just above the goal-line before Bobrovsky rushed it to cover. The home foot came off the gas in the middle period with Columbus scoring twice in less than three minutes. The Leafs turned pucks over, lost battles and wandered around hopelessly in the defensive zone. They failed to even record a shot before Dalton Prout scored the games first goal. Cody Franson labeled it a "mediocre" 20 minutes. "We tried to get cute with the puck and turned it over too many times," he said. "When you play a team that has that type of forechecking style and transition ability its not what you want to do ideally." "I think that was more of a mental lapse than anything because we just started wandering around," Carlyle said. "For the first period we had lots of life, we were on our toes and jumping to pucks and we were winning our battles. In the second we just started to stall in the neutral ice." A late third period rally yielded a goal from Mason Raymond, but nothing more as the Blue Jackets swept the season series from their new Eastern Conference counterpart, outscoring them 13-3 in the process. The Toronto dressing room was hardly in a state of panic afterward. Though dismayed with their performance against a mediocre Islanders squad last week, they were generally pleased with their effort in Montreal over the weekend - outside of penalty trouble and another lost third period lead - and pointed to the loss to Columbus as an incomplete effort, but not one that should cause alarm. They cant hide from points left on the table, however, especially against those theyre either chasing (Canadiens) or those chasing them (Blue Jackets) and a difficult schedule ahead. Just behind the Leafs (72 points) in the standings are the likes of Detroit (68), Washington (68) and these very Blue Jackets (67), all with games in hand and opportunity to narrow the gap further. The alarm should not be sounded with three straight losses, but some degree of caution should be taken by those wearing the blue and white. "Were fine," said Joffrey Lupul afterward. "Were certainly not losing perspective, but were not happy about losing two points to a team below us in the standings." Five Points 1. Rare Start James Reimer hadnt made a start for the Leafs since Jan. 25, a long stretch of 37 days that saw Jonathan Bernier gripping tight on the starting job right into the 18-day Olympic break. "Besides an injury I dont know if Ive ever had this much time in between starts," Reimer said. In spite of the long layoff, the 25-year-old looked sharp, stopping 31 of the 33 shots peppered by Columbus, including a Nick Foligno breakaway in the opening five minutes. "There was a little rust there," said Reimer, "but honestly I felt pretty good. I felt like I battled as hard as I could and tried to fight to see the puck and its unfortunate we came up a little short tonight." The two that passed could hardly be pinned his way. The first from Prout sailed through a maze of traffic from the point, the latter from Artem Anisimov coming by way of a laser back-door point pass from Nikita Nikitin. "I dont think you can point to the goaltending as a deficiency, thats for sure," said Carlyle. "He did his part to give us a chance." 2. Rare Night off the Scoresheet Kessel missed his 34th goal of the year by mere inches. The 26-year-old had a rare night off the scoresheet, finishing with two shots in just over 23 minutes of ice. It was just the third time in the past 18 games that the scorching Kessel failed to register a point. Indicative of his value, the Leafs dropped to 4-17-2 this season on such nights, a rarity these days for sure. 3. Power-play Life Unhappy with the state of his clubs special teams, Carlyle directed that the near-entirety of Sundays practice be spent on the matter. Much of the focus a day before the game against Columbus centered on a power-play that was suddenly missing much of its pep. "We stood around," he said of the man advantage in losses to New York and Montreal. "And other teams have made adjustments to our break-out and we havent reacted to what we normally would do in situations. Obviously other coaches in the league do pre-scout. They do work to devise plans against what you do." Though they failed to score in two attempts on this night - now 0-13 in the past six games - they did manage some signs of life, including a good opportunity for Morgan Rielly in the first frame. "At least today our power-play created some momentum for us whereas in the past couple games it seemed like itd been a bit of a momentum killer," said Lupul. The Leafs own the leagues fifth-best power-play this season with much of that success coming on home ice – they sit second in the NHL at 26.5 per cent. Considering their ineffectiveness on the penalty kill its an area theyll want to right soon. 4. Trade Deadline Dave Nonis made a minor move at the trade deadline last season, adding Ryan OByrne from Colorado for a fourth round draft pick. The Leafs general manager and his management team have essentially shunned the idea of adding another such rental this time around. Unlike in years past theres not much in the way of frenzy surrounding the club heading into the Mar. 5 deadline, but in Carlyles eyes - traded himself once at the deadline - it remains a distraction for players. "The trade deadlines always a factor in any hockey players life," said Carlyle, traded to Winnipeg from Pittsburgh for a first round pick on Mar. 5th, 1984. "Having played for a number of years and lived and died in one. It was one of those situations that you remember. Its not a lot of fun being a player at this time of year. In todays Twitter world and blogging and that, theres a lot more rumours floating around so its obviously a lot more to it than when I was moved in 84. I dont think they had Twitter then did they?" 5. Rare Home Ice Defeat Before falling Monday to the Blue Jackets the Leafs hadnt lost in Toronto since Jan. 7, a 5-3 defeat that night to the pesky New York Islanders. They had reeled off seven consecutive wins at home for the first time since the 2006-07 season, Stats-Pack 13-3 - Goal differential between Leafs and Blue Jackets this season, favouring Columbus. 4-17-2 - Leafs record this season when Phil Kessel fails to record a point. 0-13 - Toronto power-play in the past six games. 24:46 - Ice-time for James van Riemsdyk versus Columbus, leading the team. 21-11-1 - Leafs record at home this season. 2:54 - Amount of time it took the Blue Jackets to score twice in the second period on Monday. 37 - Days between starts for James Reimer. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2Season: 21.2% (5th) PK: 1-1Season: 77.6% (28th) Quote of the Night "In todays Twitter world and blogging and that, theres a lot more rumours floating around so [theres] obviously a lot more to it than when I was moved in 84. I dont think they had Twitter then did they?" -Randy Carlyle, speaking about Wednesdays trade deadline. Up Next The Leafs head to the Big Apple for a trade deadline day clash with the Rangers. Trevor Siemian Jersey .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. Sheldon Richardson Vikings Jersey .I shared with him how much I appreciated all he had done for us, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of that Thursday night farewell. http://www.vikingsnflfansclub.net/Black-Friday-Kirk-Cousins-Jersey/ . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Jalyn Holmes Vikings Jersey . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. Trevor Siemian Vikings Jersey . Fellow Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain also had a brace for Napoli. And Samuel Etoo scored for his fourth different team. On a night of standout individual performances Wednesday, Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand had a game hell want to forget.2. I know pre-season games can be dull, but if theres a CFL team that votes mostly “yes” on the CBA deal, and one that votes mostly “no”, wouldnt you like to see that exhibition game? 3. It was only for fun when the San Diego Padres drafted Johnny Manziel, wasnt it? I need to be convinced, because its possible anyone drafted by the Padres might actually be able to help them. 4. Once upon a time, the NHL disallowed goals that were scored when a member of the attacking team was in the crease. Would it be too ridiculously simple and logical to suggest that the NHL should do itself a favour and revert to that rule? 5. The Blue Jays interleague series against St. Louis produced three things I didnt expect to see - a triple play, a Blue Jays shutout loss, and another Blue Jays shutout loss. You thought a warm, sunny afternoon was going to be one of them, didnt you? 6. Do you feel sorrier for California Chrome because he didnt win the Triple Crown or because he has Steve Coburn for an owner? 7. If Pinehurst No. 2, the site of the US Open, is such a marvelous test of golf and one of the most famous courses in the world, why do you think it isnt called Pinehurst No. 1? 8. How many bobbleheads do you own? (“None” is a lie. “One” is the understandable truth, because owning one is the reason not to own more than one). 9. When former UCLA basketball star Ed OBannon said in his court testimony that he was an athlete “masquerading” as a student, attending classes only when necessary to maintain his eligibility, how many others nodded and said “Me, too”? 10. Phil Jackson expresses no interest in coaching the New York Knicks, but when he tries to hire Steve Kerr as his coach and then selects Derek Fisher, who, like Kerr, is without coaching experience, dont you think Jackson wants to coach….sort of? 11. Donald Sterling? (Yup, thats the question—Donald Sterling?) 12. Colin Kaepernick rates #1 among NFL quarterbacks in just one category—most moneey guaranteed over the duration of his contract--$61 million.dddddddddddd. Shouldnt he have to be #1 in things like passing yards or completion percentage to be due that kind of money? 13. Maria Sharapova reacted with stunned amazement following her winning point at the French Open. Didnt she realize there were only two possible winners and she was one of them? 14. The NFL has decided that its 50th Super Bowl, in February of 2016, will not be identified by the Roman numeral “L”. Apparently, Super Bowl L just wouldnt look or sound right. But its back to the ancient alphabet for Super Bowl 51, or rather, Super Bowl LI. What the “L”? 15. If youve always wanted to visit Brazil, would you want to go now? And if youve always wanted to attend soccers World Cup, would you want to attend this one in Brazil? 16. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon tried to change his teams luck by inviting a Seminole medicine man to Tropicana Field. The Rays lost 3-0. To those who believe a manager can do little to change the outcome of a game, I ask you: How do you feel about medicine men? 17. Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon has created a buzz by saying hell take offers for the number-one draft pick. Isnt that the same as saying “Were always interested in trying to improve our club”? 18. If Coors Field was the reason the Colorado Rockies scored so many runs earlier in the season, then Coors Field is in a slump, dont you think? 19. To surpass Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal needs four more Grand Slam titles for a total of 18. To tie Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods needs four more major victories for a total of 18. Id ask which one gets to 18 first, but isnt it obvious? 20. What do you say we watch the World Cup by cheering for Australia and imagining its Canada? The Aussies wont win, but theyll have fu, and thats how itll be next time, if there is a next time, for Canada. 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