Author: wxy1123
Posted: 19 Oct 2015 09:51:24
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Buffalo Sabres headed into the Christmas break playing their best hockey of the season. It was pretty much the opposite for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm et /4:30pm pt. The Sabres will shoot for a fourth win in five games when they visit the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs in Fridays Atlantic Division battle at Air Canada Centre. Toronto lost seven out of nine heading into the Christmas break, but the club at least has managed to earn points in three straight outings. The Maple Leafs have gone to the shootout phase in each of their last three games, beating Phoenix on Dec. 19 before losing consecutive tilts against Detroit and the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs seemed on the verge of a regulation defeat Monday in New York City, but they came up with a controversial goal after Rangers forward Chris Kreider was sent off for shooting the puck over the glass with 3:34 remaining in the third period. New York goaltender Cam Talbot appeared to cover up David Clarksons chance in-close on the man advantage, but the whistle never blew and Nazem Kadri alertly pushed the puck over the line to make it a 1-1 game with only 84 seconds to go in regulation. However, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello each scored for the Rangers during the shootout, while Joffrey Lupul scored Torontos lone goal in the decisive segment. Kadri had a chance to extend the shootout for Toronto, but was denied by Talbot. Toronto fell for the ninth time in its last 10 road games despite a terrific 42-save performance from Jonathan Bernier. "Our goaltender stood on his head," Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle remarked. "Thats all you can ask in a game like this one." The Leafs are 12-8-1 as the home team this season compared to a 6-8-4 record on the road. Although Buffalo is still last in the NHL with 23 points, the club has recorded four of its 10 wins this season over the last seven games. The Sabres latest victory, Mondays 2-1 overtime win against visiting Phoenix, came with a little bit of luck, as Buffalo was the beneficiary of a bizarre play in the extra session. Mark Pysyk fired a shot from near the right circle 3:47 into the extra session which was initially stopped by Coyotes goalie Mike Smith, but the puck bounced straight up into the air and was batted down by a Phoenix defender and landed in the back of Smiths pants. Smith, unaware of the disc wedged in his pants, turned and slid backwards into the net carrying the puck across the goal line for the game-winner. "I saw it come down and figured it landed. I didnt know where it went from there, but I saw he was in the net and figured it was in," said Pysyk. Tyler Ennis scored the game-tying goal 14:01 into the final session for the Sabres. Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the win. Although Buffalo has picked up the pace recently, the club still enters Friday on an eight-game road losing streak. The Sabres, who last won as the guest on Nov. 5 in San Jose, are just 3-12-1 on the road this season. The Sabres have not fared well in Toronto recently either, losing two straight and seven of the last eight encounters at Air Canada Centre. Buffalo, however, has won three of the past four meetings overall. Buffalo hopes to have leading scorer Cody Hodgson back tonight after the centerman missed the last two games due to an upper-body injury. Hodgson has eight goals and 11 assists to pace the Sabres with 19 points.
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. -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two.
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. - The Arizona Coyotes have recalled goalie Mike Lee from Gwinnett of the ECHL to serve as starter Mike Smiths backup.
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allowed one run over eight innings, and Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco hit back-to-back homers on Tuesday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory that pushed the Milwaukee Brewers to the verge elimination from wild card contention.
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. Rose keyed a seven-point burst to open the fourth period, assisting on three straight field goals. John Lucas III hit a three-pointer and Taj Gibson scored twice, opening up an 11-point lead for Chicago.TORONTO, Ontario - The Leafs wont restart their schedule until Thursday against the New York Islanders but for Randy Carlyle, the Olympic break is now nothing but a distant memory. As far as hes concerned, its time to get back to business. "We were playing at a pretty high level and now were expecting to take the next step," said the Leafs head coach after the teams annual outdoor practice on Friday at Greenwood Park in front of several hundred fans. "Were going to have to play to a higher level to have success here in the last 22 games." That message of aspiring to a higher level of play is one that Carlyle has continually preached throughout the season, whether the team was going through a rough stretch as they did in mid-December and early January or experiencing success as they did heading into the Olympic break. Posting an 11-2-1 record in the fourteen games that preceded the break built the Leafs a seven-point cushion on the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals for the final playoff spot but with the Jackets holding two games in hand and the Senators and Capitals each holding one, that gap could shrink quickly if they trip up out of the gate. "It was a time to recharge the batteries but for us its about now getting our team ready for Thursday," said Carlyle. "Thats the most important thing on our plate is to make sure our hockey club picks up where it left off." Given how well the team played heading into the break, that wont be an easy task for several reasons. Firstly, a 14-game stretch that saw them win 11 times (78 per cent of their games) is likely an unsustainable pace. Seventeen wins in their final 22 games is a lot to ask. TThe key will be to make sure they dont experience too significant a drop off.dddddddddddd Secondly, the schedule wont be a cake walk. The Leafs will play 22 games in 45 nights, 13 of them on the road. 14 of those games will be against teams currently in playoff positions. The real test will come on a five-game road trip March 10-18 when they head out west to face the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings before making stops in Washington and Detroit. Additionally, Toronto will face four more sets of games on back-to-back nights. Safe to say, the time for rest has come and gone. "The Olympic break for us, we feel good coming back," said Dion Phaneuf. "We feel rested, we feel rejuvenated and I think its beneficial for everyone to have that." The positive aspect of the break is that with David Bolland nearing a return and so long as James Van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel get through the bronze medal game at the Olympics injury-free, the Leafs should be able to ice their optimal lineup for the first time this season. Believe it or not, due to suspensions and injuries, Bolland, Tyler Bozak, David Clarkson and Joffrey Lupul have yet to all be dressed in the same game. Forwardsvan Riemsdyk - Bozak - KesselLupul - Kadri - ClarksonRaymond - Bolland - KuleminAshton - McClement - BodieExtras: McLaren, Orr DefenceGunnarsson - PhaneufGardiner - FransonGleason - RiellyExtra: Ranger Goaltenders: Bernier and Reimer "I expect the hockey down the stretch to be very good," predicted Phaneuf. "The pace is going to increase like it always does going down the stretch run but I think the break really helps us as players."
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