2016-08-13

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Cheap Jerseys . -- Randy Carlyle could barely contain his relief after the Winter Classic. The hype was gone along with the all-access HBO "24/7" cameras that followed the Toronto Maple Leafs everywhere for the past month. "Finally, yeah," said the Leafs head coach. "Its been a long three weeks, thats for sure, with whats gone on with our hockey club and the way weve played, the inconsistencies that weve played to and the microscope that weve been under." Carlyle and the Leafs are used to being under a microscope just by virtue of playing in Toronto. But an inside look at the stretch in which they lost seven of nine games turned up the pressure even higher. "There are lot of things that are going on inside that are hard to deal with when youre always constantly under a camera or a microphone (is) under you," Carlyle said. But after beating the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout in front of an NHL-record crowd of 105,491 freezing fans at Michigan Stadium, those trials and tribulations could feel like a distant memory. Led by goaltender Jonathan Bernier, the Leafs have won three games in a row and have added a little vitamin C to their game. "Weve talked a lot about consistency and making sure to work on our game to become more consistent," captain Dion Phaneuf said. "I feel that weve played some good hockey the last little bit. Were trying to keep building it because we know thats been something thats plagued us a little bit. We feel better about our game right now." A large part of that has to do with Bernier, who has stopped 181 of 190 shots put on him since relieving James Reimer on Dec. 21. Hes 3-0-2 in that time, and Carlyle acknowledged it would be "foolish" to turn away from him now. "Jonathan Bernier has come in and given us a chance and given us an opportunity in games, and thats what we are looking for," the Leafs coach said. Its not all Bernier because goals have to come from somewhere. In the Winter Classic they came from the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. This was the second game with that trio reunited, as Bozak returned Sunday after missing almost a month with a strained oblique. Bozak had three assists in his first game back and then a goal and the shootout winner in the Winter Classic. "I think that I was able to play one game before, it was huge for me," Bozak said. "Definitely would have been crazy, just coming back into this game. So I think being able to play the one before really helped me a lot." Having Bozak back also helps the Leafs, in general. His chemistry with Kessel and van Riemsdyk is undeniable, and his presence shifts Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jay McClement back into more comfortable roles down the lineup. "Tyler is a player that our coaching staff trusts, pretty simple," Carlyle said. "When coaches trust people, they put them in situations where you believe the player will get the job done." Carlyle went so far as to call Bozak a "model for the younger players to follow." "He gets inside, he wins his share of one-on-one battles, very strong in the faceoff circle, and hes got the hockey sense," Carlyle said. "The puck follows him around." Puck possession is one thing the Leafs could stand to improve on Saturday against the New York Rangers and beyond. They were outshot 43-26 by Detroit in the Winter Classic, as Red Wings coach Mike Babcock praised his team for holding on to the puck for much of regulation and overtime. But as the Leafs have done much of the year, they pulled out two points despite being badly outshot. Opportunistic offence and strong goaltending allowed them to reach playoff position early and hang on despite some struggles, so it was only fitting that helped them win the NHLs signature regular-season event. The Winter Classic represented the end of a difficult journey for the Leafs, who made the most out of the spotlight in the end. "It is a lot leading up to it. I think its tough on the players, its tough on the coaches," general manager Dave Nonis said. "But I also think that it created an atmosphere that made it more than just a game. I think both teams raised their level of play. I know our team did. I think thats the hardest weve competed for a long time. "When you look at over 100,000 in the building, its impossible not to play harder." Seeing how hard and well the Leafs played gave Nonis some fuel to be optimistic about the near future. "From our standpoint I hope its, I wouldnt say a turning point, but maybe the genesis of consistent games where we work hard for three periods," he said. Cheap Jerseys Online . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Cheap Jerseys USA .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. http://www.cheapjerseyschinawholesalenfl.com/ . PAUL, Minn.WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals found a way to tie a back-and-forth game with 3:27 left against Ottawa on Wednesday night. It lasted just 64 seconds before Zack Smith and the Senators retook the lead. Bobby Ryan scored two goals and the Senators topped the Capitals 6-4. "The big test for us was when they tied the game. We didnt handle momentum swings very well in the first period or in some previous games," said Ottawa coach Paul MacLean, whose team has dropped four of five coming in. Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 2:23 remaining when he took a pass from Chris Neil at centre ice, skated in against defenceman Nate Schmidt and beat goaltender Braden Holtby from the left circle. Smiths goal came after Washingtons John Carlson tied the game with Smith in the penalty box. Chris Phillips had a goal and an assist, and Mika Zibanejad and Colin Greening added goals for Ottawa. Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Senators, who trailed 3-1 after one period. "Obviously a huge two points for us tonight," Phillips said. "We need to build off this momentum and keep it going. We look at the standings and were not in a great spot right now. We need to get on a bit of a roll." It was Ottawas first win in regulation at the Verizon Center since March 12, 2006. Eric Fehr, Marcus Johansson and Brooks Laich also scored for Washington, which led 3-1 before dropping its fourth straight. "We played a solid game (losing Saturday) in Toronto; we played lousy tonight," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Not good decisions. We get a lead and we still dont do the right things." Zibanejad had given Ottawa a 4-3 lead at 6:05 of the third when he deflected a Jason Spezza shot past Holtby for Ottawas third power-play goal of the game. Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots for Ottawa. Holtby made 35 saves for Washington. Trailing 3-1 after one period, Ottawa tied it in the second as it outshot the Capitals 19-3. "A lot of angry guys in here," Anderson said of the Ottawa locker room after the first 20 minutes. "We werent happy with our effort that first periiod. Cheap NFL Jerseys China. Obviously not happy with being down by two goals. But we held ourselves accountable. Each and every guy knew it wasnt good enough." With a man advantage, Phillips skated down the left side and blasted a shot from the circle over Holtbys glove to make it 3-2 at 6:36 of the second period. Exactly four minutes later, Greening tied it when he beat Holtby with a shot through traffic from the right circle. "We had them," Carlson said. "We were close to putting our stamp on it. But we let them back." After totalling three goals in its three previous games, Washington scored three in less than three minutes during the first period. They broke a 1-1 tie with two goals 47 seconds apart. During a power play, Alex Ovechkins shot was deflected in front and Johansson banged the puck home at the 14:06 mark. Washington made it 3-1 when Jason Chimeras pass deflected off Joel Wards skate behind the end line out in front to Laich, who beat Anderson with a backhand for his fourth goal. "We saw a very good hockey team in the first period with 18 shots and three goals and did a lot of things right," Laich said, "and for the rest of the game we saw a very bad hockey team. Bad decisions, bad penalties, getting outworked." The Capitals took a 1-0 lead at 12:10 on a delayed penalty call when Fehr wristed a shot home from the slot. Ottawa tied it on a power play just over a minute later as Ryan deflected Patrick Wierciochs shot from the point for his 12th goal. It was the first time this season the Capitals have allowed three power-play goals in a game, and the Washington penalty kill unit has given up at least one goal in the past six games. NOTES: Capitals F Martin Erat, who on Monday demanded a trade, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... Washington recalled D Tyson Strachan from Hershey of the AHL. Strachan fought Neil after Neil levelled Schmidt late in the first period. ... Ottawas Mark Borowiecki (neck strain) was out of the lineup. The defenceman was rammed into the boards Sunday by Carolina F Kevin Westgarth, who received a two-game suspension for the hit. 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