Vorstellung » Pacers hold the head-to-head

WINNIPEG – A busy trip began and then ended with a thud for the sliding Maple Leafs. Toronto was thumped on the fifth game of a grueling seven-day trip, beaten handily by the Jets in Manitoba on Saturday evening. It was the fourth loss on the five-game trip for the Leafs and seventh in the past nine games. All this coming on the heels of a scorching 10-1-1 run that had the club, at one point, pushing Tampa, Montreal and Detroit for a share of the division lead. Toronto now finds itself simply fending off the likes of New York, Florida and Boston for a share of the wild card. “It’s been a terrible trip for our team,” Dion Phaneuf said flatly after the 5-1 loss in Winnipeg. “We did not get near the results that we wanted or that we needed.” The Leafs, who began the trip with a 6-4 loss in Florida, barely had the puck against the Jets. And when they did it was either to turn it over or simply break Winnipeg’s press for a second or two. Toronto entered the night as the third-worst possession team in the league, finishing with an ugly 26 per cent possession mark on Saturday. They spent most of the night under siege and in retreat. Often though the Leafs looked like a team that was simply out of gas. And that’s somewhat understandable given the rigorous nature of a trip that dotted Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Manitoba in a span of seven nights. That doesn’t change, however, the issues which continue to eat at the heart of a struggling club that can neither keep the puck nor keep it out of the net. “There’s a bunch of things that are ailing our hockey club,” head coach Randy Carlyle said after the most recent defeat. His tonic for fatigue was simplicity. “Usually what you try to do is you try to get your structure and you play simple,” Carlyle said of grinding through the fatigue. “You stop in the defensive zone. You don’t get above the puck. You’re always on the defensive side. Our group did none of that tonight.” Mike Santorelli actually opened the scoring, but it wasn’t long before the Jets took over. It was just over a minute later, in fact, that they knotted the score – capitalizing on a giveaway behind the goal – two minutes after that they took the lead for good. Long stints in the defensive zone rightfully found their way into the back of the net. James Reimer was ultimately hammered with 40 shots. “We seemed to have breakdown after breakdown and the next thing you know they’re up 3-1 and the momentum has completely shifted,” Phaneuf said. “Tonight maybe we were a little tired,” said Reimer, “but I don’t really want to give that as an excuse. We’re all professionals and you’ve got to find a way to win these games and play hard and play well.” “I don’t think we’re in the position to use our schedule as an excuse,” added Phaneuf. Carlyle and his club actually entered the night feeling somewhat encouraged. They were coming off a pair of decent performances in Boston and Minnesota, efforts which saw them yield fewer than 30 shots on consecutive nights, controlling possession notably against the Wild. All that was halted in Winnipeg. It won’t get any easier for the Leafs either. Playing without two of their top three centres and a top-six winger for at least another week, they’ll return home for a brief two-game stop before heading right back on the road for a grueling swing through Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose and St. Louis. Those injuries – to Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland – will test this group even further, though they’re hardly an excuse as the Jets recent performance will attest to. Winnipeg has been playing and playing well without four top defencemen and Evander Kane, their enigmatic but talented young winger. “The proof will be in the pudding of how we play,” Carlyle said before Saturday’s game. Five Points 1. Defence The numbers are particularly ugly defensively for the Leafs during this nine-game run, which has included seven losses and not a whole lot of positives. Toronto has allowed 3.89 goals per game during the two-plus week stretch and an average of 37 shots against. They’ve now given up 40 shots or more in nearly a third of their games this season – 11 times in 40 games or 28 per cent – and now sit 25th overall in goals against (3.02/game), remaining 29th in shots against (34.4). 2. Kessel Ice-Time Prior to Saturday’s game Carlyle disclosed that Phil Kessel recently came to the coaching staff in search of more ice-time. “[He] felt he wasn’t getting into the game enough,” Carlyle said of Kessel. “We’ve made a commitment to try and add a little bit to it, but not quite as much as what we added [Friday] night.” Kessel played a season-high of nearly 26 minutes against the Wild on Friday, but is currently playing the fewest minutes on average of his Leafs career. He entered the Saturday night tilt in Winnipeg playing 18:29 per game, more than two minutes fewer than he garnered last season. Carlyle said it’s not unusual for a player to request more ice-time. 3. Kessel Ice-Time II Kessel has played less and less with each passing month this year. The 27-year-old played 16 minutes or fewer six times in December, averaging less than 18 minutes for the month. Some of that is due to the team’s improved depth, but also to a general performance that’s been lacking noticeably at even-strength. Kessel does lead the Leafs with 22 even-strength points, but his possession rating is amongst the worst on the team. Toronto has been badly outshot when he’s been on the ice. 4. Home Ice A native of Morweena, Manitoba – about two hours north of Winnipeg –Reimer made his fifth career start in his home province on Saturday. He’s not fared well at all in his infrequent returns. Reimer dropped to 1-4-0 at the MTS Centre, compiling a scary .857 save percentage in those five games. He yielded five goals on 40 shots against the Jets on this most recent occasion. 5. Juggling Carlyle began the game against the Jets with revamped line combinations. He plugged Leo Komarov onto a line with Kessel and Tyler Bozak, teaming James van Riemsdyk with Trevor Smith and Mike Santorelli. It was a shot at balance for a team suddenly playing without two key offensive cogs in Kadri and Lupul. “When you’re not having what you think is any balance whatsoever through your lineup then you’ve got to try and find ways to do that,” Carlyle said. “It’s an opportunity for some other people when you have injuries.” Smith was probably the biggest beneficiary, playing a season-high of more than 18 minutes. Greg McKegg, paired with David Clarkson and Richard Panik, also got a deeper look, totaling more than 11 minutes against the Jets. “When things like this happen to hockey clubs that means doors open for other individuals and we like to see how they react in this situation,” Carlyle said. He was notably unimpressed with Komarov, who was playing his third game after a month-long stint on injured reserve. Carlyle said Saturday was probably Komarov’s worst game of the season. The 27-year-old was removed from the top unit midway through the middle period, replaced by van Riemsdyk. Stats-Pack 3.89 – Goals scored against the Leafs on average in the past nine games. 21 – Even-strength shot attempts against Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson on Saturday. .857 – Career save percentage for James Reimer in Winnipeg. 9-10-1 – Leafs record in back-to-back sets this season. 7-8-3 - Leafs record on the road. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4 Season: 20.1% (11th) PK: 4-5 Season: 82.2% (13th) Quote of the Night “It’s been a terrible trip for our team.” -Dion Phaneuf, on the Leafs five-game road trip. Up Next The Leafs return home to host Washington on Wednesday night. Cheap Mariners Jerseys . "Im proud, obviously. Its been a long day, but now Im a Crystal Palace player, Im very happy," Bannan said. "The seasons been started now for a couple of weeks and Ive not featured at Villa. Mariners Jerseys 2019 . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming home. https://www.cheapmariners.com/. has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. Stitched Mariners Jerseys . JOHNS, N. Seattle Mariners Gear . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen.WASHINGTON -- LeBron James only visible significant role was that of postgame heckler, interrupting Michael Beasleys interview amid a loose, upbeat locker room that normally wouldnt jibe with a 21-point loss -- or throwing in a towel in the race for a No. 1 seed. James and Chris Bosh took the night off Monday, and the Heat were beaten 114-93 by the Washington Wizards in a no-contest game that guaranteed the Eastern Conferences top seed for the Indiana Pacers. So, no disappointment at all? "There would be no disappointment," said Dwyane Wade, who played because he needed some minutes after his recent nine-game layoff with a hamstring injury. "When the playoffs start, we have a new season and we will be looking forward to it." So the Pacers are locked in to a first-round series against the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, while the two-time defending champion Heat get the No. 2 seed and either the Wizards or the Charlotte Bobcats. Miami began the day still in contention for the top spot, but they would have needed to win their last two games and have Indiana lose to Orlando on Wednesday because the Pacers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Figuring it would be better to be fresh for the post-season, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sat two of his Big Three, saying they were dealing with "minor ailments" from "the residual of a long season." "It was out of our control. Those guys put in a lot of mileage," Spoelstra said. "Our schedule was fairly extreme down the stretch. Ive never been a part of a group thats played that many games in that few of days down the stretch. Thats not an excuse, but we want to just make sure our guys are sharp and feeling healthy." James has made it part of his annual routine to rest before the playoffs. He missed the final game in 2011 and sat out the last two in both 2012 and 2013. Trevor Ariza scored 25 points to lead the Wizards, who shot 59 per cent and made 14 3-pointers and remain one game ahead of the Bobcats in the race for the No.dddddddddddd 6 seed. Washington has made it a point to avoid finishing seventh to keep from having to face the Heat in the first round -- knowing full well the cast of characters will be different than it was Monday night. "We played against a totally different Miami Heat today than usual," Wizards centre Marcin Gortat said. "Nothing to be excited about. ... It was more like a scrimmage game than a big battle." The Heat went with their 20th starting lineup of this season and trailed by as many as 36 in the second half. Beasley finished with 18 points, Toney Douglas had 14, and Wade scored nine in 18 minutes. Miami has lost four of five and is just 11-13 since March 4, including 3-9 on the road. Gortat had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and John Wall added 13 assists for the Wizards, who have seemingly escaped their 3-point shooting slump. After going 6 for 50 from long range over a three-game span, theyve since made 22 of 51 in their last two games. Ariza, whose shooting was hampered by a bout with the flu, made five of eight 3-pointers Monday night. Also, Nene, who sat out the Wizards previous game after feeling some stiffness in his recently sprained left knee, looked more like his energetic old self as he scored 18 points off the bench. Andre Miller supplied the games biggest highlight, making an overhand paint-to-paint pass to Bradley Beal that would make an NFL quarterback jealous. Beal caught the ball in stride and made the layup in one fluid motion while drawing a foul to set up a three-point play. "It was a post route," Beal said. "The safety bit on a ball fake, so I was able to beat the corner and I got free for a touchdown. Hopefully the Redskins will pick me up." NOTES: The Heat were also without C Greg Oden, who did not make the trip to D.C. because of a stomach virus. ... The Wizards sold out for the fourth time this season. ' ' '