SAN JOSE – Toronto’s slide continues. An empty spin through California has the Leafs fading further and further out of a playoff spot. They fell for the 11th time in the past 14 games in NorCal on Thursday night, dropped 3-1 by the Sharks on the third leg of an arduous four-game trip. “In this league you can’t go through stretches like this,” said an exasperated Phil Kessel after the latest defeat. “Obviously it’s disappointing here. I think we’re playing decent hockey, but we’re just not winning any games.” Increasingly battered – both on and off the ice – the Leafs are fading fast from the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They sit five points back of the Rangers for the final wild card spot – with the Panthers sandwiched in between – despite playing four more games. Theyre even further behind Boston and perhaps hopelessly behind the division-leading trio of Tampa, Montreal and Detroit. A challenging road-heavy schedule compounded with a number of other key factors (coaching change, poor play before that coaching change, a swing in luck and an increasing spate of injuries) has proved just too much for this club to take, even in light of some improvements made under Peter Horachek’s direction. Toronto is in the thick of playing 17 of 22 on the road – losing nine of the first 11. Scoring troubles have only exacerbated those challenges. Once leading the league in offence, the Leafs have just 10 goals in the past seven games. “I don’t know what, we’ve got to slay a dragon or something,” Kessel said, wondering aloud whom the club had ticked off to earn such luck recently. “We’ve got to get one bounce don’t you think?” They had a swarm of quality opportunities against Antti Niemi on this most recent night, including a Tyler Bozak shot that squirted just outside the goal-line. Mike Santorelli rung another off the post. And Sam Carrick, still searching for his first NHL goal, had not one but two great chances to beat the Sharks goaltender. “It’s pretty frustrating, but we’ve got to stick with it,” said Kessel, amid a pretty dramatic dry spell himself. “I’m not putting up any goals or anything right now so we’ve got to figure it out.” Injuries too have proved too much to handle for a club that went about solidifying its depth in the offseason. The Leafs have essentially stopped scoring since Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland went down with injury against Boston three weeks ago. Add more recent maladies to Leo Komarov and David Booth and the Leafs are suddenly fronting fewer and fewer options up front. And though not simply just an injury-issue – their power-play has sputtered, they’ve obviously been unlucky at times and are playing a more conservative style – this lineup is noticeably thinner both at centre and on the wing these days. Though having fine seasons, Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik just don’t add a lot of punch in a top-six role. The plight of David Clarkson, meanwhile, continues. Clarkson has just one goal in the past 19 games and found himself buried on the fourth line by the end of Thursday’s game. The struggles go beyond just depth though. Still leading the team in scoring and amongst the NHL’s scoring leaders, Kessel has just a single even-strength goal in the past 17 games. Nazem Kadri too has gone seven straight without a goal. “We just can’t get it to go into the net,” Kessel sighed. “I don’t know if we’re gripping our sticks or what it is, but it’s not going in for us right now as you guys can tell. And that gets frustrating, but we’ve got to stick with it and things will change hopefully.” The Leafs demonstrated considerable progress in Horachek’s first four games behind the bench – holding opponents to an average of 23 shots – but slipped a bit in that regard on Thursday against a speedy, skilled Sharks lineup. Firing shots from anywhere and everywhere the Sharks mustered 41 shots at James Reimer, beating him twice in a span of 11 seconds in the first. He was brilliant from there on out, finishing with 39 saves. Reimer was especially on point in a middle frame that saw the Leafs outshot 17-4. Unlike past skids there’s at least an understanding, even acceptance amid the group, of the manner in which the club has to continue playing to to have success down the line. That was almost never the case in the past under Carlyle when wins piled up on a house of cards that eventually collapsed. “We’re confident as a group in what we’re doing and we’re going to continue to keep doing it and eventually our luck will change a little bit if we keep playing this way and give ourselves chances to win games,” Cody Franson said. “I thought it was another night where we did that.” Five Points 1. Power-Play Misfire The Leafs first power-play unit has mostly been a wrecking ball this season, but they’ve come up short of late at a point when the club could use the extra jolt. Toronto came into Thursday’s game with just two power-play goals in the previous five games, going 0-6 combined against the Kings and Ducks. That led the coaching staff to shake things up in a big way to start the game against the Sharks. Kadri briefly rejoined the point of that top power-play grouping, replacing Franson, who teamed with Jake Gardiner, Mike Santorelli, Richard Panik and Daniel Winnik. That lasted for a period before things reverted back. Neither recipe spelled success. The Leafs finished 0-3 with the man advantage and are now 2-19 in the past six games. 2. Power-Play Misfire II Cooling recently the Leafs first power-play unit, with the majority of opportunity, has been dominant for the better part of the year; Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak have combined for 22 of the Leafs 31 power-play goals this season. It’s been the second grouping though – consisting mostly of Kadri, Clarkson and the likes of Lupul (when healthy), Holland, Santorelli and even Panik recently – that’s misfired completely. Kadri has just two power-play points all year and Clarkson, despite ample opportunity, has just a single power-play point this season and it came all the way back on Oct. 31st. This was not at all the case last season. Toronto’s second unit then of Kadri, Lupul and Mason Raymond was effective, combining for 19 goals with secondary ice-time. The Leafs are limited in power-play personnel because of injuries, but it sure looks like time they try something different with that second grouping. The Clarkson experiment, for one, appears due for a change. 3. Shake-Up Horachek resisted reuniting Kessel and Bozak with van Riemsdyk up until Thursday – back-to-back shutouts sealing the deal – insisting earlier in the week that a breakup was better for the club defensively. “Ultimately down the road I think it’ll benefit us in a big way,” he said. Amid further injury though and some intensifying scoring troubles, Horachek blended up his lineup against the Sharks and reconnected that old questionable top unit. The line actually connected on quite a few opportunities and proved positive in the possession game for a change. “I thought they really came out with a good effort,” said Horachek. Maybe more interesting was the shake-up on defence. Horachek flipped Roman Polak onto the top pair with Dion Phaneuf, sliding Franson into second unit duties with Morgan Rielly. “Roman’s obviously a bigger, heavier guy and I thought that might free up Franny to have some more offence,” Horachek said of the move. 4. Kessel’s Possession A scourge in Toronto’s hapless possession game under Randy Carlyle, Kessel has seen those numbers rise considerably in a brief window under Horachek. What Kessels noticed in that time-frame was his line – which saw Winnik mostly replace van Riemsdyk until Thursday – spending far less time in the defensive zone. “I think we’re improving on getting the puck out of our zone,” Kessel said earlier this week. “I think defensively we’re using our [forward] options a little better and when you get it quicker I think you don’t play as much in the defensive zone.” Kessel had an alarming 42 percent possession mark in the first 40 games under Carlyle, but has seen that number jump to 53 percent under Horachek (entering Thursday’s game). He finished at 49 percent against the Sharks. 5. Broken Nose According to the Leafs, David Booth merely broke his nose when he was elbowed in the face by Ducks defenceman Sami Vatanen Wednesday night. Horachek neither confirmed nor denied whether Booth – who has a history of concussions – was given a concussion test after the incident. “I don’t know if he did a concussion test, but he seemed to be fine after the game and he seemed to be fine this morning,” Horachek said, pausing before posing another strange query. “What’s a concussion test?” Booth missed 54 games with two concussions during the 2009-10 season. He appeared disoriented following the elbow from Vatanen, unable to make it to the bench or dressing room without assistance. That would seem to be an easy case for the NHL’s Modified SCAT2 concussion test and yet it’s not entirely clear whether such a tool was employed for the 29-year-old Booth. He sat out against the Sharks, but could apparently return Saturday against the Blues. Stats-Pack 1 – Even-strength goal for Phil Kessel in the past 17 games. 2-9-0 – Leafs record in their past 11 games on the road. 1 – Number of goals in the past 19 games for David Clarkson. 10 – Goals in the past seven games for the Leafs. 2-19 – Leafs on the power-play in the past six games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3 Season: 19.5% (12th) PK: 3-3 Season: 82.2% (12th) Quote of the Night “I don’t even know how it didn’t go in. We kept whacking at it and it just wouldn’t go in.” -Phil Kessel on one of the Leafs best scoring chances against the Sharks. Up Next The Leafs conclude their four-game road trip in St. Louis on Saturday. Myles Garrett Youth Jersey . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. Myles Garrett Jersey . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. http://www.authenticbrownsnflfansmall.c ... ersey.aspx. 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. Howard Wilson Browns Jersey . 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