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| l, as Foltynewicz and Ruiz were ranked as the fou http://runetrack.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3210 |
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| Author: | lw789 [ Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | l, as Foltynewicz and Ruiz were ranked as the fou |
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- David Clarksons debut was supposed to help the Toronto Maple Leafs establish an identity. Instead, he and his teammates were outworked by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a penalty-filled 5-2 loss Friday night at Nationwide Arena. Clarkson took the first of eight minor penalties in a choppy game that left players searching for answers. "We know weve got better, we know we have to do the right things to be an A-team in this league and we didnt do the right things tonight," said forward Dave Bolland, who scored the Leafs second goal and took two penalties. Special teams play was a major reason Toronto entered the game 7-3-0 despite coach Randy Carlyle lamenting his teams lack of an identity early this season. The Leafs only gave up one power-play goal to Columbus, but the parade to the penalty box still hurt them. They spent 11 minutes 32 seconds shorthanded, forcing goaltender Jonathan Bernier to take on a heavy workload and disrupting the flow of the game. Six of the minor penalties were stick infractions, in part the result of what Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards figured was his groups best skating game of the year. "Theyre a good team, they work hard, they had a good forecheck on us," said Bernier, who stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced. "We had some scoring chances, we just didnt put it in the net." The Blue Jackets got on the board on the power play, as defenceman Ryan Murray scored his first NHL goal just 39 seconds after Clarkson was penalized for hooking Nick Foligno. Marian Gaborik scored in the third not long after Nazem Kadri was released from the box after the second of his three penalties, and Brandon Dubinsky scored the game-winner with Columbus shorthanded later in the period. "The power plays were definitely lopsided, and then we get a break to go four-on-three and we give up a short-handed (goal)," Carlyle said. "Kind of set the table for what happened tonight." It was an uneven performance from the get-go for the Leafs, who were outshot 16-5 in the first period and didnt get on the board until Phil Kessel scored 40 seconds after the first intermission. Penalties piled up after that, and Bernier did his best to keep his team in the game. "Weve got to get a better effort," said Clarkson, who had four shots, two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating in 15:10 of ice time. "Especially Bernies been playing that well for us, and we kind of hang him out to dry there a little bit." Bernier said the Leafs didnt bring their "effort" against the Blue Jackets, but that wasnt lacking from Clarkson, who missed the first 10 games of the season while serving a suspension for leaving the bench to enter a pre-season fight. Carlyle figured Clarkson looked "rusty" but expected that after so much time away from game action. "Hes going to try, hes going to work," Carlyle said. "The other things as far as the stick-handling and the turnovers and stuff, I think youve got to give the guy some slack. He hasnt played any games this year. Everybody else is about 10 games ahead of him." Clarkson didnt feel rusty but wasnt giving himself any glowing reviews, in part because of the final result. "Any time you lose, you dont feel good," Clarkson said. "I felt like on the forecheck my jump was there, I felt OK. ... (But) its all about winning right now, and it doesnt matter how anyone feels weve got to find a way to win it, weve got to play better than that." After signing a US$36.75-million, seven-year deal with the Leafs in the off-season and taking on the expectations that went with it, Clarkson was anxious to make an impact. Weeks of bag skates prepared him for this moment, but once the puck dropped he tried to forget about all that. "I think Ive played in the league long enough that its not just another game, but when youve been out that long, you want to get out there and get some hits and get on the forecheck and make some plays," he said. "All that stuff, hopefully one down and now well get going." Clarkson wasnt to blame for the Leafs third-period meltdown, which included Gaboriks fifth goal of the season and Dubinskys shorthanded that came on a bad break. In his third straight start, Bernier faulted himself for not making enough saves, but the ex-New York Rangers forward made just about the perfect shot. "Youve got to give the shooter credit sometime," Bernier said. "He put it right under the bar. It was a good shot." Clarkson and his teammates must try to rebound quickly, with Sidney Crosby (18 points in 10 games) and the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting Air Canada Centre on Saturday night. Just like the Penguins after a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders, the Leafs have little time to dwell on this performance. "Were going to be fine, weve got to bounce back," Clarkson said. "This is the game of hockey, youre not going to win every game. I think we know what weve got to be better in." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES - Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, last years Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced. ... Foligno scored the Blue Jackets fifth goal against Bernier with seven seconds left after Ryan Johansen put the puck into an empty net 20 seconds earlier. ... Kessel left the game briefly late in the second period and went down the tunnel toward the locker-room but returned at the start of the third and finished with 16:20 of ice time. Wayne Rooney England Jersey . Cesar said the difficulties he went through after the 2010 World Cup helped him become "a better professional" and made him "more focused" on his career. 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Joe Hart Jersey .The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time.Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Braves dealt away another power bat as they continue an offseason makeover, trading slugger Evan Gattis to the Houston Astros in exchange for a trio of prospects. Houston sent hard-throwing pitcher Mike Foltynewicz to the Braves along with right-hander Andrew Thurman and third baseman Rio Ruiz, with Atlanta also obtaining minor league hurler James Hoyt in the five-player deal. Gattis has swatted a total of 43 home runs over his first two major league seasons while primarily splitting time between catcher and left field. The 28- year-old had 22 homers and 52 RBI while batting .263 last season, despite being limited to 108 games due to an assortment of injuries. He joins an up-and-coming Houston team that ranked third in the American League with 163 homers in 2014 and had a void in left field, with Gattis also likely to see time as a designated hitter with the Astros. Gattis becomes the third Atlanta player with at least 11 homers last season to be traded this winter. The Braves also shipped 2014 Sillver Slugger winner Justin Upton to San Diego and moved outfielder Jason Heyward to St.dddddddddddd Louis. The Braves did receive a promising return in this deal, as Foltynewicz and Ruiz were ranked as the fourth and ninth-best prospects in a loaded Astros system by MLB.com. Foltynewicz made his major league debut last season, appearing in 16 games as a reliever and posting a 5.30 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. The 2010 first-round pick has worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues and struck out 102 batters in 102 2/3 innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2014. Ruiz, 20, batted .293 with 11 homers, 37 doubles, 77 RBI and a .387 on-base percentage at High-A Lancaster last season. Thurman, a second-round pick of Houston in 2013, spent all of 2014 at Low-A Quad Cities and went 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA over 26 games (20 starts). Hoyt split the 2014 campaign between Triple-A Gwinett and Double-A Mississippi. The 28-year-old posted a 3.17 ERA with seven saves over a combined 52 relief appearances between the two levels. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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