Dein erstes Forum » Luck. He still found a way to win. On the decisi

TORONTO - By Monday morning - hours after an increasingly perilous skid hit five - more than a few members of the wobbling Maple Leafs were on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, playing some basketball on the practice court of the neighbouring Toronto Raptors. "I think some guys just wanted to go shoot some hoops and loosen up," said captain Dion Phaneuf on a rest day for most of his teammates. The Leafs are doing what they can to loosen up and shake the ills of a losing streak that has them tumbling closer and closer to another late season collapse and early spring exit. In fine position as recently as two weeks ago - second in the Atlantic following a statement win in L.A. - they are now simply clinging to the final wild card position in the East with a grueling test against St. Louis ahead on Tuesday night. "No ones happy with whats gone on," said Phaneuf, "but its reality. We have got to come [Tuesday] prepared and ready to go." Just as the highs of a win streak are exaggerated so too are the lows of a losing slide. Toronto has lost five straight, all close games and all with a series of consistent and untimely trends. First has been the sluggish starts and inability to score the games first goal. The Leafs have a .714 winning percentage this season when they score first, a .289 mark when they dont. Theyve given up that valued first goal in seven straight games, falling behind by two or more in five of the seven (six losses). And while theyve improbably rallied to tie or pull within one in each of the five losses - even leading briefly against Tampa - the uphill climb has ultimately proven too steep to overcome. "The one issue for us, more than anything, is that we seem to have been putting ourselves in the position of clawing back into games," head coach Randy Carlyle observed. "And you wont have success if you continually have to do that." "Weve played from behind too often," Phaneuf concurred. "When we have been coming from behind thats when weve been attacking more than from the start. When you do get down you play with more desperation. We have to find a way to play with that desperation right from the get-go." Not helping matters, though certainly not the singular point of blame, has been the goaltending. His confidence simply sunk at this point, James Reimer has not provided anywhere near the top-tier caliber of goaltending that Jonathan Bernier delivered before his injury, the kind of elite nightly theatrics the defensively-inept Leafs require to win. Consider Berniers 8-2-2 record and .947 save percentage this season when facing 40 shots as reminders of that ability to perform under heavy strain. Reimer, meanwhile, has a disastrous .871 save percentage in five starts in place of Bernier. Nursing the first groin injury of his career, Bernier was on the ice again Monday afternoon, but wasnt sure if hed be available to return against the Blues. "It hurts to see your team lose," he said, "but at the same time its one of those injuries [where] youve got to take time. Dont want to rush and then youre out for another four or five games after." Bernier said his readiness would be determined by the teams medical staff, but said hed know for himself when he was able to make "a split save or that I can make that stretch save and not think about it I guess." Update: Bernier was the projected starter on Tuesday morning. Without him, Carlyle would be faced with difficult question in goal for a tough tilt against the best team in the West. Start Reimer for the sixth consecutive game despite his struggles or hand the net to Drew MacIntyre, the 30-year-old who has yet to start an NHL game. While perhaps difficult to envision Carlyle turning back to Reimer yet again, consider that under similarly challenging circumstance - two sets of back-to-backs in the past week - he went with the struggling former no. 1 each and every time. The tried and tested product, however unstable at the moment, may be more appealing than the unknown. Reimer was pulled for MacIntyre in the teams fifth straight loss on Sunday night. "What happened last game, surely you take that into consideration, but the most important thing is that the individual we choose to represent us at that position tomorrow night we feel confident he can get the job done," said Carlyle. Beyond goaltending are the series of game-changing mistakes and breakdowns that have often left Reimer on an island all his own, left to sink or swim in an unforgiving crease. Bernier bailed out those mistakes more often than not. Reimer has not. There was Troy Brouwer left all by his lonesome in the slot during the first loss in Washington. There were two Gustav Nyquist breakaway goals in Detroit. It was three times open for Steven Stamkos in Toronto. There was the Phil Kessel neutral zone giveaway which sprung Max Pacioretty against Montreal, a Rene Bourque breakaway coming shortly after. And most recently, a bad line change and pinch that sparked an odd-man rush goal from Damien Brunner and then later another breakaway, this time from Patrik Elias. "What we have to do is we have to limit our mistakes," said Carlyle. "Were making too many of them that are costing us in the hockey games." Additionally, the Leafs have been unable to find much offence beyond their top line. Without the likes of Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Bozak scoring two or three a night, theyve simply not produced enough to overshadow other faults as was often the case in victories earlier this season. "Theres still lots of hockey to be played," Phaneuf said. "Theres lots of points that are available for us. We obviously are not happy about what has happened, but whats happened has happened. Theres no going back to yesterday or three days ago or a week ago. Right now our focus is on St. Louis and coming out and playing the way that we can. "Weve slid far enough. Weve got to grab some traction here and regroup with a big win." Cheap Titans Jerseys China .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. Amani Hooker Jersey . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. http://www.cheaptitansjerseyselite.com/. Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Nate Davis Jersey . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Cheap Tennessee Titans Jerseys . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. INDIANAPOLIS -- Andrew Luck spent most of Sundays game watching Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch run around. So when the Colts quarterback finally got a chance to make some plays, he rallied Indianapolis in the fourth quarter for yet another victory. He threw two touchdown passes and led the Colts on two time-consuming scoring drives in the fourth quarter, taking the lead on Donald Browns 3-yard TD run with 8:55 to play, to hand Seattle its first loss of the season, 34-28. "This is the most resilient team that Ive ever been around," coach Chuck Pagano said. "Theyve got more grit than anybody, any team Ive been around." This season has certainly tested the Colts (4-1). Since a closer-than-expected Week 1 win over Oakland, the Colts have lost three offensive starters with season-ending injuries and a Week 2 game for their first home loss in nearly a year. Somehow though, Indy rebounded with three straight wins, including victories over NFC powers San Francisco and Seattle. Now they have sole possession of the AFC South lead for the first time in the post-Peyton Manning era, too. And all this came on a wacky day. Both teams scored off a blocked kick. The Seahawks (4-1) ran for 218 yards, averaged 6.4 yards per carry, had better field position and ran more than three dozen plays in Colts territory as they played keep away through the first three quarters. None of it mattered to Luck. He still found a way to win. On the decisive drive, he took advantage of a pass interference call against Richard Sherman, got another break when Pagano won a challenge on a third-down spot that turned fourth down into a first down. After consuming nearly seven minutes, he gave the ball to Brown, who squirted through the middle for the go-ahead score. Luck then hooked up with his favourite receiver Reggie Wayne on a 2-point conversion pass and took nearly five more minutes off the clock to set up Adam Vinatieri for a game-sealing 49-yard field goal. Luck finished 16 of 29 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and picked up his ninth fourth-quarter comeback win in 21 career games. "A win is a win, if it was ugly, if it was great," Luck said. "To come back, you hold on for dear life, but a chance to beat a good team in front of our home fans, to get back on track at home, we take a lot of pride in that." It came at Seattles expense, snnapping a nine-game regular season winning streak that dated to Nov.dddddddddddd 25. But Sundays loss seemed almost inexplicable as last weeks win at Houston. Seattle dominated the first half, seemed to be in control most of the game, and Wilson went 15 of 31 for 210 yards with two TDs before throwing an interception on the Seahawks final play. He also ran 13 times for 102 yards. Lynch ran 17 times for 102 yards, and the defence limited Indy to just 317 yards of offence, 120 of that coming in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks also blocked a punt that bounced into the end zone and was recovered out of bounds for a safety, one of many missed opportunities for the NFC West leader. "We knew we were off to a good start," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "We could feel that we were ready to go and playing well and all that. But settling for a field goal and not getting any points on the blocked kick -- that would have been a much different margin." "We really struggled on third down," Carroll added. "That was the difference. Those turned into field goals." Seattle started with a field goal and a 10-yard TD pass from Wilson to Golden Tate. McAfees blocked punt made it 12-0 barely 10 minutes into the game. Luck got Indy back into the game with a 73-yard TD pass to T.Y. Hilton, and the Colts took the lead when Delano Howell returned a blocked field goal 61 yards for a score. The Seahawks regained the lead 19-17 at halftime and appeared to be in good shape after two quick field goals in the third quarter. But after taking a 25-17 lead, Luck rallied the Colts again -- and this time, he made sure Wilson & Co. got to watch it all from the sideline. "I dont think, anybodys built better to win these close games, especially down the stretch, especially in the fourth quarter than this team," Pagano said. Notes: Hilton caught five passes for a career-high 140 yards and two scores. ... Colts defensive end Robert Mathis was credited with his 100th career sack when he forced a fumble at the end of the first half. He added another in the second half. .... Reggie Wayne caught six passes, leaving him four short of the 1,000-yard mark. ... Seattle was missing three of its starting offensive linemen for the second straight game. ... The two TD passes by Luck matched the total Seattle had allowed in its first four games. 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