|  Wys³any: 2019-08-06 03:49:17 Temat postu: were blasted 6-3 by the Blues at Scottrade Center on
ST. LOUIS – On the heels of their best game all year came one of the worst. The Maple Leafs were blasted 6-3 by the Blues at Scottrade Center on Thursday night. It was Torontos eighth loss in the past 10 games (2-6-2), 13th in the past 19, and a drastic reversal in course from an inspired home loss to the Kings one night earlier. "Tonight it looked like we were totally brain-dead in a lot of areas," said Randy Carlyle, following the defeat. All the persistence, feistiness and energy of their effort against Los Angeles deteriorated in a hurry against the Blues. St. Louis buried three goals on its first 15 shots in a dominant opening frame – chasing James Reimer from the crease – before adding a goal in the second and a pair in the third. "It just looked like we werent there mentally at the start," said Carlyle. It was a stinging return to the inconsistent, chaotic hockey which has plagued the group for the better part of the season. Most baffling, however, was the dramatic shift in performance from the night previous. Though they ultimately fell 3-1 to Los Angeles at the ACC on Wednesday night, the Leafs were the superior team and played their most complete game of the season. The starting point they hoped to gain from the effort – a largely stingy defensive effort – never materialized against the Blues, dominant with 21 wins in 30 games this season. "Even though we lost that game [against the Kings] it was something to build on," said Carl Gunnarsson, "and tonight its like it was all gone." Concern has to be inching ever upward with the mounting losses and little to no sustained improvement. The Leafs have just two regulation victories since the start of November and face the defending Stanley Cup champs at home on Saturday. "Our concern has been very high for a while here," said Carlyle. "We thought with our performance [Wednesday] night it would be something we could build on, but we just didnt have any kind of an energy to be able to put forth an effort that was needed." Five Points 1. Defensive Issues In describing his team as "totally brain-dead", Carlyle was referring mostly to the areas in which St. Louis managed to score. David Backes opened the scoring untouched from just outside the slot. Jaden Schwartz had two whacks just outside the blue paint for the second St. Louis goal. Derek Roy pranced in untouched through the slot on the third. Chances and opportunities of that kind continued throughout the night. "I dont know any other way to describe it from a standpoint of where the goals were being scored from again," said Carlyle. "We have systems that our coverage has to be in place and if you vacate those critical areas youre going to give up quality scoring chances." Revealingly, the Leafs have allowed three goals or more in 13 of the past 19 games, losing all but one. "They had a lot of freedom in our zone," said Carlyle of the Blues. "Look where they scored the goals from." 2. In Need of Urgency Carlyle has been beating the drum of urgency from the opening days of the season when his team won games on the shoulders of terrific goaltending and special teams. But at this point in the year, more than a third of way through but with plenty of time still remaining, the urgency level appears mixed in the Toronto dressing room. A clear understanding of just how long this skid has lingered seems lost. "Theres lots of time," said Nazem Kadri. "Fifty games left, theres no reason to panic. Its just something weve got to figure out in the dressing room." "We started off playing terrific," he said later of the teams start to the season. "Obviously some things made us take a couple steps backward with injuries and things like that. Its tough to be mentally and physically prepared when things like that just keep happening. But its up to us. Were professionals. We do have a good team inside this dressing room. We believe we can win and were confident still, weve just got to figure out ways around these games." 3. Urgency v. Intensity James Reimer had interesting insight on the need for urgency amid a skid thats lingered for more than a month and longer than that if you include October. "Sometimes its hard to differ between urgency and intensity," he said. "If you get tense thats the worst-case scenario. If you can get some urgency in your game without squeezing your stick then thats important. But in the market we play in the biggest key is keeping the pressure off and trying to stay as loose as possible. Thats the main thing. Its really easy to get too intense. Do we need some more urgency? Probably. But you have to be careful when you start going down that path." 4. Reimers Quick Night Reimer got the hook after third Blues goal. He allowed three goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Jonathan Bernier. "Too many goals," Reimer said of the performance, coming on the heels of a 47-save effort in Ottawa. "I felt good out there, felt good in warm-up, felt like I was seeing the puck. But just a couple got by, obviously a couple too many. "I felt like I was on my game, pucks just found a way in." "Im not blaming the goaltending specifically," said Carlyle. "I just think it was part in parcel with our hockey club." 5. Western Exposure The Blues were the fourth Western Conference team on the Leafs docket in the first two weeks of December with Chicago and Phoenix lying ahead in the days to come. "Guys say its more defensive in that conference," Jake Gardiner said prior to the loss to St. Louis. "I was talking to [former Leaf] Matt Frattin and he said the same thing. He said its a lot harder to score and get points and get production. Yeah, definitely noticed a difference." (Frattin had seven goals and 13 points in 25 games with the Leafs last season, but has just two goals and six points with similar ice-time through the same number of games with the Kings). "Theres definitely a different style," said Jay McClement, who spent all but his last two seasons in the West. "Theres obviously a lot of big, strong teams out here." The Leafs are now 7-7-1 versus the West this season. Stats-Pack 13 – Losses for the Leafs in the past 19 games. 13 – Number of times in those 19 games that the Leafs allowed three goals or more, losing all but one. 7-7-1 – Leafs record versus the Western Conference this season. 14 – Goals for James van Riemsdyk this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 23.3 per cent (4th) PK: 3-3Season: 77.2 per cent (27th) Quote of the Night "Tonight it looked like we were totally brain-dead in a lot of areas." -Randy Carlyle, following the loss to St. Louis Up Next The Leafs host the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks at the ACC on Saturday evening. Trent Alexander-Arnold t Shirt .Two San Francisco radio stations say they wont play the song during the duration of the World Series. A Kansas City, Missouri, station responded with plans to play the Grammy-winning track every hour from 7 a. Georginio Wijnaldum Jersey Long Sleeve . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. http://www.liverpoolshoponlineuk.com/keita-liverpool-shirt.html . Lynchs attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press on Thursday of the plea deal that was reached with the Alameda County District Attorney Office. The plea will be formally entered in court in Oakland, Calif. Naby Keita Jersey Uk . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Mohamed Salah t Shirt . GQ Lundqvist quite well.Three rounds, and nearly two months later, will the Kings have the strength to reach the summit of the Empire State to claim the cup?Truer words have never been spoken. As head coach of Canadas junior mens national team, Roy Rana has worked with the countrys brightest talent, and having coached the likes of Tristan Thompson and Andrew Wiggins among others, knows what separates the good from the elite. Coincidentally, it only took two summers for Tyler Ennis to prove he could make the jump, during which, Rana witnessed a maturation in the Brampton, Ont. native, that makes his standout play leading the undefeated Syracuse Orange (18-0) a logical progression rather than a surprise. During the 2012 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, the 6-foot-2 point guard endured an arduous tournament, struggling in pressure situations. Matchups and defensive schemes posed challenges for Ennis as the Canadian squad had a strong showing, but lost to the host Brazilians 66-62 in the semifinal round. As a result, Rana and his staff talked with Ennis extensively regarding his leadership and need to carry the team. Ennis took the direction and loss to heart and came back a reinvented player the following summer at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship. “It was amazing to see his transformation within that year,” Rana said. “Just how much more confident he was in himself, how much more assertive, how much more of a leader he was. He really started to understand the subtleties of how to impact his teammates.” This time around Ennis was also asked to shoulder Canadas scoring load, something he did effortlessly. Ennis averaged a tournament leading 20.9 points, outscoring projected 2014 NBA lottery picks Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, Dario Saric and Aaron Gordon. By riding that performance into his freshman season at Syracuse he has been a steadying force, toning down his scoring to facilitate the team offence, but also making key baskets when needed. Ennis averages 11.9 points per game and shoots 40 percent from the three-point line and leads the Orange with 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals per (the latter, good for ninth in the nation). His numbers and Syracuses record make a very strong case that Ennis is the best point guard in college basketball right now - regardless of class. Despite his solid stats he maintains the individual numbers and accolades arent his ambition. “I dont really have any personal goals,” Ennis saaid.dddddddddddd “I just want us to win the ACC and I know its close to impossible to go undefeated in a college season, but to just get better as a team and lose the least amount of games.” Syracuse has yet to lose and Ennis wont concede a loss to anyone, not even his own family. His older brother Dylan, a sophomore guard for the number four ranked Villanova Wildcats squared off against his younger sibling when both teams met in late December. Tyler was all business in that game scoring 20 points in a 78-62 Syracuse win, but still values the advice his brother gave him on preparing for his first year at the collegiate level. “He always told me to get in the gym by myself and work on my own stuff,” Ennis said. “Just get in the gym as much as possible, while taking care of your body.” Ennis wasnt overlooked coming into the season, but not even the most optimistic experts pegged him as a one-and-done NBA prospect. Ennis had other plans however. “Thats pretty much what I worked for,” he confidently said. “Not to be one, but to just have the opportunity to get to the professional level. Not to leave, but just to have the opportunity.” Still, he hasnt given leaving after his first year any consideration and is only focused on winning games for Syracuse. But ?talent evaluators are starting to take notice that his play to date says first round pick far more than it says first-year student-athlete. “Absolutely, I think hes a one-and-done guy,” Rana said. “Its his choice, does he want to come back for a second year of college, or does he want to go to the NBA? If Im a GM and Im drafting, hes certainly a guy I would be going after pretty hard. Hes going to be a fantastic pro, a great NBA player and whatever organization he goes to, theyre going to be a better organization because of it.” Regardless of his future, Ennis is focused on the madness of March. His maturity, ability to score, pass and affect the game in a myriad of ways is no longer a surprise to anyone. The summer ahead could prove to be even more promising than the last, particularly if he chooses to forego his college eligibility for the NBA Draft, making another jump, this time to the highest level. ' ' ' |
were blasted 6-3 by the Blues at Scottrade Center on 
