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TORONTO - When Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price looks at the Toronto Maple Leafs, he sees a big, physically strong team. Chaquetas Moncler Baratas . "Theyre in your face," Price said. "Theyre a playoff team." The Leafs may be built for playoff hockey, but getting there could be a challenge down the stretch, especially after losing 4-3 to the Canadiens on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. Montreal moved five points up on Toronto in the Atlantic Division standings and in the process made it far less likely that this thrilling, back-and-forth affair could be a first-round playoff preview. "I think thats what everybody would want to see, and Im sure its going to happen sooner or later," said Habs forward Rene Bourque, who had a goal and an assist and was not yet born the last time these teams met in the playoffs back in 1979. As the Habs won for the fourth time in five games, the Leafs (36-28-8) dropped their fourth in a row as part of a troubling late-season swoon in the absence of injured goalie Jonathan Bernier. Toronto still occupies the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but leads Detroit by just one point and Columbus by two and has played two more games that the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. The Leafs could fall out of playoff position by the end of Sunday. James Reimer, who allowed four goals on 37 shots, including a short-side game-winner by Tomas Plekanec, said he and his teammates have a "healthy sense of urgency" with 10 games remaining. "I think we know we played well tonight and I think we made some mistakes but I think they made some mistakes too," Reimer said. "Really, it was kind of one bad bounce that decided the game. I think we can hold our heads high on this one and go into tomorrow (at the New Jersey Devils) feeling good about ourselves." The Habs are feeling good about themselves after winning a track meet of a hockey game that featured three goals in the first period — by Montreals Max Pacioretty, Bourque and captain Brian Gionta and Torontos Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak. Montreal coach Michel Therrien liked the way his team dictated the play early. But it was bouncing back in the third period after Nazem Kadri tied the score for the Leafs that impressed Price, who finished with 33 saves. "That was definitely a test of character," Price said. "When a team scores in the third period to tie it up when theyre at home, youre on the road, they grab a lot of momentum. ... Being able to grab the lead and then hold it with a good team effort like that is, I think, rewarding." The Habs reward if these winning ways keep up is either second or third place in the Atlantic Division, crucial spots that would mean avoiding Mondays opponent, the Boston Bruins, or the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Now five points back of Montreal and six behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won in Toronto on Wednesday night, the Leafs will need an uphill climb to avoid a wild-card spot and a tough matchup. But now theres some legitimate concern, given recent woes, that a playoff spot altogether might be in danger. This loss, which winger Mason Raymond said "stings" and captain Dion Phanuef called "disappointing," didnt help that cause. "You have to turn the page," Phaneuf said. "Theres no looking back on today, tomorrow. Tomorrows a new day, weve got to pull ourselves out of it. Its this group thats going to get us out of this bind. Weve been close, but close isnt good enough right now. We know that were going to get out of it, weve just got to find a way." The Leafs and Habs (29-26-7) were close because this was such a back-and-forth game with plenty of chances at either end. The turning point came 9:14 into the third when Toronto winger James van Riemsdyk was called for goaltender interference when he steam-rolled Price. Habs defenceman Andrei Markov appeared to make contact with van Riemsdyk before he hit Price, but the goalie went to the ice and believed he was interfered with. "Its contact to my head, so I thought it was a penalty, personally," Price said. Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, who conceded he didnt see a replay of the incident, was more worried about the impact of the penalty. Plekanec scored just as van Riemsdyk was being released from the box at 11:14, sneaking a shot in the tiny space between Reimer and the right post. "We clawed back into the hockey game and then we take a penalty early in the third and they score," Carlyle said. "It was the difference in the hockey game, and the margin of error now in these games is so close that one bounce or one mis-play or one unfortunate mistake cost us points." Mistakes — be it turnovers by Phil Kessel, David Clarkson and Kadri or soft goals allowed by Reimer — hurt the Leafs dearly. Another slow start wasnt ideal, either. "Obviously we were behind the 8-ball a little bit early on giving up two goals," Raymond said of allowing two goals in the games first seven minutes. "I like the way we battled back, but turnovers killed us a bit and thats tough." The Habs benefited because they pounced on so many mistakes the Leafs committed. In front of an early-spring crowd of 19,789 thats hungry for playoff hockey, Montreal executed like a team ready for that next step. "Both teams need those points. We were ready to play," Therrien said. "At this time of the year, you need to be in a playoff mindset. And our mindsets like that." NOTES — Montreals streak of consecutive penalties killed was snapped at 25 on Kadris power-play goal at 2:49 of the third. The last time the Habs surrendered a goal on the power play was March 6 at the Phoenix Coyotes. ... Leafs centre Dave Bolland played just 9 minutes 1 second in his return to the lineup. Bolland missed the previous 56 games after suffering a severed tendon in the back of his ankle Nov. 2. ... Habs forward Lars Eller suffered a lower-body injury, Therrien said, and did not play in the third period. Michael Bournival was called up, and he will meet the team in Boston. .... Bernier, who has now missed four straight games with a groin injury, will miss his fifth in a row Sunday when the Leafs visit the Devils. Carlyle said the 25-year-old will not make the trip. Abrigos Moncler Baratos . Jodie Meeks made all eight of his shots and finished with 22 points, including three of the Lakers franchise-record 19 3-pointers on 27 attempts. Pau Gasol also scored 22, and newly acquired reserve MarShon Brooks had 23. The Lakers shot 60 per cent in a matchup of teams with the two worst records in the Western Conference. Nike Air Max 90 Blancas Baratas .City started the final round of group play in last place in Group E but finished second by beating Roma 2-0 away, with second-half goals by Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta lifting the English champions above their Italian opponents and CSKA Moscow. CSKA lost 3-0 at Bayern Munich.TORONTO – It was early December and Morgan Rielly was pretty sure hed soon be traveling to Sweden for the World Junior Championships. The 19-year-old, who had been scratched in four straight games, had plans to fly back to B.C. over the three-day Christmas break, but sensing the increasing likelihood of a stint for Team Canada, he told his father Andy he might have to cancel those plans. "When we made the decision to not send him to the World Juniors that in our minds was when he proved to us that he had to play," said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, "and so weve been committed to the kid." It was the latest in a series of hurdles Rielly has gracefully overcome for the Maple Leafs this season. There was the lofty challenge of cracking the NHL roster out of training camp, sticking around beyond the 10-game mark and finally doing enough to convince those within the organization that his development was best served in North America rather than with the Canadian juniors in Malmo this holiday season. Now for the first time all year, Rielly is standing on solid ground in Toronto. The clouds of those earlier distractions have cleared and his sole focus can be on the ice. "It is a bit of a change," he told the Leaf Report, "but I think its a change in a good way. Im happy that I dont really have any worries right now. Im just trying to keep playing well and just trying to keep in the lineup." Rielly has not left the lineup since that four-game stint in early December. And with each passing game he offers growing glimpses of the potential which made him the fifth overall selection in the 2012 Draft. Those daring drives up the ice, with puck in tow, are becoming increasingly frequent, too eemphatic to miss and a glaring reminder of why the Leafs decided to keep him in lieu of a trip back to Moose Jaw or a stint with the junior team. Nike Air Max 90 Doradas. "He continues to grow," Carlyle said of Rielly, tied for fifth among rookie defenders with 11 points. "He makes mistakes as young players do – and old players do also. But we think theres a lot more potential in Morgan Rielly and you see glimpses of it now; his skating ability; his ability to move the puck; his ability to get up on the rush; his ability to read the game. Its all improving. And thats a great sign." Much of it, Carlyle says, is an increasing sense of comfort and confidence. And if theres one piece of advice Rielly has garnered above all others in his acclimation to the NHL, its to play with confidence. That was the wisdom passed along from Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf, who, in addition to 26-year-old Cody Franson, has been the most influential voice for the rookie defender. "I could be back in junior or you know over in Sweden, but Im not so [I] just try to have confidence and play like I can," said Rielly, averaging exactly 18 minutes nightly this season. "And thats all been Dion. Hes been great with that. Hes been really trying to help me with that." Still just a teenager, Rielly and fellow rookie Jerry DAmigo were fit with shovels as the official portion of practice wrapped on a quiet Saturday afternoon. They were called upon to clean the ice of snow for shootout work, the Leafs heading to the skills aspect of extra time in each of the past four games. It was the predictable grunt work of a first-year player trying to earn his keep. And it was exactly where he wanted to be. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ChinaWholesale Jerseys ' ' '
Posted 18 Apr 2016

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