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g. 5. "It was a great game for us,
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TORONTO a€“ The team president stood there at ice-level in a corridor just beyond the Air Canada Centre glass for the first 18 minutes or so of an opening period that did little to bring a smile to his face. Yeezy 350 Store . Brendan Shanahans Maple Leafs were already in a three-goal pit at that point late in the first frame, well on their way a second straight loss to open the season. They were dominated by Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and company on this night, Pittsburgh scoring three power-play goals in a rout of all kinds at the Air Canada Centre. Particularly ineffective (and often without the puck) in the loss was the teams top line, which has been held off the score-sheet entirely at even-strength in the first two games. Again, we didnt play that great, said winger Phil Kessel following the 5-2 loss, which comes three days after a season opening defeat to Montreal. My line in particular we didnt get [expletive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. Kessel had just one shot attempt all night and was eventually bumped from his normal spot on the right side with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, all part of a shuffling in the third period by head coach, Randy Carlyle. The Leafs were stuck down three at that point a€“ trailing 4-1 a€“ but it was earlier in the night that Carlyle expected and needed some sort of response from Kessel and the teams top guns. Joffrey Lupul brought it to 3-1 early in the middle frame, but then with the Leafs on a power-play, Kessel was called for hauling down Brandon Sutter in the offensive zone a€“ his second minor penalty of the night. Power-play over. Momentum zapped. When the tide of the game swung so hard against our hockey club we didnt have much of a response, Carlyle said. You look to those big guys on your team to be able to grab it back for you and right now, in these two games, theyve had some difficulty doing that. The Penguins scored twice in a minute early in the opening period, including the third already this season from Crosby and his 21st in 29 career games against the Leafs. Pittsburgh would add two more with the man advantage, wreaking havoc with Torontos continued trips to the penalty box. They also dominated the possession battle at even-strength, emerging with 55 shot attempts to just 32 for the home side. Part of the problem, said Stephane Robidas afterward, was the amount of lost puck battles, even singling himself out on the Crosby goal. They were hungrier on the puck, he said. Its a tough one to swallow. Its not the way were supposed to play. Its not the way we wanted to play. The compete level has just got to come up another notch. Its definitely not good enough so far, Kessel concluded. Tonight was not a good enough performance by us. Me in particular I didnt have a good night again. Ill be better [Sunday]. Five Points 1. Top Line James van Riemsdyk tried to dance around Paul Martin at the Pittsburgh blue-line late in the second frame and was vanquished. Martin picked the puck free and then pinned van Riemsdyk and Torontos top line in the defensive zone for upwards of a minute. Its been that kind of start for van Riemsdyk, Kessel and Bozak, one thats seen the line spend more time defending than creating much of anything offensively. The unit has gone point-less at even-strength in the first two games, only Bozak finding the score-sheet with a pair of power-play goals. We just havent got the puck very much right now, said Kessel, who owned 30 per cent possession rating at even-strength. I dont think any of us have really touched it. Its a little sloppy. Weve been in our defensive zone a little too much and I dont know if either way when were out there were getting the puck that much. Its just all over the place you know. David Clarkson replaced Kessel alongside van Riemsdyk and Bozak in the final 20 minutes. Kessel, who played about 17 minutes, finished the night with Lupul and Nazem Kadri. 2. Compete Level Carlyle talked about compete level early and often last season and it appears he may have to visit that well again here soon. The Leafs altered their system in training camp a€“ including in defensive zone coverage and the neutral zone a€“ but Robidas, the 37-year-old veteran, said that had nothing to do with what took place against Pittsburgh. I dont like to use excuses, said Robidas, who played just under 14 minutes. Its not a complicated system. Its just a matter of working and working as a unit of five. Thats what we didnt do. Youve got to win one-on-one battles. It doesnt matter which system youre playing, it doesnt matter which league youre in, if you dont win one-on-one battles youre not going to win too many games. The fifth Penguins goal in particular saw a series of Leafs a€“ Joffrey Lupul, Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri among them a€“ out-willed for the puck, Brandon Sutter eventually beating Kadri to the front of the goal. Robidas said it was unacceptable, additionally, that Crosby beat him to the puck on Pittsburghs second goal. Thats stuff that I cant personally do, he said. Thats something I need to focus on. 3. Bernier The opening two starts of Jonathan Berniers second season in Toronto have not gone to script. Bernier has allowed nine goals on 73 shots a€“ .877 save percentage a€“ including a pair that he needed to stop. Max Pacioretty scored on the Canadiens first shot Wednesday, sneaking one under the pad and then on Saturday it was Hornqvist scoring on the Penguins second shot, tucking it through the five-hole. Obviously you want to win every game and be sharp every night and I dont think Ive got my game yet, Bernier said afterward. James Reimer is likely to make his season debut at MSG on Sunday. 4. Hollands New Opportunity With no power-play minutes to go around, Peter Holland approached the coaching staff with another idea. He wanted an opportunity to kill penalties instead, something he hadnt done since he was in junior with the Guelph Storm. Two facets the head coach will be closely monitoring in regards to Hollands new duties is how he handles himself on the draw a€“ he went 2-0 in the opener a€“ and whether hes able and willing to clog shooting lanes and blocks shots. Those are the things were asking of Peter Holland, Carlyle said. For his part, Holland is not only keen on the added minutes, but on the potential scoring opportunities while shorthanded a€“ breakaways, odd-man rushes etc. 5. Richard Panik Debut Richard Panik scored the first goal of the Norfolk Admirals Calder Cup-clinching Game 4 at Ricoh Coliseum in early June 2012. And now the 23-year-old is back in Toronto as a member of the Leafs organization, claimed off waivers from the Lightning earlier this week. A second-round pick in 2009, Panik is a low-risk, high-upside type of get for the club, similar in some ways to the inexpensive one-year bets made on Mike Santorelli, David Booth, and Daniel Winnik in the offseason. Toronto was a little surprised to find him on the waiver wire given his age, size, and skill, but Tampa was crowded with forwards and ultimately failed in their attempt to sneak him through to Syracuse, their AHL affiliate. Were getting a guy that can make plays, said Carlyle of Panik, most of his exposure to the 6-foot-2 212 pounder coming during that AHL playoff series a couple years back. Hes a big strong kid. And hes got a skill-set that wouldnt designate him as a fourth-line hockey player. He can play higher than that in your lineup. The issue for Panik, Carlyle said, would be consistency. He initially teamed the Slovakian with Brandon Kozun and Holland, his former Guelph linemate. Over his past two NHL seasons a€“ 75 games a€“ Panik, who played eight minutes against the Penguins, tallied eight goals and 22 points. Stats-Pack 21 a€“ Goals for Sidney Crosby in 29 career games against Toronto. 0 a€“ Points in the opening two games by Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. 55-32 a€“ Possession battle at even-strength on Saturday, favouring the visitors. 1 a€“ Shot attempt for Kessel in the loss. 9 a€“ Goals allowed by Jonathan Bernier in two starts this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-5 Season: 37.5% PK: 2-5 Season: 57.1% Quote of the Night Again, we didnt play that great. My line in particular we didnt get [exceptive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. -Phil Kessel, following a second straight poor performance to open the season. Up Next The Leafs get right back at it against the defending Eastern Conference champs in New York on Sunday a€“ their first of 18 back-to-backs this season. Fake Shoes For Sale . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Cheap Shoes Store Near Me . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. BALTIMORE -- The New York Yankees have overcome one injury after another this season to make a serious run at a post-season berth, so it wasnt all that surprising that they won again after losing shortstop Derek Jeter for the rest of the year. Is there any obstacle this team cant overcome? Robinson Cano hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning, and New York also got solo shots from Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson in a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. The Yankees moved past Baltimore and Cleveland and got closer to Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card hunt. New York has hit eight home runs in winning two of three in the four-game series that concludes Thursday night. "That what you ask for," manager Joe Girardi said. "We have to continue to play well." Before the game, the Yankees announced that Jeter would miss the rest of the season with an injured left ankle. The Yankees captain played in only 17 games this season and made four trips to the disabled list. Once it became official that Jeter was lost, the team lamented his bad luck and got back to the business of earning another playoff berth. "This group fights," Girardi said. "Theyre continuing to fight." New York tailed 4-1 on Tuesday before rallying to win. In this one, Baltimore led 3-1 before Granderson homered in the fifth -- New Yorks first hit -- and Rodriguez tied it in the sixth with his 653rd career home run. In the ninth, after Cano connected off Tommy Hunter (4-4), Granderson tripled with one out and scored on an infield hit by Lyle Overbay. "We get down tonight and come back again," Girardi said. "We were able to take the lead in the ninth. We get a huge homer by Robbie and then a huge hit by Lyle that winds up being a lot bigger." David Robertson (5-1) worked the eighth and Mariano Rivera gave up a run-scoring single to Brian Roberts before securing his 43rd save, tied for the major league lead with Baltimores Jim Johnson. Jeters trip to the DL coincided with the arrival of shortstop Brendan Ryan, obtained one night earlier in a trade with Seattle. Although Ryan went hitless, he performed flawlessly and showed good range in the field. Each team has won nine games this year. The series winner will be determined Thursday night. "We play this team so evenly, iits unbelievable," Girardi said. Cheap Air Max 270 China. Orioles slugger Chris Davis drove in two runs with a double, making him the first player in team history to have 40 doubles and 40 homers in a season. Danny Valencia tied a career high with four hits, and Roberts had three singles. Baltimore outhit New York 13-6, but lost a valuable chance to close in on Tampa Bay for the second and final AL wild-card spot. "We control our own destiny, we control our situation," Orioles centre fielder Adam Jones said. "The rest of the way were playing against teams that are in the same situation as us, so weve got to play better baseball. Thats the cool part. Weve just got to play a little bit better." Yankees starter Andy Pettitte gave up three runs and nine hits over 6 1-3 innings. The 41-year-old lefty has made 13 straight starts since September 2007 against Baltimore without losing, going 8-0 over that stretch. Pettitte has lost only twice to the Orioles since 2002 and is 28-6 lifetime against them. Pettitte has pitched at least six innings in each of his last six starts and is 3-0 in seven outings since Aug. 5. "It was a great game for us," Pettite said. "The bullpen came in and obviously did a great job. There were some big hits for us. It was a good win, thats for sure." Baltimores Scott Feldman allowed only three hits in 7 2-3 innings, two of them homers. The right-hander struck out six and walked two. His first walk came against the first batter of the game and the second was to the last batter he faced. New York got a first-inning run when leadoff hitter Brett Gardner walked, stole second and scored on two groundouts. The Orioles took a 2-1 lead in the third. Roberts and Manny Machado singled with two outs before Davis lined a two-run double through the shift into right-field. Doubles by Valencia and J.J. Hardy made it 3-1 in the fourth, but Baltimore stranded runners at the corners. NOTES: New Yorks David Huff squares off against Wei-Yin Chin in a duel of left-handers in the series finale Thursday night. ... Pettitte has held the opposition scoreless in the first inning over six straight starts after allowing at least one first-inning run in eight consecutive games before that. ... Granderson is 7 for 17 with four homers lifetime against Feldman. ... Feldman threw a season-high 112 pitches. ' ' '