TORONTO -- Randy Carlyle knows all about the "Nashville Predator way," and he figured his Toronto Maple Leafs would have to outwork their opponent Thursday night. That didnt happen. The Predators were zoned in on their workmanlike style, the Leafs played a mistake-prone game and the result was a 4-2 loss at Air Canada Centre. "We just didnt play well enough," captain Dion Phaneuf said. "I dont think you can say much more than that. We didnt do enough of the little things against a team that always comes hard. They play very disciplined to their system, they have for a long time, and we just werent good enough." Not good enough to the tune of blowing an early lead with a couple of ill-timed penalties and some spotty defence around the net. After Peter Holland scored his first goal with the Leafs 5:48 in, it seemed like the whole team went into cruise control. Carlyle saw things change at the first intermission. "We were flat after the first period. We didnt seem to have any energy, we didnt seem to have any enthusiasm," he said. "It just seemed like the game turned, and then we couldnt get it back." Thats because the Predators (11-9-2) pounced on mistakes. When Toronto winger Mason Raymond high-sticked David Legwand, rookie defenceman Seth Jones scored on the power play off Jay McClements stick. Sleepy defence put the Leafs behind at 11:14 of the second. Matt Cullen, who finished with a game-high four points, whiffed on his original attempt but had no trouble recovering the puck and scoring while Paul Ranger and the Leafs stood around watching. It got worse before it got better for Toronto when Craig Smith scored the first of his two goals with James van Riemsdyk in the penalty box for boarding. Add it up and it was a 4-1 lead for the Predators. "Second period I thought we locked down our structure, got on to our game plan a little bit better," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "I think we were watching Toronto a little bit. ... We created some penalties and our power play was real huge for us today and I thought we locked down the game pretty good." It was a period the Leafs (13-8-1) would love to forget. "I think we just got away from our game plan a little bit, got off the forecheck," Holland said. "We werent going in on them as hard, we were letting their skilled guys make plays and they capitalized on the power play as well. Unfortunately theres breaks in the game and they seemed to capitalize on them." The breaks kept going against the Leafs, but most of that was self-inflicted. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who was dominant in nine previous starts against the Predators, gave up a soft goal in the third to Smith when the puck nicked his glove and bounced over him and into the net. Bernier finished with 24 saves on 28 shots. Nazem Kadri scored late in the third in his return from a three-game suspension for elbowing Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom in the head to provide a brief burst of energy and bring the crowd of 19,256 to life. The Leafs were buzzing with an extra attacker, Holland even hit the cross bar and the post, but it wasnt enough to beat Marek Mazanec, who finished with 24 saves. "We had some chances, so youre never out of it," Carlyle said. "We had some enthusiasm going, but we hit a cross bar, post, and that was it." The Leafs looked out of it for much of the night because the Predators were living up to their reputation as a hard-working, difficult team to play against. Once they built a lead, the task of skating against that tide became even tougher. "They make you earn what you get," Leafs defenceman Cody Franson said. "They dont take a lot of chances, they pick their spots and if they get one, they play very tight." Trotz said just getting the first goal was enough to create some momentum. Nashville had killed off two penalties in the first period and got a spark when Jones scored his third of the season 2:01 into the second. "It was a good play on the power play," Jones said. "We worked around pretty well all night. I kind of got it started there. It wasnt a very hard shot but it found a way to get in." At the core, Franson said the Predators scoring twice on the power play and the Leafs coming up empty on their two chances was the difference. Of course there was more to it. "Its not like our power play wasnt generating anything. We just couldnt put it in the back of the net," Franson said. "They play a tight defensive game and its tough to create stuff against a team that plays that tight." When the Leafs struggled to create a lot, they turned the puck over and stunted their own efforts. "When we were pressing, it seemed like we started to play like individuals in the third period," Carlyle said. "Thats a natural state that athletes go to is theyre trying to take the responsibility and say, Well, Im going to be the guy that makes the difference, and then it just compounds, compounds and it gets worse versus getting better." Leafs star Phil Kessel is often counted on to be the difference-maker, but he took only five shifts in the second and six in the third for a total ice time of 15:27. Carlyle juggled his lines in the third period, promoting Colton Orr to play alongside Kadri and Raymond, while Kessel was a non-factor. Carlyle deflected when asked if Kessel was playing banged-up. "I dont know. I think all our players have bumps and bruises," he said. "They all have their ailments. Thats why we have maintenance days, thats why we have physiotherapists, thats why we have massage therapists, thats why they have all that stuff to try and keep these guys at the peak of their physical (condition) and feeling well, and its difficult when some situations the bumps and bruises do pile up." NOTES -- Leafs centre Tyler Bozak missed his 11th straight game with a hamstring injury. He could return as soon as Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. ... Ten of the Predators 12 points came from U.S.-born players. General manager David Poile is the general manager of the U.S. Olympic team. Stitched NHL Jerseys . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/.com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Fake NHL Jerseys . Raymond, 31, started 15 regular-season games for the Stamps in 2013, racking up 51 tackles. He also returned two kickoffs for 79 yards including a 61-yarder. Authentic NHL Jerseys Cheap . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S. AUBURN, Ala. -- Billy Donovan cautioned his Florida Gators before the game not to assume Casey Prather would instantly return to form after a two-game layoff. Prather scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half in his comeback from a badly bruised right knee and helped No. 7 Florida survive a scare from Auburn in a 68-61 victory on Saturday. Donovans warning proved unnecessary. "That rule went out the window after the first half, when he had 16," the coach said. "He was clearly going to play a lot more since he played so well. "Im not so sure if hes hurt again this game, that this is a game we could pull out." Prather made eight of 10 shots for the Gators (15-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who have won nine straight games and eight in a row at Auburn (8-7, 0-4). Donovan said Prather looked just OK in practice Thursday with no contact, but fared better the day before the game. "He was like, When you come back to practice, are you going to baby it or are you going to play?" Prather said. "I said I was going to play." Tahj Shamsid-Deen hit a jump shot with 1:59 left to cut Floridas lead to 62-61, but Scottie Wilbekin answered with a fadeaway jumper. "We didnt really have anything going on that possession," Wilbeken said. "My first drive, I didnt have anything so I tried to give it to Casey Prather coming around behind me. His man denied him, so I had to make another move and I just made it." Wilbekin, who scored 16 points, made two of four free throws over the final 48 seconds. Patric Young blocked KT Harrells attempt to bring Auburn to within two points in between those trips to the line. Kasey Hill made two late free throws for the final margin. Young scored 13 for Florida, which outrebounded Auburn 31-23. Chris Denson, the SECs leading scorer, had 15 of his 21 points in the second half to help keep the Tigers close. Harrell added 18 points and made 4 of 7 3-pointers. Allen Payne finished with 11 points. &quoot;They made the plays down the stretch and we didnt," Auburn coach Tony Barbee said.dddddddddddd Auburn has lost its first four SEC games by a combined 23 points. The Tigers have dropped their last 14 against league teams overall. The Gators, who lost a 13-point lead in the first half, made 21 of 39 shots (53.8 per cent). Florida made 23 of 33 free throws while Auburn was 14 of 22. The Tigers point guards, Shamsid-Deen and Malcolm Canada, both fouled out. Prather got right into his offensive rhythm after the layoff. He came in with 16:58 remaining, hit two quick jump shots and made his first five attempts, including a fast-break dunk off a nice bounce pass from Hill. The Gators reeled off a 14-1 run for a 23-10 lead while the Tigers missed their first 10 attempts from inside the 3-point line. Walk-on Alex Thompson finally scored on a putback 13 minutes into the game for Auburns first basket since making a third consecutive 3-pointer with 14:28 left in the half. Auburn hit all five of its 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 7 of 13. Despite Prathers surge, the Gators barely led at halftime. Wilbekin made two free throws with 3 seconds left to give Florida a 33-32 halftime lead. Auburn had scored 14 consecutive points to briefly take the lead. "Florida has the best defence I have ever seen," said Denson, adding that the Gators altered a number of shots. "I was the one in the first half that missed a lot of layups, but I think it was a little bit of nerves. Playing the No. 7 team in the country, and I was just anxious. We got the nerves out and then started getting in the grooves offensively." Florida pushed the lead as high as 48-40 in the first seven minutes after the half, but couldnt pull away. Auburn announced before tipoff that reserve guard Chris Griffin has left school and is transferring. Griffin averaged 5.7 points in seven games as a junior before he was indefinitely suspended for violating school policy on Jan. 11. ' ' '