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d on Sept. 27 in Columbus. Notes: Marco Di Vaio, who has fo

in camera talk Mon Oct 07, 2019 5:42 am
by sakura698 • 435 Posts

TORONTO -- Seemingly unable to play their game for a full 60 -- or 65 -- minutes, the Toronto Maple Leafs have found themselves turning to the shootout. Wholesale Jerseys . And this season, it has been working for them. Jonathan Bernier stopped all three Sabres in the shootout to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 win over Buffalo on Friday. It was a Toronto-record fourth straight shootout -- the Leafs split the four -- and improved its shootout record to 6-4 this season. Toronto is tied with Los Angeles with six shootout victories, behind only Washingtons 10. Five of those shootout wins have come at home. Prior to this season, Torontos career record was 29-45 in the shootout. Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons all failed to beat Bernier in the shootout Friday. Ryan Miller stopped Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk in the shootout. But Joffrey Lupul beat him on a nifty backhand. Sabres captain Steve Ott had scored with 25 seconds left in regulation with the Leafs trying to kill off a six-on-four after Dion Phaneuf was called for hooking with 51 seconds remaining and Miller out of the Buffalo goal. Ott, who had been flying in the third period, pounced on a Bernier rebound during a scramble and fired it into the net for his fifth of the season. "That hurt," said Toronto coach Randy Carlyle, whose crossed arms body language on the bench looked like he was suffering from a severe stomach ache. Jake Gardiner, Peter Holland and Kessel had scored second-period goals to put Toronto ahead 3-2 as the Leafs rallied from an ugly start. It appeared that would be enough for only the Leafs second regulation win in their last 19 outings. Toronto (19-16-5) was coming off shootout losses to the Rangers and Red Wings and early on looked like it was headed for disaster against the leagues worst team. The Leafs fell behind 2-0 in the first period but owned Buffalo for almost all of the final 40 minutes. Outshot 15-10 in the first period, the Leafs roared back in the second when they outshot Buffalo 17-5. "We were like two different hockey clubs," said Carlyle, who added most of the first-period woes were self-inflicted. "The stress level goes up in games like this," he added. "We dont dwell on the negative (although) well touch base with it. But the positive is we found a way to regroup and get ourselves back on track. But we have to play 60 minutes like we played the last two periods, as closer to it as we possibly can. "Its not easy winning in the NHL. Its proved night in, night out. Theres a lot of shootouts taking place. Were four in a row now." Despite Torontos shootout success, Carlyle is no fan. "Do we like shootouts? No." After the morning skate, he had said he would take three-on-three, even two-on-two over the shootout to decide games. Moulson and John Scott also scored for Buffalo (10-24-4) as the NHL re-opened for business after the Christmas break. "I thought we started off real well, but the second period shows you how you can get yourself in trouble when you keep turning the puck over," said interim Buffalo coach Ted Nolan. "We turned it over a number of times." "If theres any merit to what we deserved tonight, its what we got," he added. "Its one of those things where we played as bad as we could play and still get a point. We got what we deserved tonight." For Scott, a six-foot-eight, 259-pound tough guy, the score ended a 164-game goal drought. But he was in the penalty box for Torontos go-ahead goal in the second period by Kessel. Both teams had chances in overtime with the Leafs dominating the final minutes. Miller made huge saves on both Van Riemsdyk and Phaneuf. Bernier made 32 saves for the Leafs, who outshot Buffalo 42-35 including overtime. Bernier was shaken up early in the third when Ott, diving after a puck, plowed into him but the goalie stayed in. Miller deserved a better fate in the Buffalo goal. The Sabres arrived on a mini-streak, having won three of their last four and gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. That included a 2-1 overtime win over Phoenix on Monday in a game where Buffalo was only able to dress 16 because of a flu bug. Toronto was 3-5-2 over the same period. Buffalo has been woeful on the road this season, compiling a 3-13-1 record. No one else has less than six wins away from home. Toronto opened with some jump, outshooting the Sabres 6-2 with the second line of Lupul, Holland and Mason Raymond threatening. But Buffalo then ran off eight straight shots and two goals, with members of the Lupul-Holland-Raymond line on the ice for both of them. The two goals were just 52 seconds apart, drawing loud boos from the crowd of 19,405. Moulson scored the opening goal -- something the Sabres have only done eight times this season -- after Girgensons, coming out of the corner, fended off Holland like he was his kid brother. Girgensons then sent the puck to the crease where it appeared to hit Moulson and then Phaneuf. Moulson got credit for his 13th of the season at 7:01. Things got uglier when the Leafs turned the puck over and Bernier misplayed the ensuing shoot-in on goal and shot. There were rebounds galore before the puck bounced back to Scott in the slot and the big man fired it into a gaping goal at 7:53. Playing in his 200th career NHL game, Scott had doubled his goals total to two. Even Buffalos official Twitter feed was taken aback. "OH. MY. GOD! John Scott has given Buffalo a 2-0 lead!" read the Sabres tweet. Scotts only other goal was in November 2009. The Leafs looked in disarray and Carlyle couldnt get to the dressing room quick enough as the period ended to more boos. Things changed in the second period with the Sabres back on their heels seemingly trying to protect a rare lead. Toronto had an early power play but Miller hung tough in the face of prolonged pressure. Then the Leafs top line of Kessel, Nazem Kadri and Van Riemsdyk began to turn the screw. Gardiner finally beat Miller from the blue-line at 11:38 with Van Riemsdyk standing in front of goal and the Leafs dominating as if they had a man-advantage. It was Gardiners second of the season. Holland tied it up after Jamie McBain coughed the puck up in the Sabres corner and a falling Raymond managed to send it over to his centre, who beat Miller in-close for his sixth of the season at 16:25. That led to a mocking chant of "Miller, Miller" from the crowd. In truth, the goalie was all that was keeping the Sabres together in the period. A Scott penalty led a third Leaf goal from Kessel, who benefited from a nifty pass from Van Riemsdyk after a howitzer from Phaneuf at the blue-line. Kessels goal at 19:43 was his 18th of the season. The ice continued to tilt in Torontos favour in the third but it was slightly less so and the sandpaper-like Ott made things interesting by throwing himself into the fray. Bernier had to be sharp a couple of times when the Leafs defence sagged late. And Moulson mistimed a puck that went flying through the crease. Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly hit the post at the other end seconds later. Fake Jerseys Cheap . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. Fake Jerseys . The team reported the signing on its website Thursday, but said Friday the deal was off in "a mutual parting of the ways that had to do with the language of the contract. https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.com/ . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night.MONTREAL - The Montreal Impact want to turn the page on the first half of their season. After 17 games — the midway point of Montreals third season in Major League Soccer — the Impact are dead last in the standings with a league-worst 3-9-5 record. The team will be looking to start anew when it takes on the Columbus Crew on the road on Saturday. "Its a brand-new season," said an optimistic Hassoun Camara. "We didnt do so well in the first part. We were expecting a lot better. We have to do everything to reverse the trend, and we have the players to do so. "Were technically sound, even more so than many teams in the league. What we need now is to meet those other teams intensity." Montreal is tied with the Chicago Fire for fewest wins on the season (3), and only the San Jose Earthquakes have scored fewer times than the Impact (17). The teams minus-12 goal differential is second worst in MLS behind only the Houston Dynamo. Despite their poor start to the season, the Impact are far from admitting defeat. "That wasnt an easy half of the year for us," said assistant coach Mauro Biello. "There are still a lot of games, and theres a lot of parity in this league. If we can string together a few good games, well be in a good position. We have to work hard, focus on the positive, and go from there." Though theyve picked up just 14 points from 17 games, Frank Klopas men are still only nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Playing in a league where streaking teams can quickly climb in the standings, the Impact are hoping a few positive results will finally get the ball rolling. "Were only halfway through the season," said striker Jack McInerney, whos scored six goals in 12 games for Montreal. "Weve played good soccer lately; we just havent gotten the results. There are still plenty of points on the table. Going forward, were going to have to do everything right." The Impact will start the second half of their season at Columbus Crew Stadium facing a side going through a lengthy rough patch of their own. After starting the season with three wins in a row, the Crew (4-7-8) have only won once in their last 16 MLS matches, and are winless in their last seven. Columbus, a club known this season for its successful passing and long spells of possession, is coming off a tough midweek loss against Kansas City. On Wednesday, a stoppage-time goal by Sportings Benny Feilhaber handed the Crew their second loss in a row. With Saturdays opponents on just two days rest, McInerney is calling the game against Columbus a perfect matchup for the Impact. "Theyre struggling also," he said. "Going in there, were really going to have to defend, play on the counter, and see what we can get on the break. Its a winnable game, so we have to go into it looking for the three points." Like the Crew, Montreal wants to move on from a heartbreaking loss against Kansass City. Fake Jerseys For Sale. Last Saturday, a defensive mistake gifted all three points to Sporting when defender Heath Pearce and goalie Troy Perkins got their wires crossed and failed to clear a harmless ball away from the penalty box in the 89th minute. The week before, the Impact conceded a stoppage-time goal to Chivas USA for its first loss since returning from the World Cup break. The Impact had not dropped back-to-back contests since losing its first three to start the season. On Saturday, Montreal will look to take advantage of a depleted Columbus lineup that lost two of its players to injury in the last couple of weeks. Crew forward Jairo Arrieta left a July 12 game against the New York Red Bulls with a left hamstring strain, and has not played since. Hector Jimenez, an offensive-minded midfielder for Columbus, sprained his knee on July 4. Both have been ruled out for the game versus Montreal. Arrietas and Jimenezs absence will make things easier for an Impact backline that has been showing signs of improvement lately, despite consecutive losses. Montreal has conceded just three times in four games, and has recorded four clean sheets in its last seven in all competitions. "Were on the right track," said Biello, whose team is the only one in MLS without a road win this season (0-5-3). "Look at our last few games, the team is playing better. If we can do that on the road, along with the quality we have up front, we can get a result. A few draws and victories on the road will give us a good chance to make the playoffs." That will depend largely on the Impacts offence, which has been stale all season. Montreal has scored more than two goals just once this year — a 3-0 victory against Houston at the end of June. Goals have been especially hard to come by away from home, where the Impact have scored just five times in eight games. McInerney says Montreal has to start getting more players forward. "Weve put in a lot of work defending, because we had some struggles keeping the ball out of the net," said the 21-year-old. "But too many people are sitting back now. We have to get numbers in the box; its the only way were going to create opportunities for the team and create chances." The Impact and Crew will play each other twice more after Saturdays contest — on Aug. 30 in Montreal, and on Sept. 27 in Columbus. Notes: Marco Di Vaio, who has found the back of the net twice in his last three games, has three career tallies versus Columbus. The Italian striker celebrated his 38th birthday on Tuesday. … The Crews last MLS win came on May 24 versus the Chicago Fire. … On Tuesday, defender Adrian Lopez suffered a second ACL tear in his right knee. Lopez, who played just 44 minutes with the Impact since being acquired last July, will be out for the rest of the season. … After missing two games due to a groin injury, Justin Mapp now has two assists in his last three games. ' ' '

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