Allgemein » in the previous two games, v

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – It doesnt take John Gibbons long after setting foot in Tropicana Field to use his alternative name for the Rays monochrome home. "House of horrors," joked the Blue Jays manager, just a couple of hours before the first pitch of the new season. Asked about his star shortstop, his lead off hitter, Jose Reyes, Gibbons was unequivocal in expressing Reyess importance to the Blue Jays line-up. "We need him," said Gibbons. "He makes things happen. We said last year, going into the season, probably the one guy we couldnt afford to lose would have been him. Then we lost him. Some other guys did a nice job filling in, but they arent Reyes." Little did Gibbons know that a short time later, after Reyes lead off at-bat on Monday afternoon, he would again lose his shortstop. Reyes, who missed five Grapefruit League games last week with what the Blue Jays called a "mild strain" of his left hamstring, experienced tightness as he ran down the line, thinking he had a single before Rays centerfielder Desmond Jennings robbed him with a headlong, diving catch. “When I hit the ball to centerfield, I saw the guy diving for the ball, I thought the ball was going to drop and bounce away from him,” said Reyes. “I tried to run a little bit faster between home plate and first base and I kind of felt my hammy there so I had to slow down and get out of the game.” The Blue Jays lost the battle, 9-2 to the Rays. It remains to be seen whether the club has lost an important soldier in the broader war for a significant period of time. Reyes was scheduled for an MRI either Monday evening or Tuesday. “He irritated the same spot,” said Gibbons. “Thats a concern.” The 30-year-old has a history of hamstring problems, but nothing recent. Reyes tore his right hamstring in 2009; he had a left hamstring strain in 2011 and hasnt had hamstring issues since. Reyes missed 66 games last year, his first as a Blue Jay, with a severely sprained left ankle suffered in the second week of the season. “I feel okay walking around,” said Reyes. “But were going to have better detail … when I get the new MRI. Hopefully I dont get it any worse because if I get it any worse thats going to be disappointing not just for me but for the entire team too.” LINEUP CONSTRUCTION The Blue Jays bench depth, which general manager Alex Anthopoulos has repeatedly identified as lacking, was forced into action almost right away when Reyes went down. Ryan Goins, a natural shortstop, replaced Reyes in the leadoff spot. Goins wasnt in the starting lineup because hes a left-handed hitter and Rays ace left-hander David Price is, to understate the matter, tough on lefties. That created a situation where Maicer Izturis was hitting in the eight-hole, left-handed hitting Josh Thole in the nine-hole and Goins in the one-spot. Not an ideal way to turn the lineup over ahead of Melky Cabrera and the subsequent sluggers against Price, one of the best pitchers in baseball, to say the least. If Reyes is forced to miss time, the Blue Jays internal options include second baseman Chris Getz and shortstops Jonathan Diaz and Munenori Kawasaki. None is on the 40-man roster, which would necessitate another player to be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers. The bottom line is if Reyes is out, any internal option results in a disconcerting lack of offence from both middle infield positions, further weakening the bottom of the order. JANSSEN Casey Janssen was noticeably frustrated at having to begin the season on the disabled list with a strain on the left side of his abdomen and back. “I dont know, maybe I was just compensating a little bit, trying to generate a little bit more power with my front side or what,” said Janssen. “Its disappointing because my arm is really starting to come around and then to have this little thing. Its not how I drew it up.” Janssen is undergoing treatment but isnt throwing at the moment and hasnt re-started his weighted ball program exercises. The plan is once the soreness subsides, Janssen will resume throwing off flat ground. “I hate going on the DL,” he said. Russ Grimm Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Darrell Green Youth Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Joe-Theismann-Inverted-Jersey/ .com) - A pair of Eastern Conference rivals will meet on Saturday as D. Alex Smith Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota (5): He was calm, poised, and looked comfortable all game. Charley Taylor Youth Jersey . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998.ST. PAUL, Minn – On many nights this season, terrific goaltending and special teams lifted the Leafs to victory where it might not have been deserved. That was nearly the case once more at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night, but, in this instance, a win slipped away. “We got what we deserved,” said Carl Gunnarsson, bluntly in conversation with the Leaf Report after a 2-1 shootout loss to the Wild. “I just mean if you look at the game all over, 65 minutes, we didnt deserve more than one point.” In a game that saw Nazem Kadri ejected, Jonathan Bernier brilliant once more and both special teams units back on the mark, the Leafs ultimately tripped up in the waning moments, their collective ineffectiveness to that point ultimately bringing about a deserved fate. “Were not happy about it,” Gunnarsson said of his teams play, “but we couldve had two points. We had the chance and we didnt take it. But if you look over the whole game, we didnt deserve more.” Stuck with just one even-strength goal in the past four games, the Leafs failed to generate much of an attack for the better part of two periods against the Wild. But with a power-play goal from Mason Raymond in the second, excellence from Bernier and the penalty kill, they actually led late and appeared on course for two points. It was then, with less than five minutes, to go that a Phil Kessel defensive zone giveaway landed in the hands of Charlie Coyle. Punishing the error, Zach Parise would even the score at one before capping it with the shootout winner a short while later. “We have the puck under control in our zone, we cough it up and it ends up in our net,” Randy Carlyle said of the game-tying goal afterward. Moments earlier, the Leafs had killed off a mammoth five-minute Wild power-play – Kadri given a match penalty for his hit on Mikael Granlund (more in Five Points) – with Minnesota managing just a single shot opposite an aggressive and impactful penalty kill. And so, while not playing up to their desired standard, the Leafs had put themselves in position for victory only to fumble it away. “Yeah for sure,” said Raymond. “That stings a bit.” It was perhaps due karma. Only a month earlier, the Leafs were outshot 37-14 by the Wild at home, escaping with victory on the shoulders of a 36-save performance from James Reimer, two power-play goals and a near-perfect effort on the penalty kill. Holding three of his seven career shutouts against the Wild, Bernier was busy and effective as he has been all season. The 25-year-old stopped 33 of 34 shots, beaten only by Parise on an unlikely ricochet attempt in front. Troubling for the Leafs was the amount of time they spent defending rather than initiating the play as was desired – the Wild out-attempted them by a 70-43 margin. A focal point of attention for Carlyle in the early weeks this season and especially the past few days, the short stock of Toronto forwards (they dressed only 11, lost Kadri and played without Colton Orr and Carter Ashton in the third) were unable to consistently pressure the Minnesota defence, rarely generating much offence against Josh Harding, who replaced Niklas Backstrom early in the first. “We didnt really have that [offensive] zone time,” Gunnarsson said. “We didnt cycle the puck a whole lot, [we were] kind of receiving the game. They moved the puck down low on us and played a whole bunch in our end.” Heroics from the goaltenders and fine special teams play bailed out those inconsistencies amid a successful start, but not on this night. Five Points 1. Kadris eventful night Charging hard into the Wild crease early in the first, Kadri leveled Backstrom with what appeared to be an elbow and was whistled for the first of three penalties. Soaking up plenty of ice in the opening 40 minutes – he led Leaf forwards with upwards of 15 minutes – the 23-year-old would get the gate for good midway through the third. Kadri delivered a crunching hit to Granlund along the boards in the neutral zone for which he was given a match penalty. “He made initial contact with the shoulder and the kid had the head down and he didnt have his arms up and he ran into the player,” said Carlyle, clearly not in agreement with the punishment. For his collision with Backstrom, Kadri will garner a hearing with the NHLs department of discipline on Thursday afternoon. At his best on the edge, Kadri may have crossed a line. “Naz is a very skilled player,” said Dion Phaneuf, “but he plays with an edge and he plays hard. I think thats a big thing thats unique about him is that he doesnt just have those very soft hands and playmaking ability, but hes a physical guy.dddddddddddd” Already short Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland, a suspension to Kadri would further damage the Leafs down the middle. 2. Five-on-five woes continue The Leafs were one of the leagues most potent teams at full strength last season. They scored 105 goals, trailing only the Lightning, Blackhawks and Penguins. So far this season, however, theyve not been nearly as successful. The Leafs boast the 20th-ranked five-on-five offence (29 goals,) failing to score an even-strength goal for the third time in four games against the Wild on Wednesday night. 3. Clarksons drought The goal drought reached eight games for David Clarkson. The 29-year-old hasnt scored yet as a Leaf, totaling just one assist thus far. “I think thats going to start soon,” said Clarkson optimistically before the game. “Start burning some incense here in my stall.” The Leafs werent counting exclusively on potent offence from their marquee offseason addition, but some level of contribution was to be expected for a player who scored 45 goals over the past two seasons. Clarkson has had opportunities, including a glorious chance against his former team last week. But rather than trickle across the goal-line, his attempt on Cory Schneider wobbled wide right. “I think if youre getting chances and youre getting good quality chances, then I think youre doing something right,” Clarkson said, noting the ability to contribute elsewhere if pucks werent finding twine. One easy cure would be to shoot the puck more often, something the Toronto native made mention of himself. During his final two seasons in New Jersey, Clarkson averaged 3.19 shots per game, but in his first eight games as a Leaf, hes down to just two per game. A primary power-play contributor with the Devils, Clarkson is additionally beginning to see more time on the man advantage with the Leafs, with the injuries to Bozak and Bolland opening up opportunity. “Hes had chances and I think its part of our responsibility to try and support him with some of the power-play situations, maybe move him up and down in the lineup, play with more offensive players,” Carlyle said, with Clarkson matched with Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul against the Wild. “Theres no better cure for a guy that hasnt scored is to continue to move up the lineup and play with your better players and get power-play time.” 4. Kadri at even-strength Kadri has interestingly dipped most in terms of even-strength offence. He accrued 82 per cent of his offence in such situations last season, his 36 points leading the team. But after 18 games this fall, his production there has taken nearly a 20 per cent hit. Kadri has just eight of his 13 points at even-strength (62 per cent) with the power-play a source of increased productivity. 5. JVR Down the middle Wednesday marked the third career game at centre for James van Riemsdyk. One difference in playing down the middle, according to the 24-year-old, is positioning in transition offensively. “Its a little different,” he said. “When youre coming on the rush youre usually in the middle versus being on the wall; youre usually looking to kick it wide and maybe drive or whatever; youre not usually going to pull up in the middle of the ice and just stop there because then youll turn it over. “Thats usually why the wingers in general get more shots than centre iceman do," van Riemsdyk said. After mustering just a single shot in the previous two games, van Riemsdyk finished with four shots against the Wild, but remained pointless at centre ice. A temporary stopgap when Bolland suffered an ankle injury, he may get the move back to wing soon enough. Out since Oct. 25 with a hamstring injury, Bozak skated for the first time on Tuesday and could be in line to return in the next couple weeks. The 27-year-old is eligible to come of long-term injured reserve on Nov. 21. All of that could change, of course, with a Kadri suspension. Stat-Pack 30 – Faceoffs for Jerred Smithson against the Wild, winning 53 per cent. 23:27 – Ice-time for Jay McClement, a season-high. 70-43 – Shot attempts favouring the Wild. 29 – Total goals for the Leafs at five-on-five. .939 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier after 12 games this season. 15 – Times this season the Leafs have been outshot by an opponent. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3Season: 22.2% PK: 5-5Season: 84.9% Quote of the Night “We got what we deserved.” -Carl Gunnarsson on the eventual result against the Wild. Up Next The Leafs visit the Sabres on Friday in the first half of a home and home set. ' ' '