The players knowing that this is the group thats going to be here

TORONTO – Five minutes had not yet elapsed from the sound of the final horn so naturally John-Michael Liles was still seething. Air Max 2013 Schuhe Herren Weiß. "I thought that we had spurts where we played our game, but then we had spurts where we got away from it," said Liles, frustration still dripping from his brow. "It doesnt matter if its a back-to-back, doesnt matter where a team is in the standings; its a matter of sticking to your game. When you get away from it, teams take advantage. "Its a tough loss." Burned by an incomplete effort on Saturday night, the Leafs dropped their third consecutive game at the Air Canada Centre, falling 5-2 to a Senators club that had lost five straight and was playing their second game in as many nights. Inconsistency has been a trending problem for a youthful Toronto squad and was on display yet again. A solid opening period which saw the Leafs jump in front 1-0 on Tyler Bozaks first of the year was felled by a drooping middle frame in which the visitors scored twice – Sergei Gonchar and Nick Foligno – a lead they would not relinquish. "We didnt have a killer instinct tonight," said Ron Wilson, following the game. "If it works in the first, I dont know why we dont want to do the same in the second." "We get a lead and kind of sink down to a different level," added Bozak, "stop playing our game, stop getting pucks deep and just [start] trying to make pretty plays in the neutral zone. Were finding out pretty easily in the last few games that thats not going to work." Leaf hockey, in its current configuration, hinges on speed and aggressive puck pursuit, a style thats been visible only in spurts during an up-and-down start to November (3-3-0). The identity wanderings have been discussed at length, but turnovers and sloppy puck movement continue to crop up far too often for anyones liking. "The identity of our team is a fast team and when we play to our strengths by chipping pucks and using our speed, were a really good team and a really tough team to play against," said Dion Phaneuf. "When were up by a goal, we tend to sit back and were going to have to learn to keep pushing and win these kind of games that we have leads in." "Its just a matter of continuing to hammer it home," added Liles. "We cant get away from it. Its a long season and youre going to have times where youre not playing your best or youre not getting the bounces, but at the same time, youve got to play to your identity – thats something you can control." The Leafs had a glorious opportunity to bury the Senators – fresh off their fifth consecutive loss, a 5-1 thumping in Buffalo on Friday – early in the second frame with consecutive power plays. Combined, they managed just two shots though, a symptom of an empty night (0-5) with the man advantage. Failing to step on the throat of a struggling opponent, the home side watched in disgust as Gonchar tied the game midway through the period before Foligno snatched hold of the lead for good, beating Ben Scrivens on a breakaway with the Leafs attempting to kill off a 5-on-3 disadvantage. A late push in the third saw a return to the speedy game which generated success early on, but it was far too late at that point. "We go from indirect hockey to trying to play direct when indirect is working," noted Wilson. "Its a little frustrating to the coaches in the third period after trying this bizarre experiment in the second...we try to go back to the way we should be playing. Thats the frustrating part." Offensively, it was one and done yet again, with only Phil Kessels unit managing to find the scoresheet – Joffrey Lupul added his ninth of the season late in the third. The Leafs have managed just five goals in the last four games, all of which have come from the top unit. Riding whats been a year-long rollercoaster, the second line of Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin failed to muster any offence for the fourth consecutive game, with Kulemin now mired in a ten-game goal drought. "Tonight we really, to be honest with you, had one line and that was the Bozak line," said Wilson. "The Grabovski line wasnt really a threat; two of the wingers didnt have a shot on goal all night." Sludge has grown on the Leafs in the last two weeks. Since clawing their way past the league-leading Penguins on October 29th, theyve dipped into a funk which has seen them win fortunately in New Jersey, Columbus and most recently, St. Louis. Good teams manage to win ugly on occasion, but attempting to do so over the long haul will yield undesirable results. "Its a game you want to win," concluded Liles of the loss. "We go into St. Louis and we get a win there and you come back and you want to win this game. "Its frustrating." Nike Air Max 90 Damen Schwarz. So, up the ladder he went -- throwing the ball high in the back of the end zone to Demaryius Thomas. Nike Air Max 97 Schuhe Damen. Authorities say the fire broke out around 3 a.m. in the kitchen of Wilsons home in Seven Fields, about 30 minutes north of the city. Flames were visible to firefighters when they arrived on the scene, according to Cranberry Township director of Public Safety Jeffrey Schueler. http://www.maxairde.eu/. Kadri had a pair of goals including the overtime winner as the Toronto Marlies rallied to beat the Rochester Americans 3-2 in American Hockey League action Saturday night. Nike Air Max + 2013 Schuhe Schwarz. -- Rafael Nadal, playing on a hard court for the first time in almost a year, defeated Ryan Harrison 7-6 (3), 6-2 in a second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday. Nike Air Max 2013 Schuhe Herren Weiß. -- Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed delivered a much different message Wednesday than his cryptic off-season comments where he hinted at a potential holdout and contemplated retirement.(Sports Network) - With the Houston Astros move to the American League the hope is that one day they will be able play meaningful games against the Texas Rangers. It likely wont be this year, though. On Sunday the two Lone Star State rivals kick off the 2013 Major League Baseball season, as Houston makes its AL debut against the Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Catch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV, tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt. Texas, of course, has reached the postseason, in each of the last three seasons, while the Astros capped their National League run a year ago with a second straight 100-plus loss season. But, as bad as the taste was in the Astros mouth at the end of last year, it may have been worse for the Rangers. Texas seemingly had everything going there way and held a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League West as late as Sept. 6. However, the wheels fell off for manager Ron Washington and the Rangers ended the season losing seven of nine, including the final three to the Oakland Athletics in a series to decide the division. To make matters worse, the Rangers then lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the one-game wild card playoff to end their season. Now the Rangers enter the 2013 campaign with even more uncertainty as free agent Josh Hamilton bolted to the division rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, slugger Mike Napoli left for Boston and team leader Michael Young was traded to Philadelphia. General manager Jon Daniels, who is reportedly in a power struggle with team owner Nolan Ryan, re-armed his offense with aging veterans like Lance Berkman and A.J. Pierzynski, but the Rangers will be hard pressed to find someone to match the near Triple Crown production of Hamilton. Berkman, of course, spent the first the first 11 1/2 years of his career with the Astros. "I think well have a very good club," Washington said. "Weve still got a very good nucleus. We certainly added some winning pieces in Pierzynski and Berkman. Theyve won World Series. Theyve always been winners wherever they are. Nothing will change here." One of those winning pieces is left-hander Matt Harrison, who enjoyed a breakoutt 2012 season, going 18-11 with a 3. Nike Air Max + 2013 Schuhe29 ERA in 213 1/3 innings (32 starts). It was the leftys second consecutive season with an ERA of less than 3.40 and at least 185 innings pitched. His reward was a 5-year, $55 million contract extension in the offseason. While the Rangers have their eyes on another postseason appearance, there are no such hopes in Astros-land. In fact the team enters the season with a $25 million payroll, or $4 million less than what injured New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is slated to earn this season. And though it probably does little to salve the angst in the front offices executive suite, Houston could scarcely get much worse than theyve been the last two seasons. A 56-win nightmare in 2011 was followed by just 55 wins last season, hardly the sort of farewell the 51-year-old franchise had in mind before leaving the NL Central for new surroundings in the AL West. Problem is, its not as if a change of scenery is a historic cure-all. The last time a team swapped leagues and divisions was back in 1998, when the Milwaukee Brewers left the AL Central for its similarly named NL counterpart - and went from third in the former to fifth in the latter while winning 78 and 74 games, respectively. Few expect the Astros to even approach those numbers in the AL in year one, but, for his sake, Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow at least expects stability under new manager Bo Porter. "People know Bo is going to be here for a long time," he said. "He could be one of those guys who is an Astros manager for decades, not just years. The players knowing that this is the group thats going to be here. It begins to lay the foundation for stability, which is really what were looking for." Right-hander Bud Norris gets the call for the Astros in Sundays opener. Norris was brilliant coming out of the gates last year, as he won five of his first six decisions, while pitching to a 3.14 ERA through nine starts. However, the wheels fell off from there and he ended the year, 7-13 with a 4.65 ERA. Texas has dominated the Astros over the past four years, winning 19 of the 24 matchups. ' ' '

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