TORONTO - Randy Carlyle breathed a heavy sigh of exasperation. Hydro Flask 40 OZ . Frustration, he said glumly. Anger. Those are the two things were probably front and centre from the coaching staffs perception. That was just under three weeks ago after the Maple Leafs were embarrassed on home ice - holding a players only meeting afterward - owned just one more time by a Bruins squad thats had their number for the past half-dozen years. Fast forward to Wednesday night at the ACC and some slight measure of redemption for Toronto. With two goals from Phil Kessel, an off-night from Tuukka Rask and a mostly strong team effort, the Leafs scored a decisive 6-1 win over their rivals from Beantown. It was their sixth victory in the past eight games (6-1-1) and a rare one over the Bruins. I think we really felt like we owed Boston one, Peter Holland said, scoring for the third straight game and also adding an assist. Last time they were in here we felt a little embarrassed about our effort. History turned on its head in many ways on this night. Kessel came into the evening with only three goals in 27 regular season games opposite the team that drafted him and none against Rask. But he snapped a pair past the 2014 Vezina winner, his ninth and 10th markers of the season. Rask, for that matter, entered Wednesdays game with a career mark of 10-2-0 against the Leafs, along with a scintillating .945 save percentage. But he was hooked after the fourth Toronto goal and 16th shot - redirected through the five-hole - in favour of backup Niklas Svedberg. And the Leafs, well, they had dropped 18 of the previous 27 meetings with Boston - who was playing without Zdeno Chara and David Krejci - and 15 of the previous 22 in Toronto. Everything seemed to go their way, though, on Wednesday. The Leafs scored early when Kessel burst past Zach Trotman and snapped his first of the night by Rask. Hed add another 18 seconds into the middle frame on another quick shot, his teammates dropping two more - Morgan Rielly and Tyler Bozak - in a span of a couple minutes. Tonight was one of our best starts of the year - mightve been our best, said Carlyle. We started out the second period and it was the same way. So distraught after that earlier loss to Boston, Carlyle didnt want his team to forget about it just a few weeks later. Weve talked about it, thats for sure, he said before the game. Weve tried to stimulate our memory a little bit about how embarrassed we were on the performance we put forward in that game. The Leafs turned an early corner after that 4-1 loss to the Bruins on Oct. 25 - their third one-sided clunker in the first eight games. Not without some hiccups they won five of the next seven, adding another win to that total on Wednesday night. Theyve thrived behind improved offensive depth and strong special teams - including a power-play thats up to sixth-best overall after a three-goal night against the Bruins. But for all the recent victories, theyve still allowed quite a few goals, quite a few shots and have typically had to play from behind. Its a long season, van Riemsdyk said, veering against too much optimism after the latest win. You dont read too much into one individual game at this point I dont think. We just want to keep getting better, keep continuing to play we need to play and go from there. We dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves, Carlyle agreed. Were a group that needs to continue to focus on some of the smaller things and details of the game and build off it. Sure, we feel good about ourselves right now, but whos coming on Friday. Five Points 1. Kessels Start Only one player since the beginning of the 2011-12 season has more total points than Kessel. The 27-year-old has piled up 235 points in that span of three-plus seasons, a mark bested only by Flyers captain, Claude Giroux. He trails only Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Corey Perry with 104 goals in that same stretch. Kessel has been one of the more consistent point producers in the league, if enigmatic and inconsistent in other areas. He went pointless in the first two games this season, but has since strung off 21 points in the past 14 games with a rotating cast of linemates - hes back with Bozak and van Riemsdyk - now tied for third in league scoring. He says he pays no attention, however, to the numbers. You see how many games your team wins, Kessel said in a rare pre-game conversation. If your team has success youll have success thats always how I look at it. When were winning hopefully I can contribute. I dont think it matters as much as you guys think, he added. NHL Scoring Leaders since 2011-12 Player Total Points Games Claude Giroux 245 221 Phil Kessel 235 228 Evgeni Malkin 231 180 Sidney Crosby 221 152 Alex Ovechkin 216 219 2. Quick Shot Kessels rapid release reminds his head coach of an old teammate and former Leafs draft pick. Rick Kehoe played in Toronto for three seasons and scored 55 goals with Carlyle as a member of the Penguins. He had the same kind of a release, a quick wrist-shot, Carlyle recalled, finishing second in team scoring to Kehoe when he popped the 50-mark during that 1980-81 season. They dont waste any time. They catch more people [off-guard] with quickness. They get the puck directed and it hits areas of the net that you never think they could score from. Holland picked the brain of a goalie, James Reimer in this case, on the mechanics of Kessels shot. Its just I guess the way the puck comes off his blade, he said. Its tough for the goalies to read where its going, whether its going to be low, high, right corner, left corner. And obviously the speed he gets it off helps him out too. However potent, this is not the best start of Kessels NHL career. That came three years earlier at the outset of the 2011-12 campaign. Raging in October, Kessel had 12 goals and 23 points after the first 16 games, finishing with career-highs in goals (37), assists (45) and points (82). Hes in line to break all those marks this season, on pace for more than 50 goals and 100 points. 3. Special Teams Perhaps nothing has meant more to the Leafs during this stretch than their special teams, both quite strong in the past few weeks. With a three-goal effort against the Bruins, the power-play is humming along at a 33 per cent clip in the past eight games, the penalty kill sizzling at 85 per cent in that same span. When you win the special teams battle in the game your chances really do go up of winning the hockey game, Carlyle said. 4. Shots Against Wednesday night offered a rare night of quiet for Jonathan Bernier. Boston managed just 26 shots, stemming a string of high-volume shot totals for the opposition. Over a five-game span coming into the game against the Bruins the Leafs allowed an average of 38 shots per game, including more than 40 twice. It seems like theres one period we seem to get away from it, said Carlyle, a 26-shot barrage by Chicago at the start of November amongst the wreckage. Carlyle suggested penalties and consequent power-plays were to blame, but rather its been the teams performance at 5-on-5 that continues to be the issue. Toronto has made considerable strides in cutting down the number of shots on whats been an improved penalty kill - from 59 shots per 60 minutes to 46 - but they continue to yield a similar bounty in 5-on-5 situations to last years league-worst calamity. 5. Top Lines Cody Franson played his 14th straight game on the Leafs top pair with Dion Phaneuf, a whole new challenge for the 27-year-old, who becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer. These guys that play on the top lines, Franson said, theyre creative, they can shoot, theyre playmakers, theyre the fastest guys [the opposing teams] have usually, its a challenge in so many different ways. It makes it a lot of fun. Foot speed can still present an issue for Franson, especially against the speediest and dynamic players an opponent throws out there, but the numbers suggest hes thriving against the increased competition. He boasts one of the highest possession numbers on the team once again in spite of the new responsibility – he was right there a year ago as well – up above the 50 per cent Fenwick mark coming into Wednesdays game. Stats-Pack 9-33 - Toronto power-play in the past eight games. 22-26 - Toronto penalty kill in the past eight games. 6-0-0 - Leafs record when scoring first this season. 5 - Career goals for Phil Kessel in 28 games against Boston. 6-games - Point streak for James van Riemsdyk, who has three goals and eight points in that span. 8 - Power-play points for Tyler Bozak this season, more than the seven points hes accumulated at even-strength. 5-games - Career-high point streak for Cody Franson, who has one goal and seven points in that span. 900 - Career games for Stephane Robidas, picked 164th overall in the 1995 draft. 7 - Players from that 95 draft who have played more NHL games than Robidas. Special Teams Capsule PP: 3-4 Season: 24.1% PK: 3-3 Season: 84.5% Quote of the Night Uh no … Thats probably a good thing though. Leo Komarov, asked if he was aware of the Leafs leading the league in takeaways. Up Next The Leafs host the Penguins Friday in the annual Hall of Fame game. Hydro Flask Vattenflaska . Hes coming back to fulfil them. One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes. Hydro Flask Coffee . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013.SARASOTA, Fla. -- When it comes to his 50-game drug suspension, Nelson Cruz didnt have much to say during his introduction by the Baltimore Orioles. Cruz gave short answers to any Biogenesis-related questions during a news conference Tuesday, a day after the 33-year-out outfielder finalized an $8 million, one-year contract. "Whatever happened in the past, I look to move forward and have a great year with the Baltimore Orioles," Cruz said. Cruz was suspended for 50 games last August for a violation of Major League Baseballs drug agreement related to the sports investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. He was joined at the news conference by eight of his new teammates, including Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters. Markakis said last summer that MLB needed stiffer penalties for violations of the drug rules. On Saturday, Markakis said he still favoured tougher penalties but was happy to have Cruz on the Orioles. "My opinion doesnt change toward anything. Hes part of this team now and hes going to be in this clubhouse and were going to welcome him just like anybody else. Hes going to be part of this team," Markakis said. Cruz hit .266 last year with 27 homers and 76 RBIs in 109 games. The suspension cost him $2,732,2240 of his $10 million salary. Hydro Flask Tillbehör. He signed with Baltimore more than three months after he turned a down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Rangers. "It was a frustrating process, but Im happy for the decision that I made. Im really excited for the opportunity. I like challenges and I think its going to be a great challenge for me. Hopefully, I do my best and I look for the World Series," Cruz said. Cruz waited until training camps had opened. Hes part of a late spending burst that has seen the orioles commit $63,575,000. Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez agreed to a $50 million, four-year contract and South Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon received a three-year deal for $5,575,000. Baltimore lost its first-round draft pick, No. 17 overall, for signing Jimenez, and its second-round selection, No. 55, for signing Cruz. Orioles executive vice-president of baseball operations Dan Duquette adopted a strategy of waiting for free agent prices to drop. "Weve been steadily putting our team together," he said. "We signed a couple of pitchers, which we said we were going to do, and we said we were looking for a bat in the middle of our lineup, and Nelson can fill that role. Were always looking, but I dont anticipate any players of this calibre soon, but were always looking around." ' ' '
