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At the morning skate, head coach Randy Carlyle insisted Tuesdays poor effort against the Florida Panthers would not be soon forgotten, calling for a bounce back performance on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a similarly dubious start – failing to register a shot until the 9:50 mark of the first period – the Leafs turned things around, controlling much of the final 50 minutes en route to a 4-1 victory. "Huge, big," said Jonathan Bernier on the importance of the win. "I thought we started slow a little bit but when we got that power play we got our legs and momentum back." While the Leafs did not score on the power play late in the first period, it did shift the play into the Lightning end consistently for the first time after Toronto was on their heels in their own zone for much of the first ten minutes. "Definitely," said Carlyle, agreeing that that was when the momentum turned. "We didnt have anything going for ourselves but then we hemmed them in their zone, we had the puck in their zone for probably a minute and a half. Didnt score on it but we created some momentum for ourselves and thats when we started to play." The win brought the Leafs to within one point of the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with one game remaining for each team prior to the Olympic break. "Well outside of the first ten minutes, I thought we played a pretty solid game," said Carlyle. "We gave up some chances but we created some chances with our forecheck and we were opportunistic in the hockey game. We needed a response from our effort the other night and we got it tonight." Five Points 1) Shifting The Lines For the second straight game, Carlyle experimented with his line combinations, this time right from the start. Dressing eleven forwards (only three centres) and seven defencemen, Carlyle found a recipe that yielded three dangerous lines throughout the game. van Riemsdyk - Bozak - KesselLupul - Kadri - ClarksonRaymond - Kulemin - BodieMcLaren - McClement Gunnarsson - PhaneufGardiner - FransonRielly - GleasonRanger Carlyle employed Jay McClement on the second and third lines in key defensive zone faceoff situations and cycled Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson through as the extra wingers on the fourth line. "We tried to create a little more balance," said Carlyle. "With Clarkson coming back into the line up, we felt we could move him up. Kulemin going to the middle allowed him to use his strength and ability to get on pucks. Bodies been playing very well and we felt that we owed him more minutes and when you have Mason Raymond on that line, they can create things." The experiment, which Carlyle indicated had been considered for a couple of days, paid off for the Leafs with each of the top three lines contributing a goal. 2) Gleason, Bernier Take Umbrage To JT Brown With less than two minutes left, JT Brown drove to the net with the puck, running over Jonathan Bernier, creating a scrum behind the net after Bernier and then Gleason took offence. "Its a 4-1 game and theres a minute and a half left and you can see hes doing it on purpose to run into me," said Bernier. "I just didnt like that move." "I guess he could pull up a little bit, didnt look like he was stopping anytime soon," added Gleason, who drew praise from Bernier for stepping in to defend him. The ruckus even drew Lightning netminder Cedrick Desjardins from his net but Bernier admitted he never had a notion to engage him. "Yeah I saw him, but at this point in the season, you dont want to get hurt," said the Leafs goalie. "You have to make the right decision." 3) Paul Ranger Returns To Tampa Paul Ranger had not played since January 7 against the New York Islanders – a span of 14 games – but drew back in against the Lightning when Randy Carlyle opted to dress seven defencemen. Making the return even more significant was the fact that it came in the building Ranger spent the first five years and 270 games of his NHL career before taking a three year sabbatical from the NHL. "Heck yeah it does, a lot," Ranger said on TSN 1050 Radio at the first intermission when asked if his return to Tampa meant anything extra to him. Ranger said he got the news that he would play just before the warm up, a gesture from Randy Carlyle that he sincerely appreciated. "I thanked (Carlyle) for letting me play in this game and giving me an opportunity to contribute," Ranger said after the game. 4) Gleason Gives His Dad a Show Eleven years in the NHL has afforded Tim Gleason the opportunity to bring his dad Kevin on several team road trips. But they hadnt been fruitful trips until tonight. "Long story short, my Dads been on about seven or eight of these ("Dads trips") and we have yet to win one until tonight," said Gleason. "So Im going to have a beer with my dad on the plane." 5) Gone Fishing The Maple Leafs took advantage of their afternoon between games in the Sunshine State on Wednesday to embark on a fishing trip with their fathers organized by Paul Ranger, who became familiar with the sights in Tampa Bay during his five season spent with the Lightning. "I havent done much fishing in my lifetime; I was kind of a newbie," said Nazem Kadri, who caught a small shark. "But it was fun, especially being out with the guys, pretty much the whole team went so it was good just to be surrounded with that environment and have some fun with it." Accompanied on the trip by expert guides, Cody Franson explained that he enjoyed learning about some of the strategy behind successful fishing. "Fishing with guides, it was pretty interesting to see the sport behind fishing," he said. "We go fishing back home and sometimes you go out for three or four hours and dont catch anything but these guys, its a game for them and they know what theyre doing out there." Jake Gardiner, who grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, said his father John is far more of an experienced fisherman than he is, though he had some success of his own, with a couple of different bites. Holding onto them proved harder than catching them though. "I was surprised about how slimy those things were," Jake explained. "I dropped it once and could barely hold onto it the second time. Its not like fishing in Minnesota, theyre a lot slimier here, I think they need that to survive." Stats Pack: 9:50: Leafs register their first shot; made it 6-1 Lightning at the time12-9: Shots after first period in favour of Leafs36-34: Total shots in favour of Leafs44-22: Faceoff wins in favour of the Lightning3/14: Kulemins night in the face off circle, centering Raymond and Bodie12:52: Ice time for Ranger in his first action in 14 games12:21: Ice time for Bodie1: Power play opportunity for each team14: Penalty minutes incurred by Tim Gleason, stepping in to defend Jonathan Bernier after the netminder was run over by JT Miller late in the third period Quote of the Night: "Id rather a guy pull me out of the pile and do something instead of fill me knowing that Ive got no hands. It is what it is; hes frustrated but at least pull me out of the pile and do it than throwing them from nowhere. We got two points so I could care less really." – Tim Gleason on Radko Gudas jumping into the scrum that developed after JT Brown ran over Jonathan Bernier Up Next: The Maple Leafs return home to Air Canada Centre to face the Vancouver Canucks at 6pm on Saturday night. The Canucks beat the Leafs 4-0 on November 2 in their previous meeting, the same game David Bolland went down with a severed tendon. Womens Air Jordan 4 Retro .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. White Air Jordan 4 Retro . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. http://www.cheapairjordan4retro.com/ . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Air Jordan 4 Retro Outlet . Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt. Valencia made sure it will finish first in Group A with a 1-0 win at Swansea thanks to an early goal from Dani Parejo. Black Air Jordan 4 Retro . -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena to a $25 million, five-year contract Saturday. LANDOVER, Md. -- Never much for words, Colin Kaepernick summed up the best statistical game of his NFL career with typical understatement: "I think this was a good step for us in the right direction." Always one to speak at length when theres a camera around, Robert Griffin III reflected on one of the worst games of his young career by referencing "demons" that need to be conquered and the people who are supposedly "trying to character assassinate" him. While their playing styles may be similar, their public personas are as divergent as their performances were in their first face-to-face matchup. Kaepernick clearly outplayed Griffin on Monday night as the San Francisco 49ers broke a two-game losing streak with a 27-6 win over the Washington Redskins. Kaepernick completed 15 of 24 passes for 235 yards -- the first time in five games hes topped 200 -- with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a career-best 134.5 passing rating. He made a couple of throws to Anquan Boldin that looked worthy of a veteran drop-back quarterback. That should quiet the critics. For a few days, at least. "Some people have baby deer skin," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Hes got the armadillo skin." It will take more than an armadillo to quiet the angst surrounding the Redskins and Griffin, who completed 17 of 27 passes for only 127 yards and was sacked four times. His rating was 58.7, and Washingtons offence amassed a mere 190 total yards. Here are five ruminations on the 49ers (7-4), who remain tied for second with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, and the Redskins (3-8), who sit alone in the cellar of the NFC East. HEY, WE KNOW THAT OFFENSE: The 49ers did to Griffin what other defences try to do to Kaepernick -- take away the run and force the QB to throw. Alfred Morris rushed for only 52 yards on 14 carries. The Redskins, playing catch-up, gained only 30 total yards after halftime. San Francisco linebacker Aldon Smith had his first two sacks since undergoing treatment for substance abuse. RG3 AND DAD: Before Griffin headed to his postgame news conference, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year spoke with an unusual locker-room visitor: his father. RG2 then tagged along for the news conference. When RG3 returned to finish removing his uniform, the two men chatted for several minutes, sitting face-to-face. Griffin started the evening with four incompletions.dddddddddddd When he finally completed his fifth pass, the play lost a yard. His sixth attempt was intercepted. "Weve got to conquer some of the demons that we have going on as an offence," Griffin said, "and just as a team in general." CRABTREE JOINS THE CREW: Injuries to the 49ers receiving corps have often been cited for Kaepernicks lacklustre passing numbers. Mario Manningham (four catches, 45 yards) recently returned to the lineup, and now 2012 leading receiver Michael Crabtree is set to be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list and play next week. Crabtree returned to practice Nov. 5 for the first time since tearing his right Achilles tendon in May. "We need them all," Harbaugh said. "This is only for the tough. Where our team is headed, its only for the tough." SHANAHAN DISAPPOINTED: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said his team got "embarrassed." He said he was "disappointed in the way we performed." He acknowledged that his team had not been "dominated like that since Ive been here." The Redskins are 24-36, including playoff games, since Shanahan arrived with a $35 million, five-year contract. They are currently on pace for their third last-place finish in his four seasons. The defence made Kaepernick look fantastic, and cornerback Josh Wilson was particularly generous, repeatedly getting beaten by receivers. There was a sloppy sequence at the end of the first half for Washingtons offence, including a timeout called while the clock was already stopped on a hurry-up drive. And with the score still only 10-6 early in the second half, Shanahan decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the 41 and gave the ball to backup tailback Roy Helu. He was stopped short, and the Niners took over and drove 60 yards for a TD. Still, after all of it, veteran linebacker London Fletcher called Shanahan "a great leader." 49ERS LOOKAHEAD: San Francisco now heads into the stretch run and has to be feeling better about its playoff chances. Of their five remaining games, two are against division foes the Niners beat already -- including St. Louis next Sunday -- and two come against also-rans Tampa Bay and Atlanta. The most intriguing matchup comes in two weeks, at home against NFC West rival Seattle, which leads the NFL with a 10-1 record and beat visiting San Francisco 29-3 in Week 2. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '