Neues » Carlyle raised the belief

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians specialized in walk-off wins last season. Boone Jenner Jersey . It took 34 games, but they finally got their first walk-off this season on Wednesday night when Mike Aviles two-out single in the ninth inning lifted the Indians to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Clevelands players mobbed Aviles after he crossed first base. "Its definitely fun, especially with a noon game (Wednesday)," Aviles said. "Its always good not to play extra innings and get that big win at the end." "That was nice," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We needed that." The Indians had 11 walk-off victories last season as they won 92 games and made the playoffs as a wild-card team. "Were playing at home and when you hit last you always feel like you have a chance," Francona said. The short-handed Twins were playing their third straight game without first baseman Joe Mauer and had only 11 available position players. Eduardo Escobar, normally a shortstop, played the entire game in left field, which cost Minnesota in the ninth. Asdrubal Cabrera led off the inning with a double against Casey Fien (3-1). Escobar misjudged the ball and turned the wrong way as it landed on the warning track. "He just didnt get to it, Im sure he shied away from the wall," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Hes not been out there a lot and it was going toward the wall over his head and he got to the warning track and felt that he was a little too close probably." After Lonnie Chisenhalls sacrifice bunt, Yan Gomes grounded out. Aviles hit a hard ground ball on a 1-1 pitch into centre field. John Axford (1-3), who had allowed game-winning home runs in his previous two outings, survived a shaky ninth. He retired the first two hitters, but Danny Santana doubled down the right-field line. After Brian Dozier walked on a 3-2 pitch, third baseman Carlos Santana, who had to contend with a fan who wanted the ball, leaned into the stands to catch Sam Fulds foul popup. "I was yelling from the mound, but I dont think he heard me," Axford said of the fan. "I was yelling, dont touch it. " Axford had a bad week going into the game. Chicagos Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning Sunday while Escobar hit a solo homer in the 10th inning Monday, giving Minnesota a 1-0 win. Axford was unavailable Tuesday after pitching the three previous games. "I felt good," he said. "Physically, I feel great. It worked out perfect. I got a day off and was able to rest up." Danny Salazar, who hit 100 mph on the Progressive Field radar gun several times, took a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but Minnesota tied the game on pinch-hitter Santanas RBI single and Doziers sacrifice fly. Salazar retired the first hitter, but Josmil Pinto singled and took third when Escobar doubled to left-centre. Bryan Shaw relieved to face Santana, who batted for Pedro Florimon. Shaw had to hit the deck to avoid Santanas liner up the middle that scored Pinto and put runners at first and third. Doziers fly ball scored Escobar. Salazar allowed three runs and struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings. Ricky Nolasco gave up three runs with nine strikeouts in six innings. Michael Brantley had a two-run double in the third and Gomes hit a leadoff homer in the fifth. Dozier had an RBI double in the third. Mauer, who has lower back spasms, played catch and took swings off a batting tee before the game. Gomes home run atoned for his ninth error of the season that helped Minnesota score in the third. Florimon drew a two-out walk, stole second and took third when Gomes throw skipped into centre field. Dozier followed with his double. NOTES: Indians OF Michael Bourn (tight left hamstring) missed his fourth straight game, but said he could return for the final game of the series Thursday. ... The Twins selected the contract of RHP Matt Guerrier from Triple-A Rochester and optioned LHP Logan Darnell to the same club. ... OF Aaron Hicks (concussion) is taking live batting practice in Minneapolis and could come off the 7-day disabled list this weekend. ... Twins RHP Kevin Correia (1-3) faces RHP Justin Masterson (1-1) on Thursday. Adidas Markus Nutivaara Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers made it official Tuesday and signed pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year contract. Lukas Sedlak Jersey . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-josh-anderson-jersey .Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No.UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Randy Carlyle could handle and might even expect some rustiness for 20 minutes or so after an 18-day Olympic break, but not for the entirety of what proved a dud for the Maple Leafs on Thursday in Long Island. "We gave them three goals," said Carlyle, still steaming after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders. "You cant win in the NHL giving three goals. Gifts. Total gifts." This was not the way Carlyle imagined his team starting the final lap of a long race to the playoffs – a blistering stretch featuring 21 more games in a hectic 44 days – but thats what he got, a sloppy, uninspired performance opposite a team that had lost seven of its previous eight games and was without its best player, John Tavares. Lacking the zip of their pre-Olympic pace – which included wins in 11 of 14 games – the Leafs managed to give away two shorthanded goals in a span of 48 seconds on the same two-minute power play before dropping a pair of third period leads. They lost the undeserved extra point in overtime when James van Riemsdyk could not corral a bouncing puck in the slot, essentially handing it to incoming Islander defender Lubomir Visnovsky, who snuck one through Jonathan Bernier. "I think mentally we looked like we were going to out-skill the hockey club we played against and they had a different attitude. They tried to grind it with us," said Carlyle afterward. "We tried to out-skill a hockey club tonight." Rust was to be expected after the two-plus week Olympic break, but not to the degree that it lingered on this night against a vastly inferior opponent. Two times in the third period did the Leafs vault in front – on goals from Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul – only to be jilted twice for that lead by Anders Lee, who scored twice in his first NHL game. Lee tapped in his first on a New York power-play, evading Phaneuf and Bernier on the fourth and final game-tying goal late in regulation. "You can expect it for a period," Carlyle said of rust, "but I think when you get down to the third period and youre up in a hockey game youd expect to be able to grind it out, tighten it up and finish the team off. "We were lucky to get a point." Perhaps the effort will offer an early warning to a club itching for a second consecutive spring of playoff hockey. While still comfortable as the first wild card in the East with 71 points that comfort has the potential – however unlikely at this point – to disappear if the Leafs were to catch a fever of bad hockey down the stretch. And with rivals in Montreal and Tampa Bay still there to be caught and Detroit just a smidge behind, heavy incentive remains to lay the foot on the pedal with just over a month left to play. "We know that we left a point here," said Phaneuf. "Thats something we have to recognize and learn from." Five Points 1. Stretch Drive Mentality It was a race to the 2008-09 postseason and Tim Gleason and the Carolina Hurricanes were in a desperate hunt to claim one of the final spots in the East. Winning 13 of their final 18 games they snuck in, landed the sixth seed and proceeded to march all the way to the conference finals. "Thinking back I think thats what it was," Gleason told the Leaf Report. "You play as hard as you can because you needed those two points every night." Though his current team sits firm in a playoff position at the moment, Gleason hopes they latch onto his former clubs sense of nightly desperation. Thursday was in no way, shape or form a good start. "Its like a new season, a new beginning and you know youve got to come and play and get the wins when you can," said the 31-year-old. "...youve got to push when everyone else is pushing and you have to push harder than everybody else." The Olympic break could not have come at more inopportune time for the Leafs, who entered the stoppage on a scorching run that saw them emerge with points in 12 of 14 games (11-2-1). Gleason too was settling into a groove in Toronto after eight seasons in Carolina. "Its interesting because everybody is anxious for the break because its good to have a break, but you think in the back of your mind you dont want it to end because it was going in the right direction," he said. "Now I think its just more of a mental thing, knowing where we left off and what we have to do to keep the pace and pick up points when we can." 2. Lacking Defence In winning 11 of those 14 games before the break, the Leafs scored and scored quite a bit – averaging 3.64 goals per game, a number that would easily lead the league if somehow sustained. And yet in that same stretch, Toronto also gave up nearly three goals peer game itself and still ranks as one of the NHLs worst defensive clubs (all of this with terrific goaltending from Bernier). Alexander Wennberg Jersey. Team defence remains a sore spot for the Leafs and a worrying concern ahead of the playoffs when the hockey tends to tighten with goals ever the harder to come by. "Weve talked so much about defence and we havent really applied ourselves as a team in that area," said Carlyle on Thursday morning, "and thats one of the things that weve stated from the beginning of the season that we wanted to be stingier on the defensive side of it." No team allows more shots nightly than do the Leafs and only five teams have yielded more goals, none of them currently in a playoff position. The Islanders managed five on this night, playing without their top centre, Tavares, and their second-best centre, Frans Nielsen. "Weve talked about it so many times about our goaltenders having to be taxed in too many situations," Carlyle said. "Wed like to be able to say that its a new season for us, were starting over. The defensive aspect of it has to be part of it. But it takes goals to score in the league too. We just dont want to give up too many of the quality scoring chances..." 3. Bernier Workload Only one goaltender in the NHL has faced more shots this season than Bernier and thats Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes. Of course, Smith has also started 10 more games than the 25-year-old, who made his 39th start of the season at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday. Bernier faced 35 shots and allowed five goals, ending a run of 12 consecutive starts yielding three or fewer. "I thought my rebound control wasnt great tonight and Ive got to make more saves," he said afterward. "Five goals, its not a good night, but at the same time we got a point and weve got to move on." Shining in his first go-around as an NHL no. 1, the stretch drive will prove an interesting testing ground for Bernier. He has not played this many games in a season since 2009-10 when he was still in the American League with Manchester. 4. No Olympic Letdown? Back in 2010 and then the bench boss in Anaheim, Carlyle had a slew of players return from the Olympics in Vancouver emotionally spent and missing the gas required to carry the Ducks as per usual. But on Thursday morning, Carlyle raised the belief that Sochi Olympians Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Nik Kulemin could actually have a leg up on their teammates having played the past few weeks. And he turned out to be fairly prescient, at least for a game. van Riemsdyk had a hand in three of the four Toronto goals, matching a career-high with three assists, while Kessel chipped in with his 32nd goal of the year, also adding a helper to what has been a scorching 2014. The 26-year-old is now tied for second in league scoring with 67 points, 30 of which have come in the New Year. "Its not too hard to get back into it," van Riemsdyk said prior to the game. "Obviously we know whats at stake. All my attention is here on the Maple Leafs. The Olympics is done and over with. Its all about the rest of the season here and what we have to accomplish here." 5. Olympic Experience An Olympian with the American squad for the first time, the 24-year-old van Riemsdyk said the experience was memorable despite a disappointing finish which saw the U.S. bounced by Canada in the semifinals and then trounced in the bronze medal game by Finland. "Obviously the ending wasnt necessarily how we wanted it go which is unfortunate, but in a tournament like that where its single elimination thats how it goes sometimes unfortunately. As far as the whole Olympic experience I thought it was pretty cool. It almost reminded me of being back in college again as far as just even the dorms and being at the cafeteria with all the other athletes." Stats-Pack 1479 – Shots faced by Jonathan Bernier this season, second most in the NHL. 67 – Points this season for Phil Kessel, now tied for second in league scoring. 29 – Points for Kessel in the past 16 games. 12 – Goals for Kessel in that same 16-game stretch. 2 – Shorthanded goals scored by the Islanders in 48 seconds of the same Toronto power-play on Thursday. 3.67 – Goals per game for the Leafs since Jan. 12. 3 – Goals against per game for the Leafs this season. 3 – Assists by James van Riemsdyk against New York, matching a career-high. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 21.8 per cent (4th) PK: 3-4Season: 77.9 per cent (29th) Quote of the Night "Gifts. Ive got no other word to describe the goals that we gave up." -Randy Carlyle, following the overtime loss to the Islanders. Up Next The Leafs head to Montreal for a Saturday showdown with the Canadiens. ' ' '