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Ryan Giggs says there is no excuse for Manchester Uniteds poor start to the season and insists the players, not manager David Moyes, are to blame. United has won only two of its opening six matches in the English Premier League - its worst start to a season in 24 years - and is 12th in the standings. Much of the spotlight has fallen on Moyes, Alex Fergusons hand-picked replacement, but Giggs believes the team should take responsibility. "Sir Alex was a great manager and a great influence on the team and the club. You are going to miss someone like that," Giggs said. "But I dont think that is an excuse when individuals arent playing as well as they can. We are not playing well as a team. "We havent got injury problems as we have had in the past. There is no excuse." United was held to 1-1 by Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday in the Champions League and Giggs came off the substitutes bench to make his 145th appearance in the competition, a tournament record. Accolades for the 39-year-old however, were in contrast to Uniteds form, which has seen the team win only one of its last four games overall. A shock 2-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion at home in the Premier League last weekend came six days after a galling 4-1 defeat to bitter rival Manchester City, meaning United trails league leader Arsenal by eight points. "It hasnt been a great start to the season but the good thing about that is we have plenty of time to turn it round," Giggs said. "We know what this club is like, it is ups and downs and we dont get carried away if we are flying and we dont get carried away when we are not playing well." Ferguson famously endured a difficult start to his tenure at Old Trafford and after finishing 11th in his third season in charge, many supporters called for him to be sacked. Uniteds hierarchy stood firm and Ferguson went on to lift 38 trophies in 27 years. Moyes is counting on the club to show similar patience for him and is adamant he is the right man to lead United forward. "Manchester United is a good club, I am sure they know they picked the right man for the job. Sir Alex was part of that process as well," Moyes said on Friday. "Its a long season. Well hang in there and get ourselves as close to the top as soon as we can." On Saturday, United play bottom club Sunderland, which recently sacked manager Paolo Di Canio but showed signs of revival last weekend against Liverpool. Kevin Ball has taken temporary stewardship of Sunderland. "Whether he gets the job or not nobody knows," Moyes said, "but Sunderland look as if they played quite well in the last couple of games." Ray Nitschke Jersey . (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. 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In Englands first game since its worst-ever World Cup showing, Roy Hodgsons side rarely looked like scoring against unambitious opposition and the breakthrough in the friendly only came when Raheem Sterling was tripped in the penalty area.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Watch the Kings vs. Maple Leafs live tonight on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto hopes to rebound after having a three-game winning streak halted in its last outing. The Maple Leafs were pounded 6-2 by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, losing one night after beginning a five-game road trip with a 3-1 win in Anaheim. Jake Gardiner registered both Toronto tallies in Tuesdays loss, while James Reimer allowed all six goals on 48 shots for the Leafs. "I thought we did a lot of things that gave them a lot of opportunities, specifically turning the puck over," said Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. Toronto, which fell to 13-13-7 as the road club this season, is still in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are one point ahead of Montreal and three in front of fourth-place Tampa Bay. L.A. has won two straight and three of the last four meetings against the Maple Leafs overall, but Toronto has claimed the past two encounters at Staples Center. The Kings have won eight games in a row and seven of those victories have come after the Olympic break. The time off in February apparently was productive for Los Angeles, which had dropped nine of 11 games before the league went on hiatus for the Sochi Olympics. Another victory tonight would give L.A. its first nine-game winning streak since Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2010, but a former teammate could prevent that from happening as Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier gets set to make his return to the Staples Center. Bernier, who served primarily as Jonathan Quicks backup during his time with the Kings, was dealt to Toronto last summer in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, goaltender Ben Scrivens and a seecond-round draft pick.dddddddddddd Frattin and Scrivens have since been traded by L.A., while Bernier is having a terrific debut season with the Leafs, going 25-16-7 with a 2.59 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 49 games. Originally a first-round pick of Los Angeles in the 2006 draft, Bernier had a 29-20-6 career record with six shutouts and a 2.36 GAA in 62 games with the Kings. He expects to get the start tonight and has a chance to end the Kings recent hot streak. Thanks to the recent surge, the Kings are sitting comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division, nine points ahead of Phoenix for the last of the divisions three automatic bids to the playoffs. L.A. is still nine points behind San Jose for second place and 11 points behind Anaheim for the top spot. The Kings are back home on Thursday after a perfect three-game road trip. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game homestand tonight and is 19-10-3 at Staples Center this season. The club capped its recent swing with Mondays 3-2 regulation win at Calgary. Anze Kopitar scored the eventual winner in the third period as Los Angeles survived a late push from the Flames to pick up the win at the Saddledome. Trevor Lewis and Justin Williams scored for the Kings, while Martin Jones made 24 saves in the win. "Good way to finish off the trip. We did what we wanted," said Los Angeles head coach Darryl Sutter. "If you score three on the road you should win the hockey game." Quick expects to get the start for L.A. on Thursday. The Kings No. 1 backstop is 2-1-0 with a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage in three career games against the Maple Leafs. Kings forward Jordan Nolan is eligible to return tonight after sitting out the last game due to a suspension. Nolan earned the one-game ban for a sucker punch on Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu on Sunday. ' ' '