(SportsNetwork.
Mel Ott Jersey .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed a memorable win on New Years Day, but little has gone right for
the club since. The Leafs hope to avoid a fifth consecutive loss since their
victory in the Winter Classic as they play host on Sunday night to the New
Jersey Devils. Since beating the Detroit Red Wings outdoors on Jan. 1, Toronto
has been outscored 21-7 over its longest skid since dropping a season-high five
in a row from Nov. 25-Dec. 3. After losing by a five-goal margin at Carolina on
Thursday, the Maple Leafs were more competitive in a 3-2 setback to the hosting
Washington Capitals the following night. Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk each
posted a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, while Jonathan Bernier gave up
all three goals on 35 shots. "We had some unlucky bounces tonight and thats the
way it goes for us," said Bernier. "I thought we all played really hard out
there tonight and had a good game, just came up short." Bernier, who beat the
Red Wings in the Winter Classic, has yielded 12 goals in three straight
setbacks, while fellow netminder James Reimer has yielded 11 goals in his past
three appearances, including two starts. Reimer is 4-1-2 with a 2.04 goals
against average in seven career starts versus the Devils, while Bernier is 1-1-0
with a 1.92 GAA in two meetings. He got the start in the first of three
encounters this season, posting 34 saves in a 2-1 shootout win at home over New
Jersey on Nov. 8. Bernier is expected to get the call between the pipes this
evening. Kessel tallied in regulation and van Riemsdyk had the shootout winner,
giving the Maple Leafs their fifth victory in a row over the Devils. That
includes three straight as the host. Toronto is 6-0-2 in its past eight over New
Jersey overall. Michael Ryder had a goal and Cory Schneider made 27 saves in the
most recent setback to the Leafs. Ryder scored for a fourth game in a row on
Saturday night in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers, while the
biggest goal of the game went to Marek Zidlicky. The defensemans eighth tally of
the campaign came with just 2.1 seconds left on the clock and gave New Jersey a
2-0-1 mark on its three-game homestand. With just seconds left on the clock,
Travis Zajac won an offensive draw back to Jaromir Jagr, who then quickly sent a
pass that Zidlicky one-timed into the upper right corner of the net. "I can tell
you we draw up a thousand faceoff plays over the course of a season and they
very rarely work," said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer. "You either lose a draw
or you dont get a bounce. The credit was to the execution. Zajac, Jagr and Zid
and (Steve) Bernier did a great job." Jagrs assist on the play gave him 1,724
career points, moving him pass Hall of Famer and former teammate Mario Lemieux
for sole possession of seventh place on the NHLs all-time list. Schneider, fresh
off a 26-save shutout of Dallas on Thursday, turned back 29 shots to help New
Jersey prevail. He is expected to get a third straight start tonight when the
Devils begin a four-game road trip. Schneider, who will face the Maple Leafs for
just the second time in his career, would make three straight starts for the
second time this season. He is 7-9-5 with a 1.97 GAA, .921 save percentage and
three shutouts in 21 starts this season.
Buster Posey Jersey . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last
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spent five seasons with the organization.
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California on Monday.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their
third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling
Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. Chicago has won its last
two games, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions a 5-0-1 record over their
last six trips to the ice. The Blackhawks have outscored the opposition by a
combined 9-3 score over the last two outings, beating visiting Winnipeg by a 4-1
score on Wednesday before posting a 5-2 victory Saturday night in Dallas.
Marian Hossa lit the lamp twice and Patrick Sharp tallied four assists in
Chicagos pasting of the Stars at American Airlines Center. Jonathan Toews and
Patrick Kane each collected a goal and assist, while Nicklas Hjalmarsson added
an empty-net goal. "We have a team that we feel can score with any line and our
defense is great at moving the puck and jumping the play. We just try to build
off each other and create offense," said Sharp. Chicago netminder Corey Crawford
stopped 31-of-33 shots fired his way. Former Edmonton goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin could get the call on Sunday for the Blackhawks to save
Crawford from having to start on back-to-back days. Khabibulin, who spent the
last four years with Edmonton before signing with Chicago last summer, has only
played in three games this season. The 40-year- old is 1-0-1 with a lofty 4.73
goals against average and .818 save percentage this season. Chicago is kicking
off a brief two-game homestand on Sunday and is 6-1-3 as the host this season.
Hunter Pence Giants Jersey. The Blackhawks also welcomes Phoenix to the Windy City on Thursday. The Oilers enter Sunday
having lost two straight and seven of their last eight games. Edmonton played
Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia and dropped a 4-2 decision to the Flyers, who
received the game-winner on Claude Girouxs first goal of the season. Edmonton,
which is last in the Western Conference with just 10 points this season, got
goals from David Perron and Taylor Hall in Saturdays loss. Devan Dubnyk allowed
four goals on 34 shots for Edmonton. "I thought we started well the first 10
minutes of the game and then we took a penalty, and it kind of unraveled from
there," Hall said. "They had some really good time in our end, had some really
good chances. (Dubnyk) made a lot of big stops tonight, where in the past couple
games we havent been giving up those kinds of shots. Its something we have to
clean up." Its unclear if Dubnyk will get the start on back-to-back days or if
Jason LaBarbera gets the call instead. The Oilers did announce the signing of
veteran goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a one-year deal on Friday, but the
outspoken netminder expects to spend time with the Edmontons AHL affiliate in
Oklahoma City for conditioning before joining the NHL club. Edmonton has four
wins in the last six overall meetings against the Blackhawks and is 4-1-1 in its
past six trips to the Windy City. Chicago did take two of three from the Oilers
during last years lockout-shortened season.
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