Fragen und Antworten » by giving stars like Steven

TORONTO -- For the Toronto Maple Leafs, its time to rest, not panic. Losers of three in a row, the Leafs had a full day off Thursday after a rough run of six games in six cities in 10 days. Theyll now attempt to regroup before an already tenuous playoff picture gets more dicey. "First thing is get rest. Its been a gruelling stretch, a ton of travel, a lot of tough games where were seeing a lot of teams best efforts here," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "Get some rest and then come back refocused and get some of that confidence back that we had going to the West Coast." Confidence in the Leafs might be waning from the outside after losing to the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. But within the locker-room Wednesday night there was plenty of belief that those games featured some positive elements to build on. "No sense in panicking," said goaltender James Reimer, who has been thrust into the starting role since Jonathan Bernier was injured last week. "I think weve played some good hockey in the last three games, at times, and we know what we can do. I obviously believe in our team, we all believe in each other. "Its a case where, I think, with some fresh legs and kind of a little break here and get back at it, well be right back on top of our game again." Finding the top of their game is paramount to the Leafs, who occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after falling out of the top three in the Atlantic Division. They were as high as second, three points up on the Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, after beating the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13. In the three games since, Toronto has given up the first goal in each and struggled with defensive breakdowns in front of Reimer. Fixing the brutal starts might be the first order of business going into Saturdays game against the Montreal Canadiens and the final 10 after that. "Weve had a trend over the last three games where we seem like were starting a little sluggish or were not getting the exact start that were wanting," winger Mason Raymond said. "I thought later in (Lightning) game we showed that desperation, but we need that for 60 minutes. I think at the end of the day for me, (the key is) playing the 60 minutes in that desperation mode." Finding that "desperation mode" could have a lot do to with having more energy in reserve. At least thats coach Randy Carlyles hope after watching his team run on empty. "We just come off a 10-day road trip and we play tonight off a back-to-back," Carlyle said Wednesday night following a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. "Thats not an excuse, but its a trying situation, and its not easy." The Leafs have also made life hard on themselves by giving stars like Steven Stamkos way too much room close to the net. Defensive breakdowns like the ones that led to Stamkoss hat trick are likely on the to-do list for Fridays practice. "It comes down to doing the basic things, every night doing the simple things," defenceman Tim Gleason said. "I think as a group of five, we really have to button down, get pucks out when we can and do the simple things in our zone and the offence will take care of itself and well get our chances." If the Leafs are getting offensive chances, theres enough firepower from Phil Kessel (35 goals) down the lineup to make things happen. But Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and defenceman Jake Gardiner (five goals in seven games) scored against Tampa Bay and it wasnt enough. Only minutes after that defeat, players wanted to move on and separate themselves from this losing streak. The best way to do so is finding a winning recipe -- before it gets too late. The Leafs have played 71 games, the most of any team in contention in the East, which also means they no longer control their playoff hopes. The Detroit Red Wings, who visit Air Canada Centre on March 29, are in the drivers seat if they keep winning. Thats not a comfortable spot to be in with just 11 games remaining in the regular season. These are almost desperate times in Toronto. "Obviously we havent played as well as we need to, and were not sitting here saying that were playing the type of hockey that is required to have success," Carlyle said. "Well, we lost three games in a row and if we show the desperation that we displayed in the last half of the game for 60 minutes, we surely could improve our chances. Thats for sure." Nike Air Max Korting . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Nike Air Max Goedkoop . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. http://www.airmaxoutlet.nl/ . They started shooting the puck. Joe Pavelski had a hat trick to move into a tie for second in the NHL in goals and the Sharks beat Philadelphia 7-3 Thursday night in the first game for both teams following the Olympic break. Air Max Outlet Goedkoop . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. Nike Air Max Nederland Bestellen . Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday night.WASHINGTON -- The NFL is prepared to meet with an Indian tribe pushing for the Washington Redskins to drop the teams nickname. Just not this week. As league owners gathered Monday in the nations capital for their fall meetings, the Oneida Indian Nation held a symposium across town to promote their "Change the Mascot" campaign. Oneida representative Ray Halbritter said the NFL was invited to attend. Instead, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, a meeting has been scheduled for next month -- and could happen sooner. "We respect that people have differing views," McCarthy said. "It is important that we listen to all perspectives." He said the Redskins name is not on the agenda for the owners meetings. Redskins owner Dan Snyder has vowed to keep the name, and an AP-GfK poll conducted in April found that nearly 4 in 5 Americans dont think the team should change its name. Its a topic generating discussion lately, though. President Barack Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press last week that he would "think about changing" the teams name if he were the owner. Halbritter called that statement "nothing less than historic" and said the teams nickname is "a divisive epithet ... and an outdated sign of division and hate." Addressing the NFL, Halbritter said: "It is hypocritical to say youre Americas pastime but not represent the ideals of America." U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said the league and team are "promoting a racial slur" and "this issue is not going away." For years, a group of American Indians has tried to block the team from having federal trademark protection, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbiaas envoy to Congress, predicted Monday that effort eventually will succeed.dddddddddddd "This name is going to go into the dustbin of history," she said. Lanny Davis, a lawyer who said hes been advising Snyder on the name issue for "at least several months," said in a telephone interview after the symposium: "The Washington Redskins support peoples feelings, but the overwhelming data is that Native Americans are not offended and only a small minority are." Davis also said the campaign is "showing selective attention" by focusing on the Redskins and not teams such as the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs, NHLs Chicago Blackhawks, or Major League Baseballs Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves. Earlier, Halbritter was asked about those other nicknames. "The name of Washingtons team is a dictionary-defined, offensive racial epithet. Those other names arent," Halbritter said. "But there is a broader discussion to be had about using mascots generally." Players for the Redskins have remained mostly silent on the topic, including star quarterback Robert Griffin III, who recently called the debate "something way above my understanding." Some players approached in the locker room Monday avoided addressing the subject altogether. "Its really tough. And I mean this sincerely: I get both sides of the argument," guard Chris Chester said. "I see how it can offend some people, but I feel like the context that this organization has, theres no negative connotation. You wouldnt name your team something you didnt have respect for. At least I wouldnt. I mean, I understand, too, that it offends some people, so I sympathize with both sides." 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