Fragen und Antworten » he and his teammates were outworked by the

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- David Clarksons debut was supposed to help the Toronto Maple Leafs establish an identity. Instead, he and his teammates were outworked by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a penalty-filled 5-2 loss Friday night at Nationwide Arena. Clarkson took the first of eight minor penalties in a choppy game that left players searching for answers. "We know weve got better, we know we have to do the right things to be an A-team in this league and we didnt do the right things tonight," said forward Dave Bolland, who scored the Leafs second goal and took two penalties. Special teams play was a major reason Toronto entered the game 7-3-0 despite coach Randy Carlyle lamenting his teams lack of an identity early this season. The Leafs only gave up one power-play goal to Columbus, but the parade to the penalty box still hurt them. They spent 11 minutes 32 seconds shorthanded, forcing goaltender Jonathan Bernier to take on a heavy workload and disrupting the flow of the game. Six of the minor penalties were stick infractions, in part the result of what Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards figured was his groups best skating game of the year. "Theyre a good team, they work hard, they had a good forecheck on us," said Bernier, who stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced. "We had some scoring chances, we just didnt put it in the net." The Blue Jackets got on the board on the power play, as defenceman Ryan Murray scored his first NHL goal just 39 seconds after Clarkson was penalized for hooking Nick Foligno. Marian Gaborik scored in the third not long after Nazem Kadri was released from the box after the second of his three penalties, and Brandon Dubinsky scored the game-winner with Columbus shorthanded later in the period. "The power plays were definitely lopsided, and then we get a break to go four-on-three and we give up a short-handed (goal)," Carlyle said. "Kind of set the table for what happened tonight." It was an uneven performance from the get-go for the Leafs, who were outshot 16-5 in the first period and didnt get on the board until Phil Kessel scored 40 seconds after the first intermission. Penalties piled up after that, and Bernier did his best to keep his team in the game. "Weve got to get a better effort," said Clarkson, who had four shots, two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating in 15:10 of ice time. "Especially Bernies been playing that well for us, and we kind of hang him out to dry there a little bit." Bernier said the Leafs didnt bring their "effort" against the Blue Jackets, but that wasnt lacking from Clarkson, who missed the first 10 games of the season while serving a suspension for leaving the bench to enter a pre-season fight. Carlyle figured Clarkson looked "rusty" but expected that after so much time away from game action. "Hes going to try, hes going to work," Carlyle said. "The other things as far as the stick-handling and the turnovers and stuff, I think youve got to give the guy some slack. He hasnt played any games this year. Everybody else is about 10 games ahead of him." Clarkson didnt feel rusty but wasnt giving himself any glowing reviews, in part because of the final result. "Any time you lose, you dont feel good," Clarkson said. "I felt like on the forecheck my jump was there, I felt OK. ... (But) its all about winning right now, and it doesnt matter how anyone feels weve got to find a way to win it, weve got to play better than that." After signing a US$36.75-million, seven-year deal with the Leafs in the off-season and taking on the expectations that went with it, Clarkson was anxious to make an impact. Weeks of bag skates prepared him for this moment, but once the puck dropped he tried to forget about all that. "I think Ive played in the league long enough that its not just another game, but when youve been out that long, you want to get out there and get some hits and get on the forecheck and make some plays," he said. "All that stuff, hopefully one down and now well get going." Clarkson wasnt to blame for the Leafs third-period meltdown, which included Gaboriks fifth goal of the season and Dubinskys shorthanded that came on a bad break. In his third straight start, Bernier faulted himself for not making enough saves, but the ex-New York Rangers forward made just about the perfect shot. "Youve got to give the shooter credit sometime," Bernier said. "He put it right under the bar. It was a good shot." Clarkson and his teammates must try to rebound quickly, with Sidney Crosby (18 points in 10 games) and the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting Air Canada Centre on Saturday night. Just like the Penguins after a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders, the Leafs have little time to dwell on this performance. "Were going to be fine, weve got to bounce back," Clarkson said. "This is the game of hockey, youre not going to win every game. I think we know what weve got to be better in." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES - Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, last years Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced. ... Foligno scored the Blue Jackets fifth goal against Bernier with seven seconds left after Ryan Johansen put the puck into an empty net 20 seconds earlier. ... Kessel left the game briefly late in the second period and went down the tunnel toward the locker-room but returned at the start of the third and finished with 16:20 of ice time. Wholesale Jerseys China . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. Clearance China Jerseys . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7. http://www.cheapnfljerseysclearance.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Clearance Authentic Jerseys . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. Clearance NFL Jerseys . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor.ALAMEDA, Calif. - Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray has been cleared to play this week against San Francisco after missing the previous game with a concussion.Murray was officially cleared Tuesday morning and was back at practice on Wednesday as the Raiders (1-11) prepare to face the rival 49ers (7-5) on Sunday in Oakland.Murray gave the Raiders a big spark in their only win of the season, carrying four times for 112 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-20 victory over Kansas City on Nov. 20. Murray left that game with a concussion and had to sit out last weeks 52-0 loss at St. Louis as well before he was deemed healthy again this week.Im ready to show I can handle a workload of carries, Murray said. Its no pressure for me at all. I know what Im capable of. However many carries I get or however many plays I get I just have to go out there and be effective.Murray has made the most of his limited time. He missed his entire rookie season in 2013 with a foot injury suffered in the preseason and began this year as the third-string running back behind Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden.He carried the ball just six times the first nine games despite Oakland being on pace to be the worst rushing team in the NFL since 1946. Murray then got four carries for 43 yards against San Diego on Nov. 16 to earn a bigger role the following week against the Chiefs.Murray scored Oaklands first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run and then broke off a 90-yarder that was the longest for an Oakland running back since Bo Jackson went 92 yards back in 1989.I know its only a couple of carries here, a couple of catches here but you cant take it away from him, quarterback Derek Carrr said.dddddddddddd The guy went out and did it. You have to be excited for him for that. ... I will be excited to see what he can do with more touches. Hopefully its more 90-yard runs.Despite the success in limited action, interim coach Tony Sparano has not committed to Murray becoming the feature back despite the lack of production from McFadden and Jones-Drew.Murray has rushed for 155 yards on eight carries in his past two games. McFadden has the same amount of rushing yards on his past 62 carries and is averaging 3.3 yards a run for the third straight season. Jones-Drew has just 90 yards on 41 carries this year.He has eight carries, Sparano said. I love the way Latavius runs the football. I like what Ive seen. Ive seen eight carries. I want to see more of him. Im curious too. Im curious just like the fans are curious.Sparano said he has seen improvement each week by Murray and that if he had practiced as well early in the season as he has of late, he would have been playing more already.But Sparano said it took some time for Murray to get back into form after sitting out all last season.This kid has just come along, come along, come along, Sparano said. All of a sudden he has gotten his opportunities.NOTES: Backup TE Brian Leonhardt did not practice after being knocked out of his second straight game with a concussion. The only other tight end on the roster is Mychal Rivera, although FB Marcel Reece and T Matt McCants could get time there. Oakland also could activate TE Scott Simonson from the practice squad. ... RT Menelik Watson did not practice with an injured foot and ankle.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '