me that came at the 19:59 mark of the third period. Aaron Kerr an

TORONTO – As he does at the conclusion of each and every skate, Randy Carlyle gathered his players along the side boards and delivered his message, one that lingered a little longer than usual on this day, his words measured and optimistic amid a late season skid. "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Win our share of games. Find a way to get our team playing back to the way were capable of playing." The Leafs – who may have help on the way – have dropped three straight games for the first time in more than two months, their once secure position in the playoff race suddenly veering toward a more uncertain status. Though they still occupy the first wild card spot in the East, their lead on the likes of Tampa, Montreal, New York, Detroit and Washington has narrowed, if not vanished. And a sweltering stretch which saw them rack up at least a point in 18 of 22 games (15-4-3) – following that four-game slide in early January – has quickly become old news. More important now is a looming back-to-back set with the Canadiens and Devils, Montreal notably just three points up as the third seed in the Atlantic division. "I dont think if you go back and watch the game-tape wed say were playing terrible games," said Joffrey Lupul of close losses to the Capitals, Red Wings and Lightning. "Were working, were skating, [but] were making some critical mistakes to not give us a chance to win." Among those errors was a mistake by Lupul in the middle frame of a Wednesday loss to Tampa, one that saw the 30-year-old winger fail to chip a puck out along the boards, the mistake resulting in Steven Stamkoss third goal of the game. Execution errors of that kind were common in the first half of a 5-3 loss to the Lightning – now five points up on Toronto with a game in hand – the Leafs late push, like others in Washington and Detroit, just too late to snap a three-game skid. Carlyle told his team that their competition level, which helped manifest 22 third period shots opposite Ben Bishop, needed to become a more consistent reality. "That has to be 60 minutes," he said. But whats plagued the Leafs in recent days isnt altogether different from whats lingered beneath the surface all year, defensive concerns standing most prominent. Unlike most of the season, however, their top line has quieted some (with secondary support still inconsistent) and the goaltending in Jonathan Berniers absence has been merely average. James Reimer has a .901 save percentage in five consecutive appearances. Special teams, additionally, have both struggled. "Its just been a mistake here or a mistake there or not getting the job done on special teams," said Lupul. Help could be on the way with Dave Bolland "probable" to return against the Canadiens, Bernier remaining out a fourth straight game because of a groin injury. Sidelined for nearly five months Bolland is expected to play alongside Mason Raymond and David Clarkson, exuding a real excitement about returning to the Toronto lineup for the first time since Nov. 2. "Things are going upwards," the 27-year-old said ahead of the Saturday tilt. Bolland has missed the past 56 games with a severed tendon in his left ankle, grueling through months of slow-moving rehab. He appeared close to a return in early March, but was still having trouble crossing over, pushing his timeframe further back than even the team expected. "Its a grind and its not fun coming to the rink early in the morning and then leaving later after the guys and then getting there for the game and working out and seeing whats going on on the ice," said Bolland. "Its not a fun moment for hockey players to go through that, to battle through that. "You dont get any excitement. You dont really feel the excitement that the guys feel when they win … Youre sort of in the background when things are going on. Its good to see that everything is going upwards." Bernier was on the ice for a third straight day Saturday morning, but was not yet at 100 per cent, according to Carlyle. His status for Sundays game in New Jersey also appears in question with a return more likely early next week. "We were pretty excited with some of our additions coming into camp and it seems that we havent had everyone in there as a whole yet," said Lupul. "Itll be interesting to see." Altering some of the recent maladies though will require improvements elsewhere. Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak were due to cool off from a scorching two-month run and they have, meaning that more is required offensively from Lupul, Nazem Kadri, David Clarkson and other sources of depth from the group up front. Toronto forwards have just seven goals in the last six games. Unable to outscore teams recently, the Leafs have actually cut down on the number of shots against, yielding only 31 on average during the three-game skid. But theyve ceded far too many high-quality opportunities – notably to Stamkos most recently – many of which Reimer could not turn aside as Bernier has for most of the season. Their power-play, additionally, is in need of a spark with just three goals in the past 14 games. And their penalty kill, once rising, has given up five in the three losses. Unpredictable and unwaveringly confident all year in the face of adversity, theres no reason why the Leafs cant turn things around in a hurry. But with just 11 games to play and a stake in their second straight trip to the postseason on the line, the clock is certainly ticking. Todd Gurley II Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. Marshall Faulk Youth Jersey .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-taylor-rapp-rams-jersey/ . The Asheville, N.C. native, who signed as a free agent with the CFL club last May, didnt see any action with Edmonton this season after opening the year on the injured list. Torry Holt Jersey .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. Marshall Faulk Rams Jersey .ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics.HALIFAX - Nikolaj Ehlers was unstoppable on Wednesday night.Ehlers had a hat trick in regulation time and scored the only goal in the shootout as the Halifax Mooseheads edged the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 5-4 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.Timo Meier also scored for Halifax (8-11-3), while Zachary Fucale made 21 saves and turned away three skaters in the shootout.Andrew Ryan forced overtime for Acadie-Bathurst (6-15-2) with his second goal of the game that came at the 19:59 mark of the third period. Aaron Kerr and Rapha?l Corriveau had the other goals for the Titan.Jacob Brennan stopped 33 shots in net for Acadie-Bathurst.The Mooseheads did not score on their seven power plays, while the Tittan went 2 for 7 with the man advantage.dddddddddddd---WILDCATS 7 SCREAMING EAGLES 4SYDNEY, N.S. — Conor Garland had two goals and two assists to power Moncton past Cape Breton.Stephen Johnson scored twice for the Wildcats (14-8-0). Ivan Barbashev, Will Smith and Eric Leger rounded out the attack.Pierre-Luc Dubois, Evgeny Svechnikov, Kyle Farrell and Jason Bell supplied the offence for the Screaming Eagles (7-11-4).---REMPARTS 3 SEA DOGS 0QUEBEC CITY — Callum Booth stopped all 26 shots he faced as the Remparts shut out Saint John.Marc-Olivier Roy, Guillaume Gauthier and Kurt Etchegary supplied the offence for Quebec (15-6-0).Sebastien Auger made 32 saves for the Sea Dogs (13-4-3).--- ' ' '