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TORONTO – Just when it seems that it cant get much worse for the Toronto Maple Leafs... Not good enough again, said Phil Kessel after the latest defeat. Another 18-wheeler is veering off the cliff in what seems to be slow motion for all of Toronto to witness. And theres no stopping it. The Maple Leafs losing streak hit eight games Thursday night in a manner that left many in the building and in the home dressing room shaking their heads in continued befuddlement. Its just like these situations where were finding ways not to win, said Peter Horachek after his teams 16th loss in 19 games, a 3-1 defeat to the equally reeling Coyotes. Weve got to find ways to win now. Just when it seems that it cant get much worse for the Leafs does Oliver Ekman-Larsson fire the most innocent of shots from his own blue-line, a knuckler that dipped and dived and eventually found its way underneath the glove of a stunned Jonathan Bernier. I didnt see it, Bernier said afterward of the shorthanded marker that ruptured his teams tentative 1-0 lead. It just dipped in front of me. Still rattled – jeers from the ACC crowd thrust his way – the 26-year-old yielded another bad one just a few minutes later. Martin Hanzal tucked that one in from just above the goal-line. It was enough to sink the fluttering Leafs, who cant seem to find a way not to beat themselves in some way or another. Just one night earlier in New Jersey did they surrender a game-tying goal with less than three minutes to go in regulation, only to lose again in the shootout. Bernier was enjoying a fine night up until the point of that fluttering goal, turning aside each and every one of the first 32 shots he faced in a 40-minute stretch that was increasingly controlled by the suddenly rebuilding Coyotes. His performance has certainly slipped in recent weeks – he entered the All-Star break with a .891 save percentage in a span of 10 starts – coinciding in ill-timed fashion with a flailing offence. The Leafs have mustered one goal or less now in seven of 10 games since Horachek took charge, totaling less than two goals per game since the middle of December. Its been an incredible stretch of futility for a team that all too recently led the league in scoring, one that punched back more than four goals per night during a mesmerizing 10-1-1 run. Kessel, who hadnt scored an even-strength goal in more than six weeks, was the lone Leaf to actually beat Mike Smith, who entered the night as perhaps the worst starting goaltender in the league this season. Were struggling, said Kessel afterward, as perplexed as anyone after another loss. Just when it seems the Leafs have lost in every manner possible during a run thats dashed another years worth of playoff hopes does something even stranger arise. Ive seen a lot of things now, Horachek said. Five Points 1. The Goal Bernier still appeared in some shock after the loss. His response to the back-breaking goal – yielding another to Hanzal a few minutes later – was certainly not what he desired. Its tough to stay in, said Bernier, especially when I thought I was playing pretty good and fans get on you. It gets frustrating, but Ive got to be stronger mentally and stay in it. Its going to happen, he added of the Ekman-Larsson goal. Its how you bounce back from it. The puck kind of went high and knuckled and dropped down, added Horachek, but you cant give yourself excuses, youve got to say thats his job and hes got to have that. 2. Kessel Breaks Spell Kessel hadnt scored at even-strength since Dec. 16, but came through with his 20th this season late in the first period. Reunited with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, he curled into the high slot and beat Smith for the games first goal. Hopefully I can get going, he said afterward. Its frustrating right now. It was just Kessels third goal in 19 games. The Leafs struggles to score though go well beyond just one player: ? Tyler Bozak has gone eight straight without scoring and has just one goal in 15 games. ? Nazem Kadri has two goals in the past 10 games. ? James van Riemsdyk had two goals in nine games before scoring in back-to-back games. ? Mike Santorelli has gone 10 straight without a goal. ? Daniel Winnik has gone eight straight without a goal. ? David Booth has gone 18 straight without a goal. ? David Clarkson has just two markers in 24 games. ? Trevor Smith has gone nine straight without a goal. ? Richard Panik had gone 11 straight without a goal before being scratched against Arizona. The Leafs have fallen to 12th overall offensively, after rising to first at one point this season. 3. Quality Chances? After mustering just a goal against the Devils on Wednesday night, Horachek opted to check the tape to determine if his team was still getting the same number of scoring opportunities as before he took over. Are we getting the chances that we want? Are we getting the quality of chances that we want? And I think were getting that, he said. But we have to then push the envelope a little bit more. We have to spend more time in those areas, whatever you want to call it – the lions den, the house – and get more people in those areas. The Leafs entered Thursdays game scoring only 1.6 goals per game under his watch, unmistakably struck by a drastic swing in luck along the way. Torontos PDO (a measurement of luck) is the lowest in the league since the Randy Carlyle firing. If youre getting the same number of chances as we were when we were not playing as well defensively you would think that the message should be just finish your chances because were not getting less chances, were getting the same number of chances, Horachek added. Torontos goal-scoring issues began bubbling even before Horachek was hired though. In their final nine games under Carlyle the club scored just 2.1 goals per game, a good chunk coming on a since sunken power-play. 4. Power-play Adjustments Torontos coaching staff continued tweaking a struggling power-play Thursday, both in terms of personnel and strategy. Peter Holland got a look on the point of the first unit against the Coyotes – alongside Cody Franson – reclaiming a role he played both in junior with the Guelph Storm and during stints in the AHL. What the coaching staff identified strategically, meanwhile, was a need for more shots from the middle of the ice. Horachek and company believe theyve become too predictable on the power-play, too reliant on the Kessel left half-wall shot attempt. The approach was apparent on the Leafs first power-play opportunity versus Arizona, attempts from Holland and Franson in the middle of the ice creating a few quality chances on Smith. We have to change maybe the direction of how were attacking, Horachek said. Were getting the shots from Phils side or getting the shots from off the side on the half-wall but I think weve got to start now getting more shots down the middle. While resulting in more opportunity Torontos power-play ultimately did not score for the eighth time in 11 games. The Leafs have fallen to 14th on the power-play this season, going 0-3 versus the Coyotes. 5. Bernier Back-to-Back Bernier started back-to-back games for just the third time in his career Thursday night. He has yet to win under such circumstance. Bernier gave up three goals on eight shots and was pulled in his first bid (Mar. 5, 2014); yielded four goals on 28 shots in his second attempt (Mar. 29, 2014); and lost again Thursday despite an array of 42 saves. Stats-Pack 14 – Goals scored by the Leafs in 10 games under Peter Horachek. 7 – Consecutive seasons of at least 20 goals for Phil Kessel. 10:30 – Ice-time for Joffrey Lupul, who played for the first time since Dec. 31. 3-15-1 – Leafs record in the past 19 games. 2.82 – Goals per game for the Leafs this season. 4-37 – Toronto power-play in the past 11 games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3 Season: 18.8 per cent (14th) PK: 3-4 Season: 83.2 per cent (8th) Quote of the Night Both goals I think were bad goals; one from the goal-line, one from their blue-line. -Peter Horachek on the two goals Jonathan Bernier allowed Thursday night. Up Next The Leafs visit the Flyers on Saturday night. 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Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and is expected to miss between four to six weeks.LONDON - Chelsea retained its three-point lead at the midpoint of the Premier League season on Sunday despite being held to a draw by Southampton, thanks to Manchester City collapsing against struggling Burnley.After Eden Hazard recovered a 1-1 draw for Chelsea at fourth-place Southampton, defending champion City threw away a 2-0 lead at home to draw 2-2 with 19th-place Burnley.On a day when 18 of the 20 teams were in action less than 48 hours after playing on Friday in this traditionally packed Christmas fixture program, the top four all drew.Manchester United missed an opportunity to make ground on the pacesetters, remaining seven points behind City in third place after being held 0-0 at Tottenham.But Arsenal dislodged West Ham from fifth place by winning their London derby 2-1 after Santi Cazorla earned and converted a penalty and Danny Welbeck scored the second.At the other end of the standings, Leicester remains bottom but raised its hopes of survival by beating Hull 1-0 for its first victory since September.Hull is only out of the relegation zone due to its superior goal difference over Crystal Palace, which drew 0-0 with fellow struggler Queens Park Rangers.The most goals of the day came in a clash of mid-table teams at St. James Park, with Jack Colback scoring his first Newcastle goal to clinch a 3-2 win over Everton.The remaining fixture from round 19 is on Monday when Liverpool hosts Swansea. Unlike last season, Liverpool is out of the title race as it sits in 10th place.A big surprise looked possible at Southampton when Chelsea conceded in the 17th minute as Sadio Mane raced onto a pass from Dusan Tadic and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.But Southampton was ppunished for a defensive lapse just before halftime.dddddddddddd Hazard ran onto a pass from Cesc Fabregas, cut inside a defender and shot across goal and into the far corner. It was Fabregas 13th assist of the season, equaling the league-leading total by Steven Gerrard in 2013-14.Even the dismissal of Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in the 89th for a second booking couldnt prevent another memorable result in this unexpected campaign for the south-coast team.Southampton defended with everything and they defended a lot, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. We tried everything and we dominated, we created a lot.Unlike Chelsea, City did score twice — but conceded as many.David Silva scored his fourth goal in three appearances after being set up by Jesus Navas midway through the first half and Fernandinho curled in a shot off the underside of the crossbar before halftime.But George Boyd began Burnleys comeback two minutes after the break after Danny Ings shot across the face of goal. And Ashley Barnes grabbed the equalizer in the 81st minute by reacting quickest to connect with the ball in a crowded penalty area.In east London, Arsenal did manage to hold on to its lead.Cazorla was tripped in the area and converted the penalty in the 41st to put Arsenal ahead. Danny Welbeck doubled the lead three minutes later after a pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.Although Cheikhou Kouyate pulled one back for West Ham with a header at the start of the second half, Arsenal held on for its second 2-1 win in three days to nudge close to the top four.We look to be more stable, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. We have a big game in front of us now against Southampton (on Thursday). Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '