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LATROBE, Pa. - LeVeon Bell kept watching the tape over and over, equal parts pleased and puzzled by what he saw. There were times during his rookie season when the Pittsburgh Steelers running back would place his hand on an offensive linemans back and wait patiently for the hole to open. Sometimes, one would appear. Sometimes it wouldnt, mainly because whatever sliver of daylight existed had already been swallowed by darkness while Bell was still trying to read the blocks in front of him. Guess which plays kept eating away at him during the off-season? Not the ones that turned into one of his eight rushing touchdowns during a record-breaking year he grudgingly gives a "C-plus." "At the time, I thought I was doing pretty good," Bell said. "Then when I started breaking it down, I realized I wasnt doing what I thought I could." So Bell spent the spring focusing on his footwork to avoid the mincing steps that hes certain cost him valuable yardage a year ago. His Instagram feed is peppered with video of the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Bell doing his best "Dancing With the Stars" impersonation. During one he jabs his way through four octagons, does a pair of 360-degree spins around yellow cones then nimbly races over rope placed about 6 inches off the ground. The goal is to avoid outstretched hands from fallen defenders while also developing a more aggressive style. "Its definitely going to help me with my burst and my explosion coming out of cuts," Blount said. It might be the one thing that was missing during an otherwise productive 2013 in which his 1,259 all-purpose yards broke the club rookie record set by Hall of Famer Franco Harris more than 40 years ago. Bell proved to be a workhorse after missing the first three weeks with a foot injury, averaging more than 22 touches in 13 games. Problem is, too often those touches didnt go anywhere. His 3.5 yards per carry ranked 38th in the league. Part of the blame goes to an injury-ravaged offensive line that didnt really find its footing until late in the season. Yet Bell allows he also missed plenty of opportunities to make something happen because he waited too long to get going. "If I could have got my feet down quicker, I could have gotten a lot more yards," he said. "When its third-and-1, youve got to go get it. If its a first-and-10 run, take your time run, let the play develop and get what you can. " The Steelers will be asking for more from Bell in 2014 in hopes of taking some of the pressure off quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh hasnt had a 1,000-yard rusher since Rashard Mendenhall ran for 1,273 yards in 2010 while helping the franchise to its eighth Super Bowl. The past three seasons have seen a steady decline in production on the ground. The Steelers finished tied for 27th in yards rushing last year, a number they believe needs to go up. Though Roethlisberger expects to be more effective while expanding the shotgun-heavy no huddle offence that worked so well during a 6-2 finish to 2013, Bell knows some of that production needs to come when the quarterback takes the snap, turns to Bell and gets out of the way. "I think this year is going to be more open," Bell said. "Guys are going to be doing more different things. I cant wait to see what this offence can do." Even if he finds himself watching from the sideline. Bell became firmly entrenched as the starter a year ago as Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman and Felix Jones struggled to stay healthy or productive. Hes still atop the depth chart, but hell be pushed by free agent signee LeGarrette Blount. The Steelers signed the burly Blount to a one-year contract during the spring after Blount ran for 772 yards (and a whopping 5.0 average) for the Patriots last year. Bell insists hes not looking over his shoulder. "I love coming in and competing, getting my work in," he said. "Last year for the Patriots I felt like (Blount) was the best runner over there watching on film. Im glad we got him, Im not arguing over it ... hes a guy that is going to help us win." Brandin Cooks Rams Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Brandon Allen Jersey . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. http://www.authenticramsfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Brian-Allen-Jersey/ . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Sam Shields Rams Jersey . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. Ndamukong Suh Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win.TORONTO – Peter Holland was riding the GO train just a couple days after he was traded to play for his hometown Maple Leafs when he was recognized by a fan. It was the kind of surreal moment that made life playing at home all the more real. "That never wouldve happened in Anaheim, California," Holland, a native of Caledon, told the Leaf Report with a chuckle. "That was pretty cool." No longer on the west coast with the Ducks, the 22-year-old enjoyed the biggest night of his NHL career in front of the hometown crowd on the Saturday night stage. With his parents and childhood skills coach (Joey Simon from Powerhouse Hockey) in the stands, Holland scored twice and added a helper as Toronto stunned the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 at the ACC. It was the clubs first win in regulation since Nov. 19 and third in the past 20 games. Moved up in the lineup onto a unit with Joffrey Lupul and Mason Raymond – David Clarkson was serving the first of a two-game suspension – Holland scored his fourth this season and first of the game on an early power-play, notching his second on a tic-tac-toe feed from Lupul and Raymond. He would add an assist on the second of two goals from Lupul. "Theyve given me a good opportunity here and I think that as long as Im playing my game I think I have the ability to play at this level," said Holland, acquired from Anaheim in mid-November. "Obviously playing with guys like Lupul and Raymond is going to help me stick around too." A first round pick of the Ducks in 2009, Holland nearly doubled his season output with the standout performance against Chicago, now at five goals and seven points in 16 games this season. With injuries plaguing the Leafs at centre ice – Dave Bolland and Tyler Bozak are both sidelined – opportunity is there for someone like Holland to grab hold of. To this point, he had offered only brief glimpses of the skill his pedigree would infer. But with more opportunity – a career-high of over 19 minutes – he was able to show it off in a big way against the Blackhawks. "Im just kind of approaching it like its a job and it is a job," Holland said. As to the chance to play at home, after bouncing between outposts in Syracuse, Norfolk and Anaheim, Holland said its been more comfort than distraction. "If anything I think it almost relieves pressure," he said. "Youve got more of a support network around you. Its a thrill to play in front of them every night. Going back to minor hockey when your parents came to every game, driving you there and stuff, and now they can come to every home game here. Its a good feeling." Five Points 1. Response from St. Louis Only two days before shocking the Blackhawks at home, the Leafs were embarrassed on the road by the Blues. It was their eighth loss in 10 games and among the worst efforts of the year. "Off our performance in St. Louis we could not have anything close to that again," said Randy Carlyle following the win against Chicago, the leagues top team again this season. "They werent very proud of our performance. They knew that we didnt do a lot of things that we set out to do. "I thought that our hockey club responded the way they needed to respond," he continued. "They took responsibility for our actions and thats a good sign. But the most encouraging thing for us tonight was our work ethic and we stuck to our system and played it." Trekking through their most arduous portion of the schedule – which has included the Sharks, Bruins, Kings, Blues, and Blackhawks – the Leafs now face another top team in Pittsburgh on Monday. "It doesnt get any easier," said Lupul, who had four points on Saturday, "but certainly winning a game against the top team in the league gives you a little bit of confidence so hopefully we can run with it." 2. Cycle Offence Though they generated the bulk of their offence off the rush, the Leafs did manage to sustain bursts of the cycle game Carlyle has been pleading for. The fourth goal of the evening, and fourth this season from Nik Kulemin, found its way into the back of the net off such an attack. "Weve been striving for that," said Carlyle. "And in the games that we are effective it seems that we have more of that in the hockey game. Thats really what were trying to do is were trying to eliminate a one-dimensional rush team." That rush game was certainly effective, notably the line of Holland, Lupul and Raymond. "When you start to wear teams down, if you play more in their zone, your rush game becomes more effective," Carlyle said. "The players will tell you, they never get tired playing in that zone. Theyre not receiving the game. When youre attacking and youre creating more offensive zone time its a better feeling." The Leafs also benefited on this night from scoring beyond their top unit. Phil Kessel would score the seventh and final Toronto goal, his 17th this season, but the remainder of the offence came from the second and third lines. Pegged to slow down the Blackhawks imposing top trio of Patrickk Sharp, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa, the third line of Kulemin, Jerry DAmigo, and Jay McClement scored twice while holding their opponents off the scoresheet.dddddddddddd "They did a heck of a job for us," said Carlyle. 3. Playing at Home In addition to the unlikely meet and greet with the fan on the GO Train, Holland said the second surreal moment of playing at home came when he put on the Leafs jersey for the first time, one he wore as a fan growing up. "I kind of let that sink in for a couple seconds there because that was a dream come true for sure," he said. Holland often made it down to Leafs games as a kid, mostly at the old Maple Leaf Gardens. "Some of my fondest memories were actually at the Garden," said Holland. "I was in there bleeding blue and white with the fans growing up." 4. Defensive Confusion A frequent frustration for Carlyle in recent weeks has been the rising tide of goals scored against from the critical areas or the zone surrounding the goal. "Its taking care of the front of your net before anywhere else," John-Michael Liles said of such improvement, prior to Saturdays game. "Ultimately, most teams are trying to draw you out of those critical areas so they can get the puck into those critical areas. Its no different than any other sport." Liles compared the tactic to soccer or basketball (where quality outside shooters draw defenders from the basket), noting the desire of an offence to space the defence out and away from the respective goal. "Its that movement (of) trying to confuse," he said. Defensive improvement stands high atop the Leafs priorities. During their ongoing struggle, theyve allowed three goals or more in 13 of 20 games, losing all but two of those games (including on Saturday). "Were trying to implement a defensive zone coverage that we can hang our hat on," said Carlyle. "Once you play better defensively then you start to become more of a team that (attacks) versus receiving the game. Thats really what has happened with our hockey club, I would say specifically in the last 15 games, is weve been receiving more than weve been attacking." 5. Shake-Up For the first time all season neither Paul Ranger nor Mark Fraser was in the lineup for the Leafs. A new-look third pairing of some speed and some skill saw John-Michael Liles paired with Morgan Rielly. The adjustment appeared an early success. "I thought they did a good job from a standpoint of we played our system and we moved the puck pretty much worrisome-free other than about five or six minutes in the second period," said Carlyle of the group. The Toronto defence has been a source of instability all season. Only one pairing has remained a constant from start to present: Carl Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf (save for Phaneufs recent two-game suspension). Asked prior to Saturdays game if he would consider splitting the two as he did last season – and thus balancing the group –Carlyle said no. "Its been an experiment that we felt it failed," said Carlyle. "We werent happy with that. I would say at this point we think that theyre our go-to pair. Right now, I dont think thats a possibility for us … But coaches change their minds." Searching for balance, Carlyle split Gunnarsson and Phaneuf for the first 28 games last season with Phaneuf playing alongside Korbinian Holzer and current Blackhawk Michael Kostka. By mid-March though he abandoned the plan and reconnected the teams usual top pairing. Bonus Point – Bolland Update A bit of positive news amid a difficult stretch for the Leafs saw Dave Bolland off crutches this week and walking around the Air Canada Centre on Saturday morning. "The update is that hes progressing along at the expected rate," said Carlyle without offering any concrete timeline. "Theres no great difference in where hes at versus where we thought he was going to be. Hes not ahead of schedule, hes right on schedule right now." Stats-Pack 7 - Goals for the Leafs against Chicago, a season-high. 3 - Points from Peter Holland, a career-high. 4 – Assists for Mason Raymond against Chicago, a career-high. Raymond also surpassed the 22 points he had in 46 games last season. He now has 24 points in 34 games. 19:22 – Ice-time for Holland, also a career-high. 5 – Points for Jake Gardiner in December. He had six points combined in October and November. 1 - Career NHL goal for Jerry DAmigo. DAmigo also added an assist against the Blackhawks. 2 - Goals from the Leafs third line, who also held Chicagos top unit scoreless. 9 – Games without a goal for Joffrey Lupul prior to a two-goal outing on Saturday. Lupul hadnt scored since Nov. 9 in Boston. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-4Season: 24.3% (3rd) PK: 1-2Season: 76.7% (27th) Quote of the Night "You guys cant see it, but Im just going crazy inside right now." -Jerry DAmigo, moments after scoring his first career NHL goal. Up Next The Leafs travel to Pittsburgh for a Monday date with the Penguins. [