Dein erstes Forum » Phillips already had the ball before he began the slide

TORONTO – He deftly bounced the Tyler Bozak feed off his left skate and onto the blade of his stick before beating a flabbergasted Craig Anderson with the eventual game-winner, and third goal of yet another scorching night. Maxx Crosby Jersey . It was the summation of the fifth career hat trick and fifth career 30-goal season for Phil Kessel – he also added an assist – whose scorching play continues to lead a burning Leafs run, one that reached nine wins in 11 games at the ACC on Saturday night. “Its fun to watch,” Nazem Kadri said of Kessels play after a 6-3 win over Ottawa, the 23-year-old catching fire himself in recent weeks. “Hes making plays out there left, right and centre so well just keep letting him do what he does.” Kessel has mesmerized with his electric production amid the Leafs charge – which has them three points back of Tampa for second in the Atlantic division – totaling 10 goals and 23 points in the past 12 games. He has vaulted into fourth in league scoring with 61 points, now trailing only Alex Ovechkin with 30 goals – the fourth time hes reached that mark in five seasons with the Leafs, the lockout-shortened 48-game season the lone exception. The 26-year-old, set to join Team USA for the second time at the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, appears well on his way to eclipsing a career-high of 37 markers and could very well challenge the 40-goal plateau for the first time. “Its hard to really put a limit on him,” said Bozak, who had a goal and an assist and now has 29 points in 33 games this season. “He can get so streaky. Three goals tonight, who knows next game. You never know with him. I definitely wouldnt doubt him getting 40 goals by any means.” Kessel is on pace for 43 goals and 88 points, both of which would prove career-highs. Toronto is 16-3-3 when he scores this season and 26-6-4 when he records a point. Five Points 1. Kessel vs. Ottawa With their third win in three tries against the Senators this season, the Leafs have now beaten their Ontario rival nine times in the past 10 meetings. Much of that success is owed to their leading scorer, who toys with Ottawa like no other. Kessel has 18 goals and 35 points versus the Senators in 25 games as a Leaf and more career goals (25) and points (46) against them than any other team. 2. Kessels All-Around Game Though his performance is aptly judged on the level of offence he produces, Kessels all-around efforts and competitiveness have notably risen during the Leafs sizzling run, which sees them with 66 points on the year. Pointing first to the deadly shot and skating ability of his teammate, Joffrey Lupul observed that “you know when [Kessels] really playing well because of how hes competing on pucks down-low in the offensive end – turning his back, protecting the puck – and hes been doing that for a while now. It makes him really effective down there.” Added Randy Carlyle: “Hes been classified as this one type of player and we think that hes got more of an all-around ability too because he can distribute the puck, he can pass the puck, he can find people, he can do a lot more things than just shoot.” Kessel has 13 assists during the 12-game run. 3. Secondary Hot Streak Kadris hot streak also kept marching on against the Senators. The 23-year-old set up Lupul for the Leafs second goal – which erased a 2-0 deficit – infuriating the Ottawa bench as he did so. Aggressive on the forecheck, Kadri connected with rookie defender Cody Ceci from behind before digging out the puck and feeding his teammate, who was all alone parked in front. The visitors believed a penalty should have been called on the hit from behind and the goal waved off. “I think he turned just to try and give himself a little more room,” Kadri said of Ceci. “At that point Im just fully committed to hit and I just finished my check. To be honest, I did let up a little bit and the puck was laying there and I just put it in front.” Kadri, who played over 23 minutes (nearing a season-high), also added an empty-netter and has 14 points in the past nine games. He is up to 40 points in 53 games this season. 4. Back on Track In a stretch of 20 games between November and December, Joffrey Lupul failed to find the score-sheet 16 times, producing points (10) in just four games. Bouncing between left and right wing, Lupul played with a rotating cast of centres that included everyone from Jay McClement to James van Riemsdyk to Peter Holland and Trevor Smith. “You would like to stay on one line the entire year because that means, for me youre staying healthy first of all, and having success with your linemates,” the 30-year-old told the Leaf Report late last month. “But weve had so many guys in and out of the lineup – myself included, Clarkson, Kulemin, Bozak, everyones been out – theres been nothing really set in stone other than Phil and JVR together, thats been pretty much the only thing.” Entrenched with the same linemates – Nik Kulemin and Nazem Kadri – for the past eight games, while back at his preferred left wing, Lupul is finding a more consistent offensive touch. He scored his 17th goal against the Senators and now has eight points in the past eight games, totaling 33 points in 48 games this season. “Hes a different player on the left side,” said Carlyle. 5. Riellys Improvement Questioned on where he had improved most from the start of his first full NHL training camp, 19-year-old Morgan Rielly pointed to the defensive end. “Id like to think there are a few things Ive improved on,” he told the Leaf Report. “I would say playing defence in my own end. I think thats an area of the game that as a team weve been trying to improve. I think as we kept practicing that and keep talking about it I think that Ive been able to improve at that. But I think I can keep working at it.” More specifically, Rielly said hes improved in his ability to close out on opposing forwards, sealing them against the glass and thus more quickly erasing offensive opportunities. “Just trying to end plays,” he said. “I think that in the past I was just trying to keep them outside. I was a bit too cautious. I think Ill get stronger at just closing in on them and just trying to end the play.” Now paired with Tim Gleason, Riellys defensive assignments are getting tougher and included Ottawa captain Jason Spezza on Saturday evening. Stats-Pack 23 – Points for Phil Kessel in the past 12 games, totaling 10 goals in that span. 14 – Points in the past nine games for Nazem Kadri. 8 – Times in the past nine games that Kadri has registered at least a point. 6 – Consecutive wins for the Leafs at home, the first time theyve accomplished that feat since Mar.6 – Apr. 7, 2007 (9-game streak). 26 – Power-play goals for the Leafs at home this season, most in the NHL. 16-3-3 – Leafs record this season when Kessel scores a goal. 18 – Goals for Kessel in 25 career games as a Leaf against Ottawa. 3:43 – Ice-time for Greg McKegg in his NHL debut. 10-10 – Toronto penalty kill in the past three games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-5Season: 22.7% (3rd) PK: 2-2Season: 78% (28th) Quote of the Night I “Its a new one for me. To me, its crazy. A guy wears a new pair of skates in the morning, plays the game that night and the next morning hes got lace bite. Go figure. Im at a loss to explain it.” -Randy Carlyle, on the injury which kept Peter Holland out of Saturdays lineup. Quote of the Night II “Hes talking. Four points and he talks.” -Tyler Bozak, upon seeing the media-relunctant Phil Kessel speaking with reporters. Up Next The Leafs head south, visiting the Panthers in Sunrise on Tuesday before taking on the Lightning in Tampa on Thursday. Jim Plunkett Raiders Jersey . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench. Isaiah Johnson Raiders Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Womens-Jim-Otto-Inverted-Jersey/ . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police.HOUSTON -- Jay Bruce got off to a slower than expected start this season. He soon warmed up, and with the post-season approaching, the Cincinnati slugger certainly isnt slowing down. Bruce hit a grand slam and had five RBIs, Mike Leake pitched eight scoreless innings and the Reds cruised to a 10-0 win over Houston on Tuesday night, handing the Astros their 100th loss. The home run was Bruces 30th, giving him at least 30 homers in three straight seasons. His performance pushed his RBI total to 100, which is a career high. "Thirty home runs is almost automatic if he stays healthy because thats his swing," manager Dusty Baker said. "But it was great to see him get his 100 RBIs, especially with the fact that he started off struggling in the RBI department. "We had (Sin-Soo) Choo on all the time and we had Joey (Votto) on all the time and he had quite a few chances. Now hes cashing them in and hopefully it continues into the playoffs." Cincinnati is 4 1/2 games ahead of Washington for second NL wild card. The Astros are the first major league team to lose at least 100 games in three straight seasons since Kansas City from 2004-06. "Im always going to concentrate on the things we need to do to improve," Houston manager Bo Porter said when asked about losing 100 games. "I dont concern myself with what it is people are going to say. I concern myself about the men in that clubhouse and how were going to get better every day." The Reds got to work early, with Zack Cozart driving in two runs in a four-run first inning. Cincinnati was up by five in the fourth before Bruces towering slam to the Crawford Boxes in left field pushed the lead to 9-0 and chased Jordan Lyles (7-8). Leake (14-6) allowed five hits over eight innings and struck out six with two walks. Sean Marshall, who hadnt pitched since May 20 because of shoulder tendinitis, threw a perfect ninth to complete the shutout. The Reds tagged Lyles for nine hits and nine runs in 3 1-3 innings. The Astros, who have the worst record in the majors, fell to 51-100. They were 56-106 in 2011 and dropped to 55-107 last year, their final season in the National League. With a rookie-filled team and the lowest payroll in the majors, the Astros have had plenty of lopsided games this year. But even in an already dismal year,, the night they eclipsed the century mark yet again was particularly ugly. Lyle Alzado Womens Jersey. Things went downhill quickly for the Astros. Lyles had a two-base error when he fielded a high-bouncing grounder hit by Brandon Phillips and badly overthrew first base with one out in the first. An RBI single by Bruce made it 1-0. Xavier Paul walked to load the bases and Todd Fraziers single pushed the lead to 2-0. Cozart wrapped up the scoring in that inning with a two-RBI single to make it 4-0. The bottom of the first didnt go any better for Houston. Jonathan Villar hit a leadoff single, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. But it wasnt just that he was thrown out, but the way he was thrown out that was embarrassing. Villar slid into second base, but Phillips already had the ball before he began the slide. The always flamboyant Phillips reached backward between his legs to apply the tag as Villar crashed head-first into Phillips backside. "Thats the way I play," Villar said. "Im aggressive. I was trying to make something happen, motivate my team. Its hard to change because thats the way Ive always played." Phillips said he wasnt trying to showboat, and he initially didnt realize that Villar was coming. "The crowd let me know that he was coming to second base," Phillips said. "I just had to quickly put the tag between my legs. Thats the only reason I tagged him. If I didnt hear the crowd, I would have just caught it and looked around and he would have been safe." However, he probably could have tagged him in a less showy way. "Thats me," he said with a laugh. "I do things off the wall, yes." Baker laughed when asked about the play. "Ask Brandon," he said. "I think he gets bored sometimes." Cozart added an RBI single in the third to extend Cincinnatis lead to 5-0. Derrick Robinson walked with no outs in the fourth inning before Shin-Soo Choo drew a walk. A one-out walk by Votto loaded the bases to set up the slam by Bruce, which chased Lyles. It was his first grand slam since Sept. 5, 2008. NOTES: The series wraps up on Wednesday when Houstons Brad Peacock opposes Greg Reynolds. ... Votto extended his hitting streak at Minute Maid Park to 23 games, which is the longest by a player in the parks history. ' ' '