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TORONTO - Randy Carlyle breathed a heavy sigh of exasperation. Frustration, he said glumly. Anger. Those are the two things were probably front and centre from the coaching staffs perception. That was just under three weeks ago after the Maple Leafs were embarrassed on home ice - holding a players only meeting afterward - owned just one more time by a Bruins squad thats had their number for the past half-dozen years. Fast forward to Wednesday night at the ACC and some slight measure of redemption for Toronto. With two goals from Phil Kessel, an off-night from Tuukka Rask and a mostly strong team effort, the Leafs scored a decisive 6-1 win over their rivals from Beantown. It was their sixth victory in the past eight games (6-1-1) and a rare one over the Bruins. I think we really felt like we owed Boston one, Peter Holland said, scoring for the third straight game and also adding an assist. Last time they were in here we felt a little embarrassed about our effort. History turned on its head in many ways on this night. Kessel came into the evening with only three goals in 27 regular season games opposite the team that drafted him and none against Rask. But he snapped a pair past the 2014 Vezina winner, his ninth and 10th markers of the season. Rask, for that matter, entered Wednesdays game with a career mark of 10-2-0 against the Leafs, along with a scintillating .945 save percentage. But he was hooked after the fourth Toronto goal and 16th shot - redirected through the five-hole - in favour of backup Niklas Svedberg. And the Leafs, well, they had dropped 18 of the previous 27 meetings with Boston - who was playing without Zdeno Chara and David Krejci - and 15 of the previous 22 in Toronto. Everything seemed to go their way, though, on Wednesday. The Leafs scored early when Kessel burst past Zach Trotman and snapped his first of the night by Rask. Hed add another 18 seconds into the middle frame on another quick shot, his teammates dropping two more - Morgan Rielly and Tyler Bozak - in a span of a couple minutes. Tonight was one of our best starts of the year - mightve been our best, said Carlyle. We started out the second period and it was the same way. So distraught after that earlier loss to Boston, Carlyle didnt want his team to forget about it just a few weeks later. Weve talked about it, thats for sure, he said before the game. Weve tried to stimulate our memory a little bit about how embarrassed we were on the performance we put forward in that game. The Leafs turned an early corner after that 4-1 loss to the Bruins on Oct. 25 - their third one-sided clunker in the first eight games. Not without some hiccups they won five of the next seven, adding another win to that total on Wednesday night. Theyve thrived behind improved offensive depth and strong special teams - including a power-play thats up to sixth-best overall after a three-goal night against the Bruins. But for all the recent victories, theyve still allowed quite a few goals, quite a few shots and have typically had to play from behind. Its a long season, van Riemsdyk said, veering against too much optimism after the latest win. You dont read too much into one individual game at this point I dont think. We just want to keep getting better, keep continuing to play we need to play and go from there. We dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves, Carlyle agreed. Were a group that needs to continue to focus on some of the smaller things and details of the game and build off it. Sure, we feel good about ourselves right now, but whos coming on Friday. Five Points 1. Kessels Start Only one player since the beginning of the 2011-12 season has more total points than Kessel. The 27-year-old has piled up 235 points in that span of three-plus seasons, a mark bested only by Flyers captain, Claude Giroux. He trails only Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Corey Perry with 104 goals in that same stretch. Kessel has been one of the more consistent point producers in the league, if enigmatic and inconsistent in other areas. He went pointless in the first two games this season, but has since strung off 21 points in the past 14 games with a rotating cast of linemates - hes back with Bozak and van Riemsdyk - now tied for third in league scoring. He says he pays no attention, however, to the numbers. You see how many games your team wins, Kessel said in a rare pre-game conversation. If your team has success youll have success thats always how I look at it. When were winning hopefully I can contribute. I dont think it matters as much as you guys think, he added. NHL Scoring Leaders since 2011-12 Player Total Points Games Claude Giroux 245 221 Phil Kessel 235 228 Evgeni Malkin 231 180 Sidney Crosby 221 152 Alex Ovechkin 216 219 2. Quick Shot Kessels rapid release reminds his head coach of an old teammate and former Leafs draft pick. Rick Kehoe played in Toronto for three seasons and scored 55 goals with Carlyle as a member of the Penguins. He had the same kind of a release, a quick wrist-shot, Carlyle recalled, finishing second in team scoring to Kehoe when he popped the 50-mark during that 1980-81 season. They dont waste any time. They catch more people [off-guard] with quickness. They get the puck directed and it hits areas of the net that you never think they could score from. Holland picked the brain of a goalie, James Reimer in this case, on the mechanics of Kessels shot. Its just I guess the way the puck comes off his blade, he said. Its tough for the goalies to read where its going, whether its going to be low, high, right corner, left corner. And obviously the speed he gets it off helps him out too. However potent, this is not the best start of Kessels NHL career. That came three years earlier at the outset of the 2011-12 campaign. Raging in October, Kessel had 12 goals and 23 points after the first 16 games, finishing with career-highs in goals (37), assists (45) and points (82). Hes in line to break all those marks this season, on pace for more than 50 goals and 100 points. 3. Special Teams Perhaps nothing has meant more to the Leafs during this stretch than their special teams, both quite strong in the past few weeks. With a three-goal effort against the Bruins, the power-play is humming along at a 33 per cent clip in the past eight games, the penalty kill sizzling at 85 per cent in that same span. When you win the special teams battle in the game your chances really do go up of winning the hockey game, Carlyle said. 4. Shots Against Wednesday night offered a rare night of quiet for Jonathan Bernier. Boston managed just 26 shots, stemming a string of high-volume shot totals for the opposition. Over a five-game span coming into the game against the Bruins the Leafs allowed an average of 38 shots per game, including more than 40 twice. It seems like theres one period we seem to get away from it, said Carlyle, a 26-shot barrage by Chicago at the start of November amongst the wreckage. Carlyle suggested penalties and consequent power-plays were to blame, but rather its been the teams performance at 5-on-5 that continues to be the issue. Toronto has made considerable strides in cutting down the number of shots on whats been an improved penalty kill - from 59 shots per 60 minutes to 46 - but they continue to yield a similar bounty in 5-on-5 situations to last years league-worst calamity. 5. Top Lines Cody Franson played his 14th straight game on the Leafs top pair with Dion Phaneuf, a whole new challenge for the 27-year-old, who becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer. These guys that play on the top lines, Franson said, theyre creative, they can shoot, theyre playmakers, theyre the fastest guys [the opposing teams] have usually, its a challenge in so many different ways. It makes it a lot of fun. Foot speed can still present an issue for Franson, especially against the speediest and dynamic players an opponent throws out there, but the numbers suggest hes thriving against the increased competition. He boasts one of the highest possession numbers on the team once again in spite of the new responsibility – he was right there a year ago as well – up above the 50 per cent Fenwick mark coming into Wednesdays game. Stats-Pack 9-33 - Toronto power-play in the past eight games. 22-26 - Toronto penalty kill in the past eight games. 6-0-0 - Leafs record when scoring first this season. 5 - Career goals for Phil Kessel in 28 games against Boston. 6-games - Point streak for James van Riemsdyk, who has three goals and eight points in that span. 8 - Power-play points for Tyler Bozak this season, more than the seven points hes accumulated at even-strength. 5-games - Career-high point streak for Cody Franson, who has one goal and seven points in that span. 900 - Career games for Stephane Robidas, picked 164th overall in the 1995 draft. 7 - Players from that 95 draft who have played more NHL games than Robidas. Special Teams Capsule PP: 3-4 Season: 24.1% PK: 3-3 Season: 84.5% Quote of the Night Uh no … Thats probably a good thing though. Leo Komarov, asked if he was aware of the Leafs leading the league in takeaways. Up Next The Leafs host the Penguins Friday in the annual Hall of Fame game. Cheap Air Max 270 . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season. Under Armour Clearance . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/wholesale...-350-china.html. The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. Fake Air Max Plus . Ontario Superior Court Case Management Master Ronald Dash released the decision on Monday, saying John McCaw Jr. must testify in front of a jury by live video conference. Moores lawyer, Tim Danson, asked the court to compel McCaw - who is based in Seattle - to testify in the case back on February 27. Air Max 97 Outlet . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher.TORONTO - First things first: Episode 3 of The Baseball Podcast is up for your listening pleasure. Toronto Star baseball columnist and TSN contributor Richard Griffin joins me for a half-hour of talk on manager John Gibbons strategy when it comes to his starting pitching and struggling bullpen, whether Brett Lawrie will see increased action at second base and Jose Bautistas great start to the season. Give it a listen here. GIBBONS LIKES HIS OFFENCE The Blue Jays entered Thursdays action with 166 runs scored in 34 games. Thats an average of almost 4.9 runs per game, good for fourth in the majors. Manager John Gibbons is in his seventh season, over two tenures skipping the Blue Jays. He believes this is the strongest offence hes had. "I would think this is probably the top," said Gibbons. "My last go around here we were really strong in the pitching department. We had some good offences but I dont think it equaled what we have here now. You need that in the American League. You need to be able to slug it out." Toronto boasts the league leader in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and walks. Hes Jose Bautista. Bautista and Colby Rasmus, with nine home runs each, are amongst the league leaders. Melky Cabreras 48 hits are the most in the sport this season. As a team, the Blue Jays rank second in home runs (44); second in slugging percentage (.432) and third in on-base plus slugging percentage (.761). ENCARNACION DISCUSSES FRANCISCO General manager Alex Anthopoulos has credited Edwin Encarnacion with helping to lure Juan Francisco to the Blue Jays. "Ive known Juan from a long time ago, he was playing with me in Cincinnati," said Encarnacion. "When he was young, I was older in here and hes one of my best friends. He had a couple of more (options) to go so I called him and asked him to come here because they can give him the opportunity to play here at this level.dddddddddddd" Francisco, 26, hit 18 home runs last season while playing with the Braves and Brewers but was cut by Milwaukee late in spring training. He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on April 2 and began the year at Triple-A Buffalo. His contract was selected on April 20 to replace Adam Lind, who went on the disabled list with a back injury. Aside from the opportunity the Blue Jays could afford him, Encarnacion was pressed Francisco to come to Toronto out of fear he would sign with another American League East team. The division, specifically the ballparks in the division, are friendly to power-hitting left-handed bats. "Thats why I dont want him to go to another team, like Tampa or another team," said Encarnacion. SANTOS STARTING FROM SCRATCH Sergio Santos pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesdays 10-0 win over the Phillies. Thanks to the big lead it was a pressure-free inning. After two-straight outings featuring blown saves and three on the season, Santos is in the process of rebuilding his confidence. "It was nice to execute on the things that I wanted to do as far as locating my fastball, moving it in and out," said Santos. "It was nice. Its a nice first step, hopefully in the right direction." His stuff is good. Santos has struck out 18 hitters in 10 1/3 innings. The problem is hes walked nine and of the 12 hits hes allowed, three have been home runs. Santos expects more of himself. "Hopefully I can build off what happened (Wednesday) night and never look back again," he said. LAWRIE UPDATE Brett Lawrie took part in batting practice and fielded ground balls before Thursdays game. He left the fourth inning of Monday nights game in Philadelphia with lingering tightness in his right hamstring. Fridays game against the Angels may be more hopeful than reality. Lawries more likely to return on the weekend. ' ' '