ectly impact his familys relatives. He is sponsored, however, by the Philippine telecommunications

WASHINGTON D.C. – The hole was three goals deep after just eight minutes and 44 seconds. And it would ultimately prove too daunting for the Maple Leafs to overcome in the U.S. capital. Doomed by the drudge of a sleepy start they fell in regulation Sunday afternoon for just the fifth time in the past 23 games (15-5-4), their comeback attempts sullied a 4-2 loss to the feisty Washington Capitals. Coming off a successful swing through the California triangle – they won twice – Toronto mustered just two shots in a stunted opening 20 minutes back east, down 3-0 before the frame was even halfway over. Washington scored twice on its first two power-play attempts, adding another from Jason Chimera at even-strength. “It looked like we were still in for our afternoon nap,” mused head coach Randy Carlyle of the period with some frustration afterward. “We werent good enough in the first 10 minutes,” added James Reimer, appearing in his third straight game. “You cant spot a team three goals. We just werent sharp, myself included, and it cost us. I thought we dominated the second and the third was anyones game, we just couldnt quite climb out of the three-goal hole.” The Leafs did dominate the middle period with the same emphasis as the Capitals did the first. They outshot the home-side 10-1 in the opening 11 minutes and 20-6 overall. But with three power-play opportunities and a slew of chances to score they could only get one by Jaroslav Halak, the eighth this season from Dion Phaneuf. David Clarkson had maybe the best opportunity to even the proceedings at three. Stuck with just one goal in the past 21 games and only four this season, the 29-year-old thought hed beaten Halak only to see the puck trickle off the goaltender and out. “Thats been the story this year,” Clarkson said. “I think even if I didnt celebrate it was still laying there for me to poke in.” Never coming closer he and the Leafs fell for the second time on a season-long road trip that wraps up Tuesday in Detroit against the hurting Red Wings. The momentum of emphatic wins in Anaheim and L.A. failed to carry over on the road back east. Knowing that first place in the Atlantic division is lost – Boston is up 15 points – Toronto has set its sights now on securing second spot and home-ice advantage in the first round. With 13 games to go they have 80 points, one up on Tampa and Montreal, who each carry games in hand. “If we wouldve won this one we wouldve been in a great spot,” said Carl Gunnarsson of the road trip at large. “Weve got a big one coming up here in Detroit to make it a good one.” Five Points 1. First Periods A nemesis on Sunday afternoon and all season for that matter, first periods have been a regular sore spot for the Leafs. Washington scored three unanswered in the opening frame on this day. Troy Bodie added a late goal to cut the deficit to two, just the second of two shots in the period for Toronto. Utterly displeased with his teams performance, Carlyle gathered the entire team for a chat during the second TV timeout. “It was more or less just get going,” Bodie said of Carlyles message. “We didnt have our feet going. We werent ready to play.” The Leafs boast a minus-15 goal differential in first periods this season, by far the worst of the three stanzas. Scoring their second of the night while out-shooting the Capitals 20-6, they improved to plus-13 in second periods. “I think finally we got our legs under us,” said Clarkson. “We started going and we kind of put them back on their heels a little bit.” 2. PK Stumbles The rising Leafs penalty kill entered the day with an 88 per cent success rate in the previous 14 games, turning the corner from an awful first half. “We knew we couldnt give up on it,” Jay McClement told the Leaf Report before the game. “We just had to keep working and wed get better because virtually its the same group of us from last year. I dont know what the reason was [for our struggles], but now it seems like weve got the confidence back.” That is until they faced the second best power-play unit in the league at the Verizon Center. Shadowing Alex Ovechkin, who leads the league with 19 power-play goals, the Leafs gave up a pair on Washingtons first two opportunities with the man advantage, once from an open Troy Brouwer in the slot, a second from Joel Ward on the back-door. “We missed assignments on our coverage,” said Carlyle. “You cant let Troy Brouwer shoot the puck from 10 feet in front of your goaltender. Theres obviously a missed assignment and missed coverage in that situation.” 3. Man Advantage Yields Little Boasting just two goals now in the past 11 games – 7 per cent in that span – the Toronto power-play meanwhile continued its dry spell. The Leafs grappled with three consecutive power-plays in the middle period, but failed to score even once. “We believe in our power-play,” said Joffrey Lupul prior to the game. “And theres going to be stretches when you dont get those goals, but as long as we keep doing things right with some of the scorers we have on the team eventually the power-play opportunities are going to turn into goals.” Punch-less on many recent nights, the Leafs did have their opportunities against the Capitals, mustering eight shots. Sneaking in from the right point Cody Franson had maybe the best opportunity to beat Halak, but was ultimately turned aside. The unit currently sits in a four-way tie for third overall at 20.7 per cent. 4. Goalies James Reimer made his third straight appearance Sunday, starting in place of the injured Jonathan Bernier. Fighting the puck early, Reimer yielded three goals on the first five shots, but settled as the night wore on. He made key stops in the final frame, including one on Jason Chimera breaking in partially alone.Citing the now 26-year-olds rebound trouble in that opening frame, Carlyle said he considered pulling Reimer in favour of Drew MacIntyre after the third Washington goal. “We did think about that,” said Carlyle. “But I didnt want to throw Drew into that type of situation without giving him a heads up …Weve got Reims here and weve got to show the confidence for him to fight through some of those situations. We know that Reims is going to start the next game in all probability.” Carlyle had little to offer as far as an update on Bernier, who remained with the team in Washington Sunday ahead of the trip to Detroit. Its clear the 25-year-old will miss his second straight game against the Red Wings Tuesday, the clarity of lower-body injury yet to be fully revealed. 5. Kadris Evolution Nazem Kadri said recently that “I want to become a complete player that this team can trust” and among coaches and teammates that desire for evolution has been seen on the ice. “I think hes maturing as a player,” said Carlyle of the 23-year-old, who established a new career-high for points in Los Angeles this past Thursday night. “I still think theres some room for Nazzie to grow. But I still think youve got to give the kid credit. Hes under a microscope. Hes under a lot of pressure to come in as a young player and play those minutes. We have all kinds of confidence [in him]. [But] maybe not as much confidence as he has if you know what I mean.” “Hes better in his defensive zone for sure,” added Lupul. “Just positioning and using his body and his stick down low. I think everyone probably saw the offensive talents [which] have always been there, but now – Ive been playing on his line for a while now – hes pretty reliable defensively. And as a winger he gets in a spot where youre able to find him, get him the puck.” For Lupul, thats the indicator for when Kadri is at his best. “I think thats one thing for me that when hes playing really well thats what I notice about being on his line is hes putting himself in a spot where hes basically demanding the puck and that he gets it. That shows his confidence and thats how you can kind of tell when hes on the top of his game.” Kadri finished with two shots in 20 minutes against the Capitals. Stats-Pack 35-40 – Toronto penalty kill over 14 games preceding Sunday in Washington. 54 – Consecutive games missed by Dave Bolland, who is still recovering from a left ankle injury, his return status as yet unknown. 15-5-3 – Leafs record in the past 23 games. 2-28 – Toronto power-play over the past 11 games. 29 – Points this season for Dion Phaneuf, eclipsing the mark he set in 48 games last season. Fighting the flu, Phaneuf had a goal and an assist in defeat against the Capitals. 42-57 – Goal differential for the Leafs in first periods this season, favouring the opposition. 8-15-4 – Leafs record this season when trailing after the first period. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 20.7% (T-3rd) PK: 2-4Season: 78.4% (28th) Quote of the Night “It looked like we were still in for our afternoon nap.” -Randy Carlyle, on his teams performance in the opening period Sunday. Up Next The Leafs conclude their five-game road trip with a division battle against the Red Wings on Tuesday. Rob Blake Jersey . - Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No. Adrian Kempe Jersey .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. http://www.authenticlakingspro.com/Tiger-williams-kings-jersey/ . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Marcel Dionne Jersey . -- Mississippi State was crushed twice by Florida last season, once by 35 points and the other by 25. Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys . And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions.CALGARY -- Gilmore Junio hopes the people who follow his speedskating career in typhoon-ravaged Philippines feel their spirits lift after his recent gold medal. The Filipino-Canadian won the first World Cup gold medal of his career in the 500 metres last week in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents Gino and Julie emigrated from the Philippines to Canada in the 1970s. Junio was born and raised in Calgary. Hundreds were killed and millions left homeless when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines earlier this month. Junio says the disaster did not directly impact his familys relatives. He is sponsored, however, by the Philippine telecommunications company PLDT. So after winning his gold, Junio sent a message to the company acknowledging his victory, but also conveying his best wishes for anyone affected by the typhoon. "I kept it pretty brief on my success and said it was a great confidence booster going towards the Olympics, but my thoughts and prayers went out to all families," Junio said. "Maybe not a lot of Filipinos know what speedskating is, but maybe just having an athlete they hear has won a gold medal on the World Cup circuit, maybe they can kind of be excited despite the tragedy and find something to rally around for the next couple of months." The 23-year-olds gold was his second career World Cup medal after winning a silver during the 2012-13 season. Along with Edmontons Jamie Gregg, who has earned a pair of World Cup bronze in the 500 already this season, the two men are medal threats at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February. The Philippines is an island country in the western Pacific Ocean. No athletes from the country competed in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., so Philippine media coverage of the Games concentrated on Filipino-American speed skater J.R. Celski and figure skater Amanda Evora. "My dad watches a lot of the Filipino channel and those two were always on the news," Junio said. "For Filipinos to have winter athletes to rally around at Olympic time, its special for them. "Theyre really big on their sports too," he continued, pointing out that boxer Manny Pacquiao is so beloved there, he was elected to political office. Junios sponsorship deal with PLDT is a unique story on its own. Junio did it with the help of Kevin Jagger, an Vancouver investment banker so inspired by the 2010 Games he quit his job to become a speedskater. Jagger has yet to make the national team, but still attracted sponsorship to his quest with his business and marketing smarts. Jagger worked with Junio on building a sponsorship proposal. They highlighted his unique heritage in the sport with the slogan "fastest Filipino on ice." ""We basically took that sttory and put a deck (proposal) together saying that over 100 metres, Gil is faster than Usain Bolt," Jagger said.dddddddddddd "We put that deck together and sent that out to PLDT. "They loved it and they loved the idea. Even though he competes for Canada, hes very proud of his Filipino heritage. Thats someone they can call their own. They have a huge employee base so we basically pitched it around an employee morale story. "It speaks to the importance of having social media and blogging and having a website where he can effectively share his story and tell it across the ocean." It isnt NHL or NBA money, but the sponsorships value is in the double digits. Thats a significant amount to athletes who often believe they cant begin to engage a companys interest without an Olympic gold medal around their necks. "Its a pretty big amount compared to what Im used to," Junio said. "Especially with the Olympics this year, you want to make sure youre doing everything right buying supplements and vitamins and paying for extras. "We have a yoga core class so paying for that and equipment just piles up. To be able to just pay for that stuff and have the financial stresses off me . . . . you kind of have no more excuses." Junio has twice travelled to the Philippines and most recently in 2011 to visit his fathers relatives. Interestingly, Jagger also helped Junio parlay his "born-and-raised Calgarian" side into attracting sponsorship from the Calgary software company Aclaro. "On the sponsorship side, you wont get far with a generic deck," Jagger said. "Each pitch has been highly customized. Its always genuine, but youre pitching different things." Junio played hockey from age seven to 13. He realized he might not be big enough to pursue the sport at a high level when the opposing team had current six-foot-eight Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers on it. With some gentle nudging from Gino, he attended a speedskating talent identification camp at the Olympic Oval. Junior started out in short track, but broke two bones in his back just prior to the junior world championships at age 19. He switched to long track as a means of training safely during his comeback and stayed with it. Junio tied for gold in Salt Lake City with Japans Joji Kato, the Olympic bronze medallist in 2010, as the two men posted identical times. "Having the gold with one of the fastest times Ive ever skated, that in itself gives me a lot of confidence that if I execute my plan right and really hone in on that day, I could contend to bring home a medal," Junio said. "Looking to Sochi, I just have to execute on the days I compete and at the Olympic trials. The Olympic trials come first." 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