Hinweise » . The win snapped an eight-game leag

TORONTO – Joffrey Lupul wanted to apologize to the fans that paid good money to see what was dubbed an embarrassment by those in the Toronto dressing room. "Were getting booed off the ice in the first period, second period and the end of the game," said Lupul. "And we deserved it." He and the Maple Leafs were hammered 7-1 by the New York Rangers on home ice, their three-game win streak and six-game point streak ending with a loud thud on Saturday evening. "Sometimes you have losses where you take some positives," Lupul said. "Tonight we did nothing well. Theres nothing we can take out of this other than just not wanting to have this feeling in here again." It was an all too familiar reminder of the inconsistency and unpredictability that has plagued the Leafs all season. All that seemed to be trending in mildly positive directions in the past week and a half was blown up in yet another embarrassing loss for the club at the ACC. "We felt that we were becoming more competitive in the [required] areas and this one sent an A-bomb [through that]," said a despondent Randy Carlyle afterward. With plenty more determination and good bursts of speed on the second end of a back-to-back – they were thumped by Pittsburgh on Friday – New York pounded 50 shots at the helpless Toronto pair of Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer, the former pulled for the first time all season. Carlyle was taken aback by the hapless effort, most disappointed by the lack of pushback at any point in a flat night. "We didnt check," he said. "They had the freedom to roam about the ice and do what they wanted to do. We didnt engage in the competitiveness side of it of limiting their space, stepping in front of anybody, skating in front of anybody to impede the progress. Obviously we left our goalies hanging high and dry." Unpredictability has been an unfortunate staple of the Leafs identity at the midway point of the season. Theyve shown the ability to look so thorough, determined and capable one night only to emerge as something much different the next. Coming off a triumphant result at Wednesdays Winter Classic and their first three-game win streak since the end of October, Carlyle mused that "we just need a performance to support that now", the uncertainty of what might lay ahead evident in his voice. "Now its back to the drawing board," he said. "Were not proud of that game," Lupul concluded of the defeat. "Its embarrassing. [We] apologize to the people who paid money to see us play like that." Five Points 1. Berniers Roll Ends Just when it appeared that Jonathan Bernier might be wrangling full control of the Maple Leafs crease did the 25-year-old suffer his worst fate this season – through little fault of his own. Bernier, who was making his fifth consecutive start in goal – the longest stretch for any Leaf goaltender this season and longest of the Quebec natives career – was pulled for the first time all year, yielding five goals on 32 shots. Only the second marker, a sneaky shot from the right circle by Dominic Moore that snuck five-hole could be pinned on the goaltender. "Obviously the second goal shouldnt go in the net and hed be the first guy to tell you that," Carlyle said of Bernier. "But we gave up three breakaways in the second period where our defenceman got beat and they went clearly uncontested to the net." One such example saw Chris Kreider blow by Cody Franson before beating Bernier with a backhand for the Rangers fourth goal. Another, the fifth for New York, saw Moore burst by Jake Gardiner from deep in the Toronto zone. Hours before the game, Carlyle, who has been firm in his stance on the two-goalie tandem, conceded to thoughts of declaring Bernier Torontos no. 1. "There are times when you look it and say, Is this the time? Well, Im not ready quite yet to say that hes this or hes that," offered Carlyle on Saturday morning. "I know were going to need both of our goaltenders to play to the top of their ability and I dont think were any different than any other team in the league." Bernier owned a .950 save percentage in his previous six games and had picked up at least a point for his team in five straight. He was replaced by James Reimer, who made his first appearance since Dec. 21 and allowed two goals on 18 shots. 2. Bad Losses The Leafs have been on the receiving end of a handful of bad losses like the one that took place on Saturday. Among them was a 4-0 defeat to Vancouver on Nov. 1, a 6-0 home loss to Columbus on Nov. 25, a 6-3 putdown in St. Louis on Dec. 12 and a flat 3-1 loss to the Panthers on Dec. 12. The seven goals against was the most the club has allowed in a single game all season. "It was just a bad game for us all around," said Dion Phaneuf afterward. "The whole night we seemed to be out of sync." Toronto has just four regulation victories in the past 29 games with the Rangers, Capitals, Flyers, Senators and Hurricanes trailing close behind their 47 points (good for fifth in the Atlantic division) on the season. "We werent good enough in any aspect," said Lupul. "We werent moving the puck out of our zone. We were getting beat off the rush, one-on-one, and offensively we werent really creating anything. We can all share the blame equally in this one." "We got outworked to put it mildly," added Cody Franson. 3. Second Line Silence The silence of the Leafs second line has been a source of frustration in recent weeks. "I just think that the group, the sum of the group should equal more than what Im getting right now," Carlyle said before Wednesdays Winter Classic. The trio, which includes Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and Mason Raymond, remained quiet for the meaningful portion of Saturdays action against the Rangers (and was later broken up in the third frame). Kadri has just four points in the past 14 games, Raymond has only one goal in the past 15, and Lupul, with his 12th this season against New York, hit the scoresheet for just the third time in the past 12 games. "Were not getting much done offensively right now," Lupul said before the game. "Its frustrating for us. We need to control the puck a little bit better in their zone and create some chances that way. Its been a frustrating stretch for us, but were certainly going to work on things and get better for sure." 4. Stable on Defence Acquired from the Hurricanes earlier this week, 30-year-old Tim Gleason did not make his Leafs debut against the Rangers. That was due in part to the recent performance of Paul Ranger, who played in his fifth consecutive game Saturday following a stream of stints in the press box. "The one thing with Paul Ranger and a lot of our defencemen is that when you dont notice them its because of the good reasons," said Carlyle, who challenged the 29-year-old Ranger to increase his physicality defensively in recent weeks. "The good reasons are theyre playing safe, theyre making good plays, [and] theyre [making] strong plays. Where we tend to focus on [them], and were all guilty of it, is when they make mistakes. And everybody out there does make them. We want to focus on the positives and these guys have started to give us more of what weve asked and were going to continue to push for more." The recent uptick for the Whitby native failed to continue against the Rangers. He was among the many struggling Leafs on Saturday, on the ice for four goals against (three at even-strength) in the defeat to New York. As for Gleason, who played eight seasons in Carolina, Carlyle added that hed like to give the long-time Hurricane defender an opportunity to get accustomed to a new environment in Toronto. "I think wed just like to get him acclimated to our style of play, the way we do things, our systems, everything before we put him in the lineup," said Carlyle. "And he will get a chance. We all know at the NHL level theres a very tough schedule. I think our next stretch of (nine) days we play six games. So we know theres lots of hockey coming and therell be lots of opportunity for people to get in the lineup." That opportunity may come sooner than later. Carl Gunnarsson left Saturdays game in the first period with an undisclosed upper-body injury, seemingly suffered on a hit from Carl Hagelin. David Clarkson meanwhile, blocked a Michael Del Zotto shot with his left foot in the opening frame. He returned briefly for one shift of 21 seconds in the middle period only to shut it down thereafter. The Leafs offered little in the way of an update on either player following the game. 5. Fleeting Signs of Optimism Prior to the hapless effort, Carlyle touched on a few aspects of his teams game that had improved amid a season-long six-game point streak. "I think were getting back to playing with the puck more," he said. "I think at times weve been guilty of receiving the game and putting too much pressure on our goaltenders. Weve talked about it. Its an easy stat to record when youre getting outshot." Saturday marked the 35th time in 43 games that the Leafs have been outshot this season; now sitting 17-13-5 in those games. It was also the 13th time already that theyve allowed at least 40 shots in a game and the fourth time in the past five games. Stats-Pack 13 – Number of times this season the Leafs have allowed at least 40 shots. 7 – Goals for the Rangers on Saturday, the most for any Leaf opponent this season. 5 – Consecutive starts for Jonathan Bernier, the longest stretch for either Toronto goaltender this season. 4 – Number of times this season the Leafs have allowed 50 shots. 4 – Victories in regulation for the Leafs in the past 29 games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-1Season: 21.8% (5th) PK: 2-3Season: 77.8% (27th) Quote of the Night "Its embarrassing. Were getting booed off the ice in the first period, second period and the end of the game. And we deserved it. We were not good in any aspect. We dont feel very good about ourselves right now." -Joffrey Lupul, following Saturdays 7-1 defeat. Up Next The Leafs host John Tavares and the Islanders at the ACC on Tuesday night. Brandon McCarthy Jersey . The Mariners ace allowed just one hit over eight innings while striking out nine, and Robinson Cano backed him with a two-run homer as Seattle earned a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Custom Atlanta Braves Jerseys . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. http://www.thebravesteamshop.com/Braves-Greg-Maddux-Kids-Jersey/ . Early in the first period, Stuart pinched in from the blue line, hit Nash and was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing. Nash remained in the game for the rest of the first period, but did not return for the second. Julio Teheran Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Bobby Cox Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings released reserve cornerback A.TORONTO -- Any win is worth celebrating, especially if you are Toronto FC. But Saturdays 4-1 victory over D.C. United was like beating your little brother, who had just got out of hospital. At 3-21-6, D.C. United is the only team with a worse record than Toronto (5-15-11) in MLS. There has been little to celebrate for the once mighty franchise this season. But United is in the U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday, taking on Real Salt Lake for a prized trophy. So coach Ben Olsen shuffled his entire starting lineup for the Toronto game, resting his starters for the cup final. United dressed just 16 players, two short of the maximum. His starting lineup included 17-year-old forward Michael Seaton, making his league debut. "I set these guys up to fail today," said Olsen. "Its pretty simple." "We hung in there for about 60 minutes. Then I got some guys out that were going to maybe to factor into the Tuesday game. And now Im putting guys out of position. You start adding those up and youre playing a real team in the MLS, thats what can happen. "Our focus this week, the majority was on Tuesday and I set them up to fail. But I was proud of the effort. Certainly the work rate and the commitment from the guys, I couldnt ask for better." Toronto scored three goals in a 20-minute span of the second half as Olsen made substitutions and his reserve players lack of fitness was exposed. "Because they havent had a 90(-minute game) in a long time," he said. "You add it all up and thats what can happen at the end of a game." Bright Dike, Alvaro Rey and Darel Russell scored for Toronto, which also benefited from an own goal before an announced crowd of 15,879 at BMO Field on a sunny, windy afternoon. Midfielder Jared Jeffrey replied for D.C. United. Dikes winning goal came in the 67th minute after referee Ted Unkel played advantage down the right flank when a D.C. United defender pulled a Toronto player down. Fullback Mark Bloom motored past the wreckage and sent in a cross that Dike volleyed home for his first goal in a Toronto shirt. Toronto made it 3-1 four minutes later after Reys cross from in close bounced in off D.C. United defender Conor Shanosky. Rey than dribbled around a string of defenders before slotting the ball home in the 87th minute to pad the lead. The win snapped an eight-game league winless streak for Toronto. D.C. United now hasnt won in eight games. "We kind of expected it," acting Toronto manager Jim Brennan said of the weakened United lineup. "A wins a win. Regardless of who youre playing against," he added. "Its always good to get a win. It doesnt matter who they end up bringing. Those boys in that (home) dressing room will be happy with that result and getting the goals that they did today." No doubt there were no complaints when the Toronto players saw who they were facing. Uniteds depleted side helped kickstart a sputtering Toronto offence that had not scored more than one goal in a game since July 27. Coming into the game, the Toroonto starting 11 had combined for just six goals this season.dddddddddddd And it was Torontos biggest offensive output since a 5-1 win over CD Aguila of El Salvador in August 2012 in CONCACAF Champions League play. Olsens team sheet had no starting place for Dwayne De Rosario, Luis Silva, Chris Pontius, Dejan Jakovic, John Thorrington, Nick DeLeon, Bill Hamid or any other starter that featured in last weekends loss in New England. "Unfortunately we have the luxury to not matter so much about results in the league," said Olsen. "So that (lineup) decision wasnt a hard one." Toronto winger Bobby Convey spent five seasons at D.C. United at the start of his career and said he knew maybe one starter on the other side of the field. Some were young enough to be his kids, the 30-year-old joked. Toronto FC was without suspended defender Steven Caldwell, midfielder Jonathan Osorio, manager Ryan Nelsen and assistant coach Fran OLeary. Assistant coach Brennan, the franchises first player and captain, ran the sidelines. Toronto elected to start Bloom over Richard Eckersley at fullback. With both Eckersley and goalie Stefan Frei on the bench, that meant Toronto had more than US$500,000 in cap hit watching from the sidelines. Goalie Joe Bendik, resplendent in pink as part of MLSs breast cancer awareness campaign, captained Toronto in Caldwells absence. Bendik won the starting job after Frei was injured in the first pre-season game. While the rosters were thin, the goals were of top quality. Jeffreys goal came in the 15th minute on a beautiful left-footed shot from outside the penalty box that found the top corner while beating a diving Bendik. Defender Doneil Henry offered an unwitting assist with his clearing header going right to an unmarked Jeffrey, who scored the second MLS goal of his young career. Russell equalized in the 26th minute after United was unable to clear a free kick. The ball was sent back in, bouncing off a D.C. United defender to Russell, who put the ball away acrobatically with a side-scissors kick. It was the third goal of the season for the English midfielder, who specializes in highlight-reel scores. Joe Willis made a great save, low and in the corner, off Dike in the 34th minute after a fine cross from Rey. The Spanish winger almost scored himself in the 57th minute, curling a ball across goal that came close to dipping into the net in the swirling wind. Toronto pushed the pace in the second half in a game where every set play seemed like an adventure waiting to happen D.C. United is now 0-13-3 on the road this season. A game in Kansas City represents the last chance to avoid joining the 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps and three other teams as the only MLS clubs to go through an entire season without a road victory. The victory was Torontos 50th in league play in seven seasons, raising its career MLS mark to 50-103-66. Olsen wasnt that impressed by what he saw in the home side, which fell behind in the first half. 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