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TORONTO – It was an easy trap to spot, but the Leafs tripped and fell anyway. Entering the evening with four confident wins in five games they were edged neatly out of two points Thursday by a wounded New Jersey Devils club that hadnt won previously in nearly two weeks. As hobbled as could be imagined, the Devils were playing without a round of their top players, including first line wingers, Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias, first line centre, Travis Zajac and captain Bryce Salvador. Theyd also lost five straight and were struggling mightily to score, managing one goal or less in three of the five defeats. And yet they managed to beat Jonathan Bernier and the Leafs five times on this night, including a pair on the power-play. My message was whatever we did today to prepare ourselves to play dont do it again, head coach Randy Carlyle said of his directive to players, even managing a chuckle after the 5-3 loss. His club appeared out of sync all night, veering in that direction more recently after a string of mostly thorough performances. Less restrictive and more error-riddled they yielded 75 shots in the previous two games, including 38 in a mostly reckless affair with the Stars on Tuesday. Winning is sometimes good deodorant for the stink thats getting into your game, Peter Holland said afterward. And I think tonight that stink was a little bit more prevalent so we need to make sure were tidying up a little bit. I think that the last game we played we played pretty sloppy, Carlyle added, and I think that just seemed to carry over into tonights game. Carlyle felt his club was outworked in defeat, no better indicator, he said, than the hits department. New Jersey won that battle handily (50-36), fighting to win control of more pucks than the home side. They were physically involved in the game to a much higher level than we were, Carlyle said. The Leafs were also careless with the puck at times, didnt generate much speed and offered a litany of quality scoring opportunities for the Devils, something theyd managed to eradicate somewhat in the past couple of weeks. Rebounds floating around Bernier landed more often in Devil hands, including on the go-ahead goal from Mike Cammalleri on a power-play and the eventual winner from Steve Bernier, the latter outmaneuvering Korbinian Holzer in front. More intriguing than the defeat though - the first in regulation for the club since that emphatic 9-2 home loss to Nashville on Nov. 18 - is how this club responds to it. Can they revert back to the simplistic structure they managed in turning a corner all too recently? Their first test in doing so comes Saturday against a Vancouver team thats won five of six and is leading the Western Conference. We need to breathe and just know what we need to fix, Holland said. Were not freaking out by any means. It was one loss. Weve been on a good stretch here so just come to practice [Friday] and be ready to work again. Five Points 1. Top Line The first shot of the night for Phil Kessel came in the 58th minute with the Leafs on a power-play and their net empty. The 27-year-old would score his 13th of the year minutes later, the lone highlight in a mostly quiet performance from the Leafs top line. I didnt think our top line was very good and the minutes showed that, said Carlyle. Kessel and linemates, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, were essentially the third unit against the Devils in terms of ice-time. The trio typically hover near the 20-minute mark most nights, but were kept under 17 minutes apiece on Thursday. It seemed like any time we got to the blue-line it was contested, van Riemsdyk said. We didnt make simple enough plays there and for whatever reason we couldnt get much going. With that line they need to simplify on nights like tonight and go into more of a structured game instead of having to play in [the defensive] zone for the majority of the shift, Carlyle added. Its a lot easier for that group to play in the offensive zone than it is the defensive zone. Kessel played just a touch over 16 minutes - his third lowest total of the year - showing little jump, though Carlyle denied afterward that the teams leading scorer was hurt. 2. Clarkson Perspective David Clarkson has managed to regain some footing after a nightmarish first season in Toronto, scoring more goals (7) in a quarter-season than he did all of last year (5). Still, the grimmer facts remain. Clarkson trails 210 other NHL forwards with only eight points through 25 games. And while on pace to score 23 goals - due to what would be a career-high shooting percentage of 16. 3% - the 29-year-old is also on pace to muster just 26 points. More strikingly and indicative of the limits of his game, Clarkson is on pace for less than four assists and has just 80 career assists in more than 500 NHL games. That kind of productivity just doesnt align with the more than $5 million hitting the Leafs books this season - nor will it for the next five seasons. Value is critical in the cap system and Toronto has done well recently to find value in players like Mike Santorelli ($1.5 million for one season) and Daniel Winnik ($1.3 for one season). But theres almost nothing a player of Clarksons caliber can do to establish value on a contract of that size, one that is likely to haunt the Leafs for a while. 3. Gelling One theory van Riemsdyk posed for the Leafs recent turnaround was the acclimation period that comes with a whole new set of players joining the roster. It took some time, he said, for as many as nine new players to integrate. Thats something that never gets talked about I feel like, he said. Theres guys coming in from different teams, used to things different ways, used to maybe playing in a different role and it sometimes takes a little bit of time to be comfortable in the role that youre being asked to play. I think its gelling better now and I think now everyone realizes the way we need to play to be successful, he continued. You can only take so many of those games where you get your ass kicked like that 9-2. I think that was a good wake-up call for us. We realized that you cant just play on skill. Its not always the glamourous play where youre making a nice play. Sometimes youve just got to get it in deep and not make a bad play which is [really] making a great play. When you buy into doing that it makes everyone elses job a lot easier. 4. Veteran Effect Now strict in his habits on and off the ice, van Riemsdyk picked up his daily routine (and the value in it) - off-ice workouts, post-practice habits, diet, stretching etc. - by observing the now-retired Ian Laperriere at the end of his career in Philadelphia. Carlyle hopes 37-year-old Stephane Robidas has a similar effect on his teams younger players. Hes a pro, said Carlyle of Robidas. [And] we hope that some of that rubs off on some of our other players, that they would take notice of a veteran guy doing the things that he does - night in, night out, after games, before games, before practice - and theyll develop their own program that they can feel comfortable with and reap some of the benefits of being consistent with that. Robidas is typically the last player to leave the ice after skates, this after more than 900 career games. His game is still a work in progress though. Robidas was beat to the front of the net by Stephen Gionta on the Devils second goal. 5. Optional Morning Skates Since they were thumped at home by Nashville more than two weeks ago Leaf players have requested and been granted optional morning skates. Its a freedom that doesnt really affect the entire group, mostly top minute-eaters like Kessel, Bozak, van Riemsdyk, and Dion Phaneuf. I do see value in [morning skates], Carlyle said, [But] they dont. So theres a little bit of give and take. Theyve asked for this so were giving it to them. Carlyle suggested that those morning skates - 10:30 a.m. at home, an hour later on the road - may remain optional for the remainder of the year. Some players prefer the added rest and take the option - young guys mostly excluded from that choice. Others like the opportunity to get the legs moving in the morning, especially if they didnt play much the night before. Stats-Pack 3-9-3 - Leafs record when failing to score first. 5-games - Point streak for Mike Santorelli, who has a goal and eight assists in that span. 16:10 - Ice-time for Phil Kessel on Thursday, his third-lowest total of the season. 2 - Number of times that Jonathan Bernier has allowed five goals this season. 50-36 - Hits advantage for the Devils. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 21.3% PK: 1-3 Season: 82.8% Quote of the Night Winning is sometimes good deodorant for the stink thats getting into your game. And I think tonight that stink was a little bit more prevalent so we need to make sure were tidying up a little bit. -Peter Holland, on the Leafs last two games. Up Next The Leafs host the Canucks on Saturday. Dan Hampton Youth Jersey . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U. William Perry Bears Jersey . -- Dee Ford prefers to keep things simple: Play hard and fast, and let others worry about his NFL draft stock. https://www.bearssportsgoods.com/Womens-Mike-Ditka-Inverted-Jersey/ .com) - Scott Parel carded a 5-under 65 on Thursday and he grabbed a 1-stroke lead after one round of the season-opening Panama Claro Championship. Akiem Hicks Jersey . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. Dan Hampton Bears Jersey . - Nikita Jevpalovs scored 6:22 into the second overtime as the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada edged the visiting Rimouski Oceanic 2-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action.Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Ilya Bryzgalov could soon be returning to the NHL, as the veteran goaltender joined the Anaheim Ducks on a professional tryout Wednesday. The Ducks presently have two of their three netminders sidelined, with rookie John Gibson expected to be out until at least mid-December due to a groin injury he sustained in early November. Jason LaBarbera, who was called up from the minors after Gibson went down, broke a bone in his hand in Saturdays game at San Jose and will miss the next 2-to-3 weeks. Bryzgalov was not re-signed by the Minnesota Wild during the offseason. The 34-year-old started eight of the Wilds 13 games in last years Stanley Cup playoffs, compiling a 3-6-0 record with a 2.63 goals-against average and one shutout in nine overall postseason outings. The weell-traveled goaltender also began last season out of the NHL before signing with Edmonton in November.dddddddddddd Bryzgalov was later traded by the Oilers to Minnesota on March 4. Over 32 overall games with the Oilers and Wild last season, Bryzgalov posted a 12-9-8 record with a 2.68 GAA and four shutouts. Bryzgalov originally entered the NHL with the Ducks in 2001 and spent parts of five seasons with Anaheim before being waived in November of 2007. He was the backup goaltender on the Ducks 2006-07 Stanley Cup champion team. The Ducks also announced on Wednesday that defenseman Eric Brewer will be out 4-to-6 weeks after breaking a bone in his foot Monday against Boston. The 16- year veteran was in just his second game with Anaheim after being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay last week. ' ' '