Magicgames II » un.Theres no need to be uptight and worrie

TORONTO – It was neither loud, thunderous nor bombastic in the manner of his predecessor, but in his own understated way Brendan Shanahan put his sliding Maple Leafs club on notice. Four days after firing Randy Carlyle, Shanahan told his team in a Friday morning meeting that more of the same wasnt going to be tolerated, that the players in the room had more to give. He wanted it known that management was watching both the good and the bad, watching closely moreover how the group responded to interim head coach, Peter Horachek. Thats the million dollar question, Shanahan said, his voice calm and static despite the apparent urgency of his message to players. Any time there is a coaching change there is an opportunity for players to look at themselves as well. Theres that moment when a coach goes and then you know that the spotlights going to be shined on you. What Shanahan will admittedly get is an opportunity to judge the roster under different leadership – that of Horachek, who will remain in charge until the end of the season. Shanahan will have a chance now in the final 40 games to assess the degree to which familiar troubles of defence and possession were tied to coaching or to a core group of players who have failed in some way or another under the previous two head coaches – Ron Wilson fired three years ago this March. How theyre going to be defined is really up to them at this point, Shanahan said. I also wanted to make it very clear to them that were watching and that were on it. And whether weve seen good things or weve seen some bad things theyre not getting by us, theyre not escaping us. More changes arent out of the question. Trades – big or small – were on the table and that included seemingly anyone. Shanahan said he and the front office wouldnt be afraid to act if progress wasnt discerned or if an opportunity to improve the roster arose otherwise. That would represent a shift from the patient and generally quiet tenure of nearly a year on the job. Shanahan has left the core of the roster intact since he was hired last April. He opted against significant moves last summer following a nosedive out of the playoffs that predated his leadership. Only touch-up moves were made in the offseason, the likes of Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik and Leo Komarov added in free agency. Core players were all kept on board. Firing Carlyle was the first and easier fix, especially in contrast to the difficult complexities and looming decisions of a roster thats overextended at the top and not near good enough. Where does Shanahan turn with the pillars of Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, who are both under contract until at least 2021? Or how about Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak, none of whom have excelled in the first half? How much of that core is worth salvaging for the long term? Shanahan and his front office team will use the remaining time this season to make those assessments. He said those core players would be judged on the results of the team in the second half and not necessarily on the personal success of any one individual. No player fits such a bill more than Kessel, who is hovering around the top-10 in league scoring despite an underwhelming season on the whole. I expressed it to them that were not satisfied, Shanahan said of his directive to the team. And quite honestly its really about the team performs in how a lot of individuals get rated as well. A different coach will help to determine which pieces, if any, in the current mix function better under different leadership. How does Jake Gardiner, for example, respond to Horachek after a turbulent run under Carlyle? Some problems, like Clarkson, may simply be beyond coaching, but others like Gardiner, Morgan Rielly and Richard Panik may show differently under another coach, one whos known to be a strong communicator and teacher. Gardiner fared well under Wilson, far less so under Carlyle. If I made a mistake with Randy it was a bigger deal than it was with Ron, Gardiner said. Without explicitly taking the since-deposed Carlyle to task, Shanahan did note the need for a better approach toward possessing the puck more and defending less. The Leafs under Carlyle ranked near the bottom of the league in both categories. I do think we need more strategies in all three zones so that we can hang onto the puck more and play with the puck more, he said. That will fall on Horachek for the time being – the earliest returns positive. Shanahan said a further assessment of the coaching staff would come in the offseason, the pool of candidates presumably larger than at the current moment. Shanahan has mostly remained in the weeds in his first front office role, rarely making his voice heard publicly even in key moments. It was Dave Nonis who addressed a puzzling decision to retain Carlyle last May; it was Nonis speaking after a quiet July 1; and then it was Nonis again at the forefront when Carlyle was fired earlier in the week. But there was Shanahan on Friday stepping to the podium and making it known to all that his team had been put on notice. It wasnt quite on the bombastic level of Brian Burke, but it was a rare public display from the man charged with revamping the Leafs. I want to give them the time and the space and the room to go out and tell us who they are and what they are, he said. So far it hasnt been good enough. They know that. The warning is one thing. How players and Shanahan follow through under difficult and unpredictable terrain is another entirely. Five Points 1. Response This was the response Shanahan was looking for, though one game will hardly change minds in the grander scheme of things. Toronto held Columbus to just 20 shots on Friday evening, kept Jonathan Bernier free of heavy danger and held serve in the possession game. They pumped five goals past Sergei Bobrovsky and won for just the third time in the past 11 games. Cody Franson said afterward it was time for the Leafs to grow up and demonstrate such efforts on a consistent basis. Its time to buy in, said Franson. Its time to really come in and compete. Weve played a very rollercoaster-type season to this point and you cant expect to make the playoffs and you cant expect to go deep in the playoffs if you dont become that team that can win games when theyre ahead; that can play defensive hockey against tough teams; that can beat tough teams that work as hard as Columbus does. The vibe was certainly lighter in the winning dressing room afterward, almost as if a weight had been lifted. There was a sense of pride even in the brand of hockey that emerged in victory. I definitely feel like thats how we need to approach every game, for sure, said Horachek. Its a lot harder to play that way, but thats the way we need to play as a team thats going to be trying to get back to where it needs to be. Winning his first game behind the Leafs bench, Horachek was actually graced with the teams player of the game sweater, an honour thats never gone to the coach before in its brief history. 2. Accountability Franson said Shanahans directive to players on Friday morning was more a push to play better than anything else. It wasnt a threatening meeting, said Franson, though he labeled the Carlyle firing as a definite wake-up call to the group. Theres always a hidden message within moves like that, he said of the decision which saw Carlyle dismissed after fewer than three seasons in Toronto. They dont have to come down here and tell us that were next or anything like that. We understand. We know how the business works. And we know what we have to do within this room in order to put that thought process of being inconsistent to sleep. Thats where we want to get to. We dont want to be that team thats great one week and horrible the next. We want to consistently move up. Accountability, Franson said, had to come from within. Were trying to get to that point where our coaches dont have to say anything, said the 27-year-old, who had a pair of assists in 20 minutes. When a team gets to that point where the coaches dont have to say anything, when the group doesnt need a talking to or knows what we need to do, thats when you start becoming successful and thats when you know guys are really buying in. Tonights definitely a step in that direction. 3. With and Without the Puck Shanahan was predictably disturbed with two key pillars of the Leafs play this season: defence and possession. The message that we are trying to pound home to our players is that you really have to be a lot more sound defensively, he said. Being where we are in goals against, being where we are in shots against, its not acceptable. The Leafs entered Fridays game ranked 25th in goals against and 29th in shots against. In detailing those troubles, Shanahan said improvement was required from the revamped coaching staff – Steve Staios added – noting the need for better strategies to play defence less while keeping the puck more. Toronto has actually fared well in both fashions in recent games, including just 26 shots against to Washington with 55 percent possession in Horacheks debut. Tyler Bozak, who tallied a pair of points in victory Friday, detailed the sources for improvement. Were bumping pucks to the middle more than rimming it around the wall and its letting us get out of our zone cleaner, Bozak said. And also, were spending a lot more time in the offensive zone so that keeps them playing defence. On the biggest point of emphasis under Horachek so far, Bozak added, I think were looking for more puck possession. The more you have the puck the less you have to play defence and we think weve been defending a little too much so thats the main thing. 4. Benefactor The biggest early benefactor of the coaching change may be Richard Panik. Panik was moved onto the Leafs second unit against Columbus, paired with two of the teams higher caliber offensive players in Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk. Now I get the opportunity, Ive got to make the best of it, Panik said before playing a season-high of nearly 18 minutes. I cant just be satisfied now that Im on the second line, now I have to prove I have the ability to play on that line. Panik has certainly earned a longer look. Hes on pace for 16 goals despite playing on the fourth line with limited ice-time for most of the season. Claimed off waivers from Tampa, the 23-year-old has also rightfully been added to the power-play in recent days. Its all about how youre playing, Horachek said before the game. If hes playing hard and hes doing a good job hes going to play more. Hes earned an opportunity to play at a higher role. We want to give everyone whos pushing the envelope like that, whos going to step up, [an opportunity] to play more. Hes got a lot of skill, added Horachek of the one-time second round pick. Hes got skill and we kind of marvel sometimes when we watch some of the things he can do. But all that skill has to be put into a game and theres functions of how we want to play and areas where you dont want to turn pucks over. Hes doing a better job there. 5. Benefactor II Another early and apparent benefactor of the coaching change is Morgan Rielly, who led the Leafs in even-strength ice-time for the second consecutive game. Rielly, who played 22 minutes overall against Columbus, actually set a career-high for minutes in Horacheks debut two nights earlier. He totaled nearly 24 minutes against Washington on Wednesday. Stats-Pack 13 – Number of times the Leafs have allowed 30 shots or fewer this season, including four of the past five games. 17:40 – Ice-time for Richard Panik, a season-high. 2nd – Consecutive game in which the Leafs have allowed a goal on the first shot. 2 – Even-strength points for Tyler Bozak against Columbus. Bozak had five such points in the previous 18 games. 18 – Power-play points for Phil Kessel this season, just a tad behind a career-high of 23. 20:31 – Even-strength ice-time for Morgan Rielly, leading the Leafs. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-4 Season: 20.7 per cent (9th) PK: 1-2 Season: 82 per cent (13th) Quote of the Night Theres always a hidden message within moves like that. They dont have to come down here and tell us that were next or anything like that. We understand. We know how the business works. And we know what we have to do within this room in order to put that thought process of being inconsistent to sleep. Thats where we want to get to. We dont want to be that team thats great one week and horrible the next. We want to consistently move up. -Cody Franson, on the Randy Carlyle firing. Quote of the Night II If I made a mistake with Randy it was a bigger deal than it was with Ron. -Jake Gardiner, on the differences in his first two NHL head coaches, Randy Carlyle and Ron Wilson. Up Next The Leafs head out on a grueling four-game road trip, beginning Monday night in Anaheim. Marquez Tucker Jersey . The ninth-seeded Safarova doused Swede Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-3 on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. The Czech player was a finalist here two years ago and captured back-to-back doubles titles in 2012 and last year. Buy Cheap Bears Jerseys . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. http://www.cheapbearsjerseyschina.com/elliott-fry-jersey/. The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Bears Jerseys From China . Kerr said he had dinner with Jackson, his former coach with Chicago and the new Knicks team president, on Friday night and they talked again Saturday. Kerr is in New York to work the game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors for TNT. Eddie Goldman Jersey . -- Cole De Vries had a couple of key strikeouts during what could have been the inning that doomed him to defeat against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to escape further damage and keep the game tied up.INDIANAPOLIS - Colts defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois is spending championship week as the teams locker room lead entertainer.On Thursday, he grabbed a microphone and started interviewing inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman. On Friday, he delivered a pair of new sneakers to outside linebacker Erik Walden. The rest of the week, well, his deep voice and unmistakable laugh have reverberated.Make no mistake, Jean Francois and his teammates are focused intently on Sundays AFC championship game at New England. Theyre just trying to have a little fun.Theres no need to be uptight and worried, Jean Francois said. We can still be goofy, like we always are in here.Why not? Indianapolis has already defied expectations by winning at Denver. Even fewer people believe the Colts (13-5) will beat the Patriots (13-4) on their home turf.The Colts have gone one step deeper in this seasons playoffs than they went a year ago, and are two games deeper than they were two years ago. So with seven wins in eight games, the locker room chatter and playful banter is a reflection of growing confidence.You should be yourself, Walden said. Look, everybodys locked in, but youve got to be yourself. Your personality has to stay the same, but the preparation goes up.For these Colts, its just the way they do business.Coach Chuck Pagano put a small archery target on an easel in the locker room hallway this week, an effort to emphasize the point he made to his players about being focused on the target.Plus, the Colts can always rely on the calming presence of Andrew Luck. Though hes one of 40 players on Indys roster about to make their championship debut, the third-year quarterback rarely gets rattled.Peyton (Manning) had a different, more strict demeanour, four-time Super Bowl-winning kicker Adam Vinatieri said, remembering that the former star Colts QB didnt like loud music in the locker room. But theres a lot of different ways to skin a cat. I think as long as youre ready to play on Sunday, thats all that matters.Cory Redding is eager to erase the stinging reminder of a 23-20 championship game loss at New England three years ago. It cost the defensivve end a trip to the Super Bowl, and the next year, Redding and Pagano were in Indy when the Ravens won the title.ddddddddddddRedding wants to make sure another opportunity, perhaps his last one, doesnt slip away. Usually exuberant, he put on his game face in the lead up to the Denver game and hasnt taken it off yet. His teammates dont mind.He wants to play in a Super Bowl because he never got that chance, said Jean Francois, who won an NFC title with San Francisco. Let him be the way he is, well be loose.But the Colts are quick to point out that just because theyre having fun, theyre serious about winning.Pagano has talked all week about how the run defence is playing its best football since he came to Indy while the offence and special teams are playing well, too.Hes not the only one who sees it. Two weeks ago, Reggie Wayne walked to the podium and told reporters that this team reminded him of the 2006 Colts, who won the Super Bowl. He still believes thats true.You know when the offence is starting to hit their stride. You know when the defence is doing their thing. Special teams is right on point. So when I said that, thats what I meant, he sa