Things started off quite well for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but their January slide has pushed them out of playoff position. George Johnson Jersey . So whats exactly wrong with the Blue and White these days? The team opened 2014 on a high, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout in front of more than 105,000 fans at Michigan Stadium for the NHLs Winter Classic. Since the outdoor win, the Leafs have dropped three straight games and have been outscored 18-5 in those contests. On top of that, the club has just five regulation/overtime victories over their last 31 games and a 4-13 record in the 17 games that ended in regulation. By comparison, the Leafs had 13 regulation/overtime wins in their final 31 games under Ron Wilson. Going into Friday nights game against Washington, theyve gone 2-7-4 in their last 13 road games, are 4-for-43 on the power play and their last road regulation win was Oct. 30 in Calgary. Is it the coaching? Many fans have called for the firing of head coach Randy Carlyle. In his lone full season with the Leafs, he led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2004. But is it possible that his good will with the players has taken a turn south? Many observers have blamed Carlyle for the Leafs defensive system, which has allowed a league-high 36.4 shots on goal per game and league-worst minus-9.2 shot differential. Others argue that the shot totals have been high all year and are nothing new for the Leafs. Their goaltending struggles, however, certainly are. Is the problem in goal? The Leafs relied on the strong play of James Reimer and more specifically Jonathan Bernier to get wins this season, but both have struggled of late. Bernier played 29 games with the Leafs this season before getting pulled for the first time on Saturday in a 7-1 loss against the New York Rangers. He allowed five goals on 32 shots in just under two periods of play. And Bernier struggled again the next time out against the New York Islanders, allowing four goals on 24 shots, three of them that Carlyle said Bernier wanted back. The Leafs lost again, 5-3. The team turned back to Reimer on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he allowed six goals on 36 shots and the team lost its third straight game, 6-1. As TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger noted on TSN Radio 1050 on Friday morning, the Leafs, "played 60 minutes like they were killing a 5-on-3." At the same time, Torontos offence hasnt been anywhere near good enough to make up for the defensive shortfall. The Leafs top two scorers, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, have just one point between them over the last three games. The losing skid could be attributed to many things, but is it as simple as a Winter Classic hangover? The Leafs played most of December under the watchful eyes of television cameras documenting their lives, on and off the ice, for HBOs 24/7 Winter Classic series. When they won the game and shook their opponents hands at centre ice, the camera crews packed up and life was supposed to return to normal. But since then victories have been hard to come by. And now the Leafs find themselves on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with just under half the season remaining and Olympic break four weeks away. The time has come to ask, whats wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs? As always, its Your! Call. Tahir Whitehead Blue Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Stephen Tulloch Blue Jersey . Brandon Triche added 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Orange (17-0, 4-0 Big East), who started 18-0 last season before dropping their first game. C.J. Fair donated 13 points and eight boards for Syracuse, which got 12 points and seven assists from Dion Waiters.PARIS -- Host France will play its first match of the 2016 European Championship at Stade de France, where the final and five other matches will also be played. Every team will rotate and play their three group games in different stadiums during Euro 2016, organizers said on Friday. Stade de France, which hosted the 1998 World Cup final when France beat Brazil 3-0, has the most games during the June 10-July 10 event. Six matches will be played in Lille, Lyon and Marseille, five in Bordeaux and the Parc des Princes in Paris, and four in Lens, Nice, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse. Lille, Bordeaux, Marseille and Stade de France will host a quarterfinal each, and the semifinals will be held in Marseille and Lyon. It is the first Euro with the expanded 24-team format. The final games in each group will be played at the same time. The group winner and the team finishing second can meet again only if they reach the final, and there will be at least two days between matches in each stadium to help preserve the quality of the playing surface. The government will invest 160 million euros ($220 million) to help complete the renovation of stadiums. Matthew Stafford Jersey. UEFA president Michel Platini, who is French, was at the news conference at the FFF headquarters. He confirmed he would be there for Frances opening group game. "I will most certainly be there," he said. "In what function, I dont know ... maybe as a volunteer." Platini, who is also a FIFA vice-president, has been touted as a potential successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is considering whether to stand for a fifth term next year. France won the past two tournaments it hosted, with midfield great Platini starring with nine goals in six matches when France won the European Championship in 1984. "The pressure isnt the same when youre playing (away) or at home," Platini said. "You have to win it when youre at home. Theyll do well at the 2014 World Cup and there will be big pressure to win it here." All teams have total freedom to choose their training camps. A catalogue featuring 50 possible training bases will be made available after the World Cup in Brazi. Tickets for Euro 2016 will be on sale from next spring. cheap jerseys ' ' '
