NEW YORK – Jonathan Bernier had one thing running through his mind amid an avalanche of shots in what was a wildly tilted second period for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. John-Michael Liles Authentic Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. "I thought Bernie stood on his head and gave us a chance to steal another point," said Randy Carlyle after the 2-1 shootout defeat, the teams 10th loss in the past 11 games on the road. Nudging a puck past the pads of rookie Cam Talbot, Nazem Kadri evened the score at one with less than two minutes to play in regulation. His efforts would have been for not if it wasnt for the sterling play of the 25-year-old between the pipes. The Rangers outshot the Leafs 22-5 in a penalty-filled second frame, firing 18 shots in a span of just 12 minutes. "We had a bit of a rough stretch there," Kadri said, "but thats why weve got great goaltenders. We werent worried because we know Bernie can hang in there and make some big stops for us. Obviously weve got to find a way to tone that down, but he gave us a chance to win the game." Toronto goaltending has been that kind of rock through hard times all season, the lone bit of solace amid continued spurts of inconsistency. The bookends of Mondays performance were solid for the Leafs, nearly undone though by a second frame under siege. "Im just trying to keep it close," said Bernier of the experience in the second. "I know were going to score one goal and Im just trying to do my job and go shot by shot." It was the fourth 40-plus save performance for Bernier in 22 starts this season. He now boasts a .929 save percentage on the year, good for seventh-best in the NHL. But the Quebec native wouldnt go so far to say hell stole a point for his team. In fact, he couldnt help but lament the two goals that snuck by in the shootout. "I didnt steal one," he said. "I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." Five Points 1. Bernier Shootout Struggles Bernier dropped to 3-8 lifetime in the shootout and 2-4 this season. His career .500 save percentage is amongst the worst of any active goaltender (tied for 68th in a class of 77). He was beaten on this night by Mats Zuccarello, who flipped a shot over his left shoulder, and Derek Stepan, who potted the eventual winner. "I thought the first two I was a little bit impatient," said Bernier. "Ive got to go get that extra point for my team." 2. Road Woes The road has offered nothing but misery for the Leafs since the start of November. With Mondays shootout defeat, theyve now dropped 10 of the last 11 games away from the ACC (1-6-4), outscored 36-20 in that span. Their lone victory in that stretch came on Dec. 7, a 4-3 shootout triumph over the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Now 6-8-4, the Leafs have the fourth-worst road mark in the Eastern Conference. 3. Means to Victory Saved often by the efforts of Bernier and James Reimer, the Leafs now sit 13-1-2 on the year when theyve yielded two goals or less. Conversely, their record is just 5-15-3 when theyve allowed three goals or more. 4. Christmas Break "This is the dog days of hockey when you get close to the 40-game mark," said Carlyle. And with a three-day break lying in wait for the holidays, he and the Leafs are just hoping to reset with an increasingly taxing second half ahead. "Its been a real hectic schedule here for the last three weeks, Ill tell you that," Carlyle said of a stretch which saw his team play 12 times in 23 days. "It seems like we play every second day and theres no relaxing time and then theres very limited practice time." With just one regulation victory in the past 18 games, theyll need to find a path towards improvement. "You just cant look at all the negatives," said Kadri, who scored his 11th goal of the year in defeat. "Youve got to look at the positives. I know thats a bit cliché, but its the right thing to do. You also point out the negatives and you go to the chalkboard and you work on it. But I think a few of those games weve played some of our better games of the year and still come out with losses. Thats just how this league works." 5. Lengthy Shift For one stretch in the Rangers dominant second frame, Dion Phaneuf was caught on the ice for a taxing two minutes and 56 seconds. New York fired five shots on goal before Peter Holland was finally whistled for roughing, the first of four penalties for the Leafs in the period. "Not very good," said Phaneuf, asked how he felt during the near-three minute shift. "When you get stuck out that long its tough. "I was trying to change obviously. I wouldve liked to not get stuck out there for that long, but its part of what happens. Sometimes teams are able to hem another team in and thats what happened tonight." Stats-Pack .929 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier this season, seventh-best in the NHL. 3-8 – Career record in the shootout for Bernier. 1 – Regulation victory for the Leafs since Nov. 19. 1-6-4 – Leafs record on the road in the past 11 games. 5-4 – Shootout record for the Leafs this season. 13-1-2 – Leafs record when yielding two goals or less this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 22.4 per cent (4th) PK: 4-4Season: 78.4 per cent (26th) Quote of the Night "I didnt steal one. I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." -Jonathan Bernier, following his 42-save performance. Up Next The Leafs are off three days for the Christmas break, returning to host Buffalo on Friday night. David Clarkson Jersey . Kitna told The Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/1aaJ38v ) of his plans Wednesday. Kitna retired after the 2011 season, his 15th in the league, and was coaching football at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. Wendel Clark Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players.PHILADELPHIA -- In an unexpected defensive tussle, the depleted Dallas Cowboys delivered the knockout punch. Tony Romo threw for 317 yards and one touchdown, a banged-up defence shut down Chip Kellys prolific offence and the Cowboys overcame a sluggish start to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 17-3 on Sunday to take sole possession of first place in the NFC East. At least there wont be a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia after this one. Nick Foles was awful leaving with a head injury. "Obviously, our defence was outstanding," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "That offence challenges you in so many ways. They have a really good scheme. Our defence played sound, played together. They were physical and our tackling was outstanding." Two teams that averaged a combined 58.2 points per game and allowed a combined 55.2 totalled 13 punts in a first half that ended with Dallas (4-3) leading 3-0. It was more two inept offences than two dominant defences. A Cowboys defensive line missing three of its projected starters pressured and harassed Foles until putting him out on the final play of the third quarter. With Michael Vick inactive because of a hamstring injury, Matt Barkley made his NFL debut and threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter. "I was maybe a little too aggressive on some of those throws, trying to advance the ball down the field and help our team win," Barkley said. "I learned a lot today. Ill learn even more watching the tape." The Eagles (3-4) have lost a franchise-worst nine straight games at home. Their last win at the Linc was over the New York Giants on Sept. 30, 2012. Dallas played without four-time All-Pro defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who missed the first game in his nine-year career because of a quadriceps injury. Anthony Spencer, the end opposite Ware, is out for the season after knee surgery. Four-time Pro Bowl tackle Jay Ratliff was released during the week after failing a physical. George Selvie had 1 1/2 sacks and combined with Jarius Wynn on the hit that forced Foles out of the game. Wynn was signed last Tuesday after being released by San Diego. "Its a testament to how hard and committed these guys are to practicing," Romo said. "Its neat for themm to have a game like this. Tie Domi Jersey. They wouldve won it by themselves." Foles, coming off an impressive performance at Tampa Bay last week that earned him NFC Player of the Week honours, had his worst game since his first career start at Washington last November. He finished 11 of 29 for 80 yards and was sacked three times. Foles misfired on several throws to open receivers, including a low throw to Jason Avant in the end zone in the third quarter. "All of us on offence, our decision making wasnt very good," Kelly said. "It was all of us on offence. Its not just one guy." Kelly is hopeful Vick will return this week. There was no word on the extent of Foles injury. The Eagles sorely missed Vicks scrambling ability. Also, Vicks presence makes LeSean McCoy more dangerous because teams have to be wary of both in Kellys read-zone offence. McCoy, the NFLs leading rusher, was held to 55 yards on 18 carries. "We knew it was going to be an extreme challenge coming in, and I felt we answered the bell," said linebacker Sean Lee, who had one of the picks on Barkley. Cowboys rookie Joseph Randle had 65 yards rushing filling in for injured running back DeMarco Murray. Phillip Tanner scored on a 1-yard run. Romo was 28 of 47 and threw two picks. The first 11 possessions resulted in 11 punts before Dan Bailey kicked a 38-yard field goal to give Dallas a 3-0 lead with 3:17 left in the first half. Alex Henery missed wide left on a 60-yard attempt with 9 seconds left in the second quarter. DeMeco Ryans intercepted a poor pass by Romo and returned it 36 yards to the Cowboys 30 to set up Henerys 31-yard field goal that cut it to 10-3. But the Cowboys answered with Romo tossing a 9-yard TD pass to Terrance Williams to make it 17-3. At Oregon, Kellys teams scored 150 points in three meetings against Monte Kiffin when he was defensive co-ordinator for USC. Kiffin now holds that position with the Cowboys, so the defensive mastermind wins their first matchup in the pros. NOTES: The Cowboys got their first road win and are 3-0 in the division for first time since 2007. ... The Eagles were the fourth team in NFL history to have 400 yards of offence in each of first six games. They were held to 278.wholesale jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
