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TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs didnt make it easy on themselves, but their losing streak is over. Again they were badly outshot and a late penalty almost did them in, but Trevor Smith scored in overtime as Toronto beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 Thursday night at Air Canada Centre to end the skid at five games. Relief was the primary emotion after giving up 50 shots and winning for the first time since Nov. 23. "Im happy we won because there seems to be a lot of pressure on our group, and hopefully this helps flush some of the things that are going on out there that we can feel a little bit of room to breathe what we went through," coach Randy Carlyle said. "By no means that we think were out of the woods, but it feels good to win a hockey game." The Leafs (15-11-3) won in large part because goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 48 saves, including six in overtime before Smith beat Kari Lehtonen with 42 seconds to go before a shootout. Bernier conceded this did feel like a night during which he saw 50 shots and that it made him tired. All in a days work for a Leafs goaltender given that this was the 10th consecutive game they were outshot. Bernier called being outshot -- this time 44-22 in regulation and 50-24 total -- this teams "style." "My job is to go out there and give my team a chance to win," Bernier said. "I thought my last couple of games I wasnt very good. I needed to come here and play the way I can play and go shot-by-shot." Bernier earned first-star honours for his play, but his performance didnt shock Carlyle or his teammates. "Im not that impressed any more because hes done this night in and night out," said centre Nazem Kadri, who scored twice. "Its almost expected of him now. Hes been a great contributor to this team even throughout those tough stretches when they had us pinned in our end. Our goalie needs to make a couple big saves for us to get the win, and thats exactly what happened." Bernier earned praise from Stars coach Lindy Ruff. "I give their goalie a lot of credit. I give their team a lot of credit. They found a way to win," Ruff said. "Kudos to them." But even Bernier wasnt perfect. Erik Cole beat him with a goal on the rush early in the third period when the Leafs got caught on a bad line change, and then former Edmonton Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff tipped a shot in on the power play to tie the score late in regulation. Horcoff almost had a similar goal at the 9:42 mark of the third when he redirected a power-play point shot past Bernier. But the referees waved it off right away and video review upheld the no-goal call. "I was hoping theyd count it, but I felt like it was a little bit high," Horcoff said. "I knew the next one was OK." When Kadri scored his two goals of the night, there was no doubt. His first came thanks to some sharp passing from linemates Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk 58 seconds into the second period. Kadri added another, his ninth of the season, 6:58 into the third. He didnt grab that puck but did call Thursday night a "memory" because the game was dedicated to his late grandfather, who died earlier this week. "Its definitely something that he wouldve loved to see," Kadri said. "In the last couple years there hasnt been a game hes missed. Hes going to be dearly missed by our family." Kadri had no other choice but to return to hockey after missing Tuesday nights loss to the San Jose Sharks to attend his grandfathers funeral in London, Ont. When he came back, he was on the first line between van Riemsdyk and Kessel because Tyler Bozak is out indefinitely with an oblique strain. Another player who has made the most of his opportunity is Smith, who scored his fourth goal of the season 4:18 into overtime. Smith, who was named captain of the AHLs Toronto Marlies, was playing on what could be called the Leafs second line against the Stars (13-10-4). On a team thats lacking in secondary scoring and has grown accustomed to being outshot, Smith put two on net in regulation and then scored the winner. "Overtime, thats a lot of fun," Smith said. "Real exciting looking up at the crowd after scoring." It probably shouldnt have gotten to overtime. With the Leafs clinging to a 2-1 lead, their best penalty-killer, Jay McClement tripped up Tyler Seguin, who was returning after missing two games with a concussion. Horcoff scored with four seconds left on that penalty. It was the ninth power-play goal Toronto had given up in its past six games, including at least one each night. "Its a big part of when youre struggling and things not going your way as far as handling pucks and pressure," Carlyle said. "We were four seconds away, but we still had two chances to clear the puck. It would have been over. But that little bit of adversity hurt us for a period of time." Had the Stars managed to score again in regulation or overtime or win in a shootout, it would have hurt more. The losing streak was starting to take its toll. "We had to break it," Smith said. "We havent been playing well, and I dont think we put together 60 minutes at all tonight. But with Bernier playing over his head for us and giving us a chance to win, thats all we can ask for." Led by Bernier, Smith and Kadri, the Leafs go to Ottawa for Saturday nights rivalry game against the Senators unburdened by the pressure of this skid. "Hopefully they feel good in there and we can flush whats been going on because theres been a lot of things going on," Carlyle said. "And we just think that its time for this group to take a deep breath and lets go to work tomorrow and get ourselves ready for Saturday." NOTES -- The Leafs held a pre-game moment of silence to honour the death of Nelson Mandela. His name along with his dates of birth and death were put on the scoreboard along with a profile photo of the South African leader. ... Winger Jerry DAmigo, called up earlier in the day as the Leafs placed Bozak and enforcer Colton Orr on injured reserve and Jerred Smithson cleared waivers, made his NHL debut playing on the fourth line and finished with 4:02 of ice time. Stars defenceman Trevor Daley left the game with a lower-body injury after getting tangled up with van Riemsdyk on the play that led to Kadris first goal. Daleys left leg got caught up with the Leafs winger, and he slid into the boards. ... Defenceman Morgan Rielly was a healthy scratch for the Leafs as Cody Franson returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury. Evan Gattis Jersey . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Gerrit Cole Jersey . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/jos...-astros-jersey/. -- Another baseball tradition is about to largely disappear: a manager, with a crazed look in his eyes, charging the field and getting into a face-to-face shouting match with an umpire. Anthony Gose Jersey .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Ken Giles Jersey . Sixteen teams have moved on. Sixteen teams have gone home.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. Thats the message Black issued Thursday during his weekly show on WGR-AM, by emphasizing the Sabres intention to stay the course in developing their prospects this season. "When were in a transition year like this, it is going to be difficult. Its going to be difficult to stomach the short run," Black said. "The fans that follow this team, they signed up for this team, they signed up for a rough road." Rough as it has been so far, Black isnt shying from the frustration and criticism directed at management. "Im not going to go anywhere and hide under a bed and wish I didnt have to do this or that," he said. "Im going to do my damndest to turn this thing around." The Sabres are essentially at Square 1 after making the decision last season to overhaul an aging, high-priced roster. At 1-9-1, Buffalo has surpassed its worst start to a season, previously a 1-7-1 start in 1993-94. They Sabres cant score, having managed two or more goals just four times. Theyve yet to score first, and have been outscored by a combined 14-1 in the first period. And Buffalo cant even manage to get a lead. The teams one win came in a 4-3 shootout over the New York Islanders on Oct. 15, in a game Buffalo never led in regulation. Otherwise, the Sabres have held a lead once, in a 3-2 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, for a combined total of 9:35 of ice-time, which is by far the shortest span of any NHL team this season, according to STATS LLC. The Florida Panthers (3-6-1) are next, having held a lead for a combined total of 58:53. Add it up, and these are among the reasons the Sabres have been routinely booed off the ice by a once-loyal fan-base thats grown increasingly frustrated. Chants of "Fire Darcy!" directed at general manager Darcy Regier, have become familiar during home games, where Buffalo is 0-6-1 following a 5-2 loss to Boston on Wednesday night. "No one in here is proud of our record or proud of what weve accomplished this season or havent accomplishhed this season," co-captain Steve Ott said.dddddddddddd "We knew the transition was going to be coming on. Obviously, its hit us to start, and its hit us hard." This essentially amounts to the "suffering" Regier cautioned Sabres fans might be in store last spring in outlining his strategy to rebuild from the ground up. The Sabres lineup features six rookies. And they are the first NHL team since 1995-96 to play at least four teenagers. The roster could get even younger. The team hasnt ruled out trading its two most marketable stars -- goalie Ryan Miller and leading scorer Thomas Vanek. Both are in the final year of their contracts, and its unclear whether they fit in the teams long-range plans or are interested in staying. Vanek has already indicated he has no interest enduring a long-term rebuilding project. He suggested it might be better off for the Sabres to deal him to get draft picks or prospects in return as they did last season by trading three veterans, including captain Jason Pominville. Vanek acknowledged Thursday this season has been the lowest point of his nine-year NHL career in Buffalo. "I knew going into this year that this is what we were doing, and this is what we were going to have," Vanek said. "It is frustrating? Is it fun to go home each and every night? No. Its not, because you want to win. But at the same time, youve got to be realistic." The reality is that the Sabres could very well end up with the NHLs worst record. And that, according to Black, might not be a bad thing in the long run. Black reflected to his days in Pittsburgh, when the Penguins struggled through several woeful seasons. In bottoming out, the Penguins stockpiled several high draft picks, lucked out in winning the Sidney Crosby draft lottery, which helped transform them into Stanley Cup contenders. "For us to get back to where we want to be, and thats building a championship, its going to come through the draft," Black said. "Were going to get through this. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I dont know how long its going to take us to get there, but we are going to get there." Jerseys NFL Cheap China NFL Hoodies Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Hoodies ' ' '