miaowang123: Budenholzer was called for a technical foul in

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OTTAWA – Carl Gunnarsson had a simple explanation for the sky-high shot totals peppered at Leaf goaltenders on a nightly basis and once more in the nations capital on Saturday evening. Eden Hazard Jersey . "You know what? I think its a conspiracy," Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report with a large, sarcastic grin in the bowels of the Canadian Tire Centre. "I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it." Two nights after Jonathan Bernier stopped 48 of 50 shots in an overtime win against the Stars did James Reimer stop 47 of 50 in a shootout victory against the Senators, one that also snapped the Leafs seven-game road losing streak. The primary force in the teams success so far this season (16-11-3,) goaltending, after a slight dip under increasing strain in late November, have re-emerged as the backbone of victory in the early days of December. "When we get those wins on a night like this its their win," Gunnarsson said of the goaltenders, Reimer on this particular night. "We need them right now and theyre really showing [up.]" While they raced out to a 3-1 lead on goals from James van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel and Jake Gardiner, the Leafs nearly fumbled victory away again on this night. Another late letdown, highlighted by continued discipline issues, saw the Senators push back with a pair of goals from Erik Condra and Erik Karlsson, the latter coming on a power-play midway through the third. "When we skate and we attack we can be a hockey club that can have success," said Randy Carlyle, pleased with the effort through two periods, but not so much in the third. "And when we sit back and receive the game, we allow the opposition to dictate the pace of the game." Only the efforts of Reimer kept Ottawa, now nine points back of Toronto in the Atlantic Division, from swiping the lead and two points entirely. "My job is to stop them, whether its 10 shots or 100 shots," said Reimer, who remains unbeaten in Ottawa. "We dont really care how many shots were giving up. Our job is just to stop the puck from going in the net." "We feel were fortunate to have the level of goaltending from Reimer and Bernier," said Carlyle. "We can go with either of them on any given night." Five Points 1. Challenges of a Busy Night Interestingly, Reimer explained that bloated shot totals arent what wear down a goaltender. "They threw a lot of pucks at the net," he said of the Senators, "but what tires a goaltender out on pretty much any team [is] their in-zone time. Its not necessarily the shots, its them working, cycling. Thats when youre in your crouch and youre looking at the pass across and youre moving trying to fight through traffic. Thats whats the most tiring." Regardless, the Leafs are forcing their goaltenders to be spectacular on too many nights. Theyve yielded 37 shots per game against this season, most in the NHL. 2. Reimers Capital City Dominance The unbeaten streak and brilliance for Reimer in the nations capital continued on Saturday. With the 47-save performance – and two more in a perfect shootout – Reimer improved to 7-0-0 lifetime at the Canadian Tire Centre with a .970 save percentage. The 25-year-old, for his part, had no explanation for his success in Ottawa, attributing it to simple randomness. Date Shots Faced Goals Against Jan. 11, 2011 33 1 Apr. 2, 2011 25 2 Feb. 4, 2012 49 0 Mar. 17, 2012 30 1 Mar. 30, 2013 31 0 Apr. 20, 2013 50 1 Dec. 7, 2013 50 3 3. Liles Season Debut John-Michael Liles hadnt played a game for the Leafs since Game 7 of a first round playoff series with Boston last May. He returned from the Marlies on Saturday, playing nearly 18 minutes alongside Mark Fraser against the Senators. "I thought he gave us a good game," said Carlyle of Liles. "He gave us what he does best. Hes a puck-moving defenceman. I thought he did a heck of a job for us." The 33-year-old, who has seen his role in the NHL dwindle in recent years, said he chose to assess his situation in the minors without negativity. "Theres an opportunity to dwell on it and maybe give the kind of woe is me but at the same time thats not really who I am," said Liles, recalled to help a struggling Toronto defence in their puck-moving pursuits. "That was something I tried to not let myself get caught up in." By all accounts, Liles had been terrific with the Marlies, totaling 13 points in 16 games. He credits Steve Spott, the Marlies head coach, for helping to ease his transition to the American League. "Spotter has been fantastic for me," said Liles. "He said he expected a lot of me [and] I expect a lot of myself." 4. Late Meltdowns Just as they did in near-defeat to the Stars on Thursday night, the Leafs very nearly let victory slip away against the Senators. Rather than attack with the lead, they simply sat back and saw it evaporate. "I guess its when we get a lead we freeze, do we freeze up or what are we doing?" said Carlyle, searching for answers himself. "Weve talked about it a lot. Were beating it to death. If we had the answer right now, we wouldve corrected it a long time ago." Ottawa cut the lead to one in the opening minutes of the third frame with Colin Greening outmaneuvering Gardiner for a puck in the Toronto zone, before feeding Condra high in the slot. Karlsson then tied it on the eighth Leaf minor penalty. "It seems we work hard for 40 minutes of the game and establish the type of game we want to play and then we take some penalties that change the momentum and we dont seem to be able to get it back," Carlyle said. "But we won the hockey game, found a way to win and thats the most important thing. Weve had some pretty down times here prior to the last two games, so no matter how you get the points, were going to take them and move on." "Its just a good feeling," said Gunnarsson. "We got the two points. Its not the way we wanted, but in the end the points matter so well take that." 5. Clarksons Production The first 20 games in a Maple Leafs jersey have passed rather quietly for David Clarkson. Clarkson has just two goals and five points, numbers that, while disappointing in the scope of his more recent production, align more closely to the bulk of his NHL career previously. On pace for just seven goals and 18 points this season, Clarkson averaged a not so dissimilar 12 goals and 24 points in his first four NHL seasons with the Devils. Though he played slightly less then – between 12-14 minutes – the 29-year-old garnered similar power-play time and a similar number of shots to those hes put forth this winter as a Leaf. His more recent outbursts,perhaps unsustainable, seemed to alter the conversation though as far as expectations for the Mimico, Ontario native are concerned. Two years ago, Clarkson posted career-highs with 30 goals and 46 points. That year he averaged a then-career-high of 2.85 shots per game, while shooting a career-high 13.2 per cent. While slightly less accurate the next year – a lockout shortened 48 games – Clarkson shot the puck with even greater frequency, establishing a new career-high of 3.75 shots per game. Also notable was the first unit power-play time he gathered in those two potent seasons, a fact of life thats diminished in Toronto to opportunity more closely aligned to those first four seasons in New Jersey. All of which is to say that Clarksons offensive production in the previous two seasons (120 games) may prove more exception than rule. Stats-Pack .970% - Career save percentage for James Reimer in Ottawa. 22 – Career goals for Phil Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 42 – Career points for Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 17:51 – Ice-time for John-Michael Liles in his season debut. 0.47 – Goals per game for James van Riemsdyk, who scored his 12th this season on Saturday. 6 – Consecutive games with a point for Kessel, who has four goals and eight points in that span. 28:32 – Ice-time for Dion Phaneuf, a season-high. 4 – Goals from the Toronto defence this season, Jake Gardiner scoring his first this season against the Senators. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-6 Season: 24.7% PK: 6-8 Season: 78.2% Quote of the Night "You know what? I think its a conspiracy. I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it, I think thats what it is." -Carl Gunnarsson, musing on the amount of shots the Leafs have given up this season. Up Next The Leafs return home to host Boston at the ACC on Sunday night. Chelsea Jerseys . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea Jersey . Since coming to the big leagues in late May, La Stella is 6 for 7 with the bases loaded, driving in 13 runs in those at-bats.ATLANTA -- Gregg Popovich said he couldnt enjoy a lopsided win over longtime Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer. Tim Duncan had 17 points and 16 rebounds in another dominant performance against Atlanta and San Antonio coasted to a 105-79 win over the short-handed Hawks on Friday night. Budenholzer, in his first season as the Hawks coach, was in the San Antonio organization for 19 years, including 17 as an assistant, and the last six as Popovichs top aide. Popovich said facing Budenholzer was difficult. "Actually, its no fun at all, to tell you the truth," Popovich said. "If you win, you feel bad. If you lose you always feel bad. Its a no-win when that happens." The Hawks, already short-handed without Pero Antic and DeMarre Carroll, lost point guard Jeff Teague to a left ankle sprain in the second period. Teague didnt return and is expected to miss at least two games. Boris Diaw led the Spurs with 21 points. Patty Mills, who made a career-high six 3-pointers, had 18 points. Cory Joseph started for Kawhi Leonard, who will miss three to four weeks with a broken bone in his right hand. Joseph had eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Leonard joined starting centre Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) and former starter Danny Green (broken left index finger) on San Antonios injured list. Mills said it was "everyones mindset" to step up for the missing players. "Weve got big shoes to fill until everyone gets back," Mills said. "Guys go down, weve still got to stick to the game plan and we were able to do that tonight." The Hawks have an even longer injury list. Budenholzer said Teague will not be with the team for a two-game trip to Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. The Hawks play at Milwaukee on Saturday night. "We will hope that Jeff recovers quickly," Budenholzer said. Teague was leading the Hawks with nine points when he hurt his ankle by landing on Duncans foot. Teague then limped off the court. Even with Teague, the Hawks had only 10 players in uniform. They played their first game after losing Antic for two to four weeks with a sttress fracture in his right ankle. Marcos Alonso Chelsea Jersey. Antic had been the replacement for Al Horford, who was lost for the season when he tore his right pectoral muscle on Dec. 26. Carroll was held out with a mild strain to his left hamstring. Budenholzer said the Hawks cant focus on the injuries. "I think nobody else in the league cares if theres a mounting toll or what our injury status is," Budenholzer said. Paul Millsaps 15 points led the Hawks, who set a season scoring low. Duncan, who blocked four shots, and point guard Tony Parker didnt return after leaving the game with the Spurs leading 77-50 late in the third quarter. The Spurs used backup players in the fourth. Parker had 11 points and seven assists. Duncan, who had 23 points and 21 rebounds in the Spurs 102-100 win over the Hawks on Dec. 2 in San Antonio, enjoyed a strong start in the rematch. He blocked Millsaps shot on the Hawks first possession, then hit a jumper before blocking an attempt by Gustavo Ayon on Atlantas next attempt. The Hawks last lead was 7-6. Back-to-back baskets by Parker and Duncan gave San Antonio the lead for good. Mills sank three 3-pointers in the final minutes of the opening period to stretch the lead to 27-14. The Spurs kept the lead in double figures the remainder of the game. "It doesnt make us feel any better, but this is what they do," said Atlantas Kyle Korver. "Theyre a well-oiled machine." Korver scored his only points on a 3-pointer with about 6 minutes remaining in the first half. He extended his NBA record to 111 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. Budenholzer was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. NOTES: Popovich tied Red Auerbach for 10th place all-time with 938 wins. ... Duncan posted his 17th double-double of the season. ... The Hawks set their previous scoring low in an 83-80 loss to Houston on Jan. 10. ... The Spurs are 6-0 on the road against Eastern Conference teams. ... San Antonio signed G Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract. Jeffers averaged 22.8 points and 11.4 rebounds in 22 games with the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League this season. ' ' '