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TORONTO – Dion Phaneuf typically only lands in the glare of Torontos spotlight when the team is mired in controversy (and there have been many) or when hes made such an obvious error that hockey hubs cant help but take notice. China NFL Jerseys . Sometimes it does seem like thats the only time that you want to talk to me, but Ive got no problem with that, said Phaneuf with a grin ahead of the Leafs sixth win in eight games, a 4-1 topping of the Calgary Flames. Truth is, Phaneuf has bounced back after a turbulent conclusion to last season. Less is typically more with the 29-year-old and with some changes to his deployment this season, Toronto is getting more from their captain. He came into Tuesdays action with a 47 per cent possession (Corsi), up substantially from the paltry 40.8 per cent mark of a year ago and a prime factor in the Leafs (mildly) improved possession as a whole this season. I feel good about the way that Ive been playing, but I feel good about the team and how weve been playing, said Phaneuf, who had two assists in nearly 24 minutes on Tuesday night. Phaneuf played some of the most difficult minutes of any defender in the league last year, eventually crumbling under the weight of that burden down the stretch. But the Leafs have eased those pressures somewhat this year, employing him more like Ron Wilson did before his dismissal. For one, theyve not buried him in the defensive zone quite as often. Phaneuf had the lowest offensive zone start percentage of any defender in hockey a year ago – 22.7 per cent – but that number has risen closer to 30 per cent this year. His defensive zone starts, meanwhile, have dropped nearly five percentage points to less than 32 per cent. Thats meant just a few less onerous shifts slogging it out in the defensive zone against the likes of Crosby, Stamkos and Ovechkin and more opportunity for offence (though Phaneuf has just six even-strength points so far). Phaneuf still absorbs the lions share of matchups against opposing top lines, but the presence of Roman Polak as a secondary option has helped ease that burden slightly. Prior to going down with a strained left knee, the 28-year-old Polak was able to absorb some of the tougher minutes from Phaneuf and perform adequately in doing so. The Leafs didnt have that player last year, someone the coaching staff felt trustworthy in difficult situations, and set about landing Polak and 37-year-old Stephane Robidas for such a remedy. A different partner (and side) has also made a difference. Cody Franson, an analytics favourite, has found a nice, and perhaps unexpected, fit with Phaneuf on the teams top pair. Phaneuf is driving the play more often when he plays with the 27-year-old, a big change from last season, his performance mostly dipping with Carl Gunnarsson, who battled year-long hip problems. Up for unrestricted free agency next summer, Franson has blossomed with the increase in responsibility. I think Fransons emerged and played a stronger defensive game, Carlyle said. Phaneuf is also evidently more comfortable now playing the left side after a career spent mostly on the right. The Leafs have additionally tried to use their captain just a tad less – mostly at even-strength. Phaneuf was admittedly worn down by the time March came around last spring and the club has subsequently tried to tame those minutes early in the year. I think weve made a conscious effort to try not to get the 25-minute plus nights in there, Carlyle noted. Phaneuf is actually playing about the same amount on average – around 23 minutes – but not nearly as much as he did early in the season last fall. He was pushing 25 minutes a night from October through January, the club having no choice but to curb his minutes down the stretch of another untimely playoff collapse. The slight cut may not sound like much at this point in early December, but when the stretch drive rolls around, it will. [Its] not something you notice night in and night out, Phaneuf said, but I feel that over the long haul of a year and the amount of hockey that you do play, that it definitely probably helps. All of this doesnt change the sizeable contract – six years to go with an annual cap hit of $7 million – nor the question it poses for the club long-term, but its clear that by asking him to do less, the Leafs are getting more right now from their captain. Five Points 1. Habits Jonathan Bernier has stopped all but three of the 79 shots he faced in the past two games, including 32 of 33 against the Flames. Like he did against the Canucks over the weekend, the 26-year-old made a pair of key stops just before the Leafs jumped in front on Tuesday, first on Jiri Hudler in the slot and then on Johnny Gaudreau after that. Hes making a couple cross-crease saves every game that were on the bench going Holy jumpin, how is he doing this? said Peter Holland enthusiastically afterward. Thats huge for us. Its year two of Berniers bid to establish himself as viable no. 1 in the NHL and thats meant different habits on and off the ice from his days as a backup with the Kings. Its completely different, he said. When you play 10, 15 games a year, youve got to stay on after practice for more than an hour almost. Rest is not what you need; you need reps when you dont play much. When you play a lot, you rely on [a] short practice or morning skate to stay sharp and obviously when you play that many games you dont really have to stay sharp in practice you just play so much right. Bernier, who made 54 starts total with Los Angeles, is on pace for nearly 60 alone this season in Toronto. To manage that workload, hes tried to get more rest where possible, cutting down on his practice time and opting out of some morning skates. Thats the time that you want to rest as well, he says. Bernier was making his ninth straight start Tuesday, which set a new career-high. 2. No. 1 Berniers track record is probably still too thin to gauge just how good he is or can be, but the numbers look promising in his brief Toronto tenure. Save Percentage from start of 2013-14 to present (entering Tuesday’s play) Goalie Save Percentage Carey Price .925 Tuukka Rask .925 Semyon Varlamov .924 Ben Bishop .922 Sergei Bobrovsky .922 Jonathan Bernier .921 Jaroslav Halak .921 Jonathan Quick .921 Roberto Luongo .920 Corey Crawford .919 *Minimum 50 games played Im feeling pretty confident, pretty comfortable in there, said Bernier after Tuesdays outing. 3. Still Dry He didnt have a shot on goal through two periods, but Phil Kessel did score for the third time in four games, an empty-netter that sealed victory and obfuscated what was another quiet night for the Leafs best player. It was just the second even-strength goal and third even-strength point for the 27-year-old in the past 11 games. His line, which came through with a power play goal from James van Riemsdyk, was the least effective of the four for Toronto – outshot and out-possessed badly by the feisty Flames. Kessel, van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Bozak were all held under 30 per cent possession at even-strength. Teams are pinning their best defencemen up against them and its difficult to get them away from the defensive matchup because if you dont win a faceoff, then the opposition has an opportunity to change, Carlyle said, citing a slew of lost faceoffs in the final period. Kessel continues to lead the Leafs in scoring, a good chunk of that production lately coming on the leagues 10th ranked power play. 4. Assertiveness Scoring for the seventh time this year on Tuesday night, Peter Holland set a new career-high – doing so in a dozen fewer games than last season. Joffrey Lupul, who extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Hollands goal, detailed the difference he noticed in the 24-year-old from year to year. Hes got a little more confidence, said Lupul, and I think hes a little more assertive physically, which is a tough thing for a younger guy in the league right when youre breaking in, to start battling from junior hockey and American League defencemen to NHL. But hes certainly a lot more assertive this year. 5. Winnik on the PK Occupying the role previously played by Jay McClement, Daniel Winnik is leading all NHL forwards in shorthanded ice-time this season. Winnik, who actually killed penalties alongside McClement in Colorado, is averaging nearly four minutes per game, just edging out Red Wings forward Drew Miller for the overall lead despite playing three fewer games. Lately, Randys been really trying to get me out there as much as possible on the PK, Winnik said. That would be an understatement. Winnik drew nearly eight and a half minutes on the kill over the weekend against Vancouver, pushing nearly six minutes a few nights earlier against Dallas. Hes been effective too, helping rally Torontos penalty kill from the doldrums of last season to a spot just outside the top 10 so far. You look at the team last year and they didnt have a great penalty kill and I knew that theyd want to improve on it and I knew by signing here that that would be my role is to help the penalty kill get better, Winnik said. Stats Pack 12-0-0 – Leafs record when scoring first this season, one of only two teams with an unbeaten mark. 8 – Points for Nazem Kadri in the past six games, including just his second on the power-play against the Flames. 3 – Even-strength points for Phil Kessel in the past 11 games. 9.71% – Leafs league-leading 5-on-5 shooting percentage entering Tuesdays play. 5-games – Point streak for Joffrey Lupul, who has eight points in that span. 7 – Goals for Peter Holland this season, a career-high. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 21.2% PK: 2-3 Season: 83.3% Quote of the Night Hes making a couple cross-crease saves every game that were on the bench going Holy jumpin, how is he doing this? - Peter Holland, on the recent play of Jonathan Bernier. Up Next The Leafs visit the Red Wings on Wednesday. Discount Football Jerseys .Steamboat Ski Resort contends Steamboat Springs, Colorado has long been known as Ski Town, U.S.A., and claims in a new lawsuit that Salt Lake tourism officials violated their trademark when they rolled out the Ski City marketing campaign last month. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Store . The Major League Soccer teams were scheduled to play on Saturday night, but their game was rescheduled after Stu Tudor was hit during a pregame storm. The 54-year-old lieutenant in the Columbus Fire Department is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Ohio State Medical Center. http://www.bestcheapnfljerseys.com/ . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade.PHOENIX - Changes could be afoot for the NFL rule book. Starting with what is a catch and what is pass interference.Two plays in the post-season have made those hot subjects, NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent said Thursday. That really hit home when Vincent heard a caller to a talk radio show suggest fans needed to watch games with a rule book at their side.No question this and coaches challenges will be the topics, Vincent said, looking ahead to next months discussions by the leagues influential competition committee.The Detroit Lions, feeling burned by a non-interference call in a playoff loss to Dallas, already have proposed expanding the use of instant replay for coaches challenges. Dean Blandino, the NFLs officiating director, said the competition committee will look into adding to what calls are reviewable, as it does each year.That committee, which makes recommendations to the 32 owners on rules changes, also will re-examine the process of the catch rule that cost the Cowboys Dez Bryant in a post-season loss to Green Bay.Blandino, who like Vincent is on the powerful committee, said its members look at any situation ... any time a team brings up an issue that has to be looked into.A contraction of the massive rule book also will be considered, but Vincent warned that for any proposed changes, every conceivable effect needs to be examined.How do we create that culture for everyone of clarity and consistency? Vincent said, noting its a major challenge. Thats where the wisdom comes in — how we got to here, and how do we adjust to keep this or this from happening as a result (of changes)?Public consternation over officiating this season became an uproar in the playoffs after the non-call in Detroit-Dallas, and the replay reversal in Dallas-Green Bay.Blandino said Thursday the officiating rate of accuracy was on par with last season, although he didnt indicate what that rate was. He noted the league is keenly aware of the impact an officiating mistake can have on the outcome of games.Which could lead to expanded use of replay reviews, although thhe league is loath to add too much and slow the games to a crawl. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping. bsolutely there are discussions going back to last season, Blandino said, and adding to the list of reviewable plays. Weve stayed away from areas that involved subjective judgments: holding, pass interference. As technology has improved, all that begs the question, Can we eliminate some mistakes that happen in a game?There are several proposals from the clubs and they will be discussed with the competition committee.Patriots coach Bill Belichick previously has suggested everything be challengeable, but the coaches still would be limited to two (or if successful on both, three) challenges.Well do extensive review of film and make a proposal on any changes, Blandino said.The owners will gather here in March for what are likely to be very active meetings.Vincent and Blandino indicated adding an eighth on-field official isnt likely. But with the increase in spread offences and the pro game moving from run-oriented to highly pass-oriented, it also will continue to be considered.The problem with an additional official is theres no certainty it would solve any officiating problems, and the number of flags thrown easily could increase with another person blowing whistles.Penalties were up two per game in 2014, which doesnt seem like much considering the heavy emphasis on defensive holding calls. After a preseason and early season in which teams struggled to avoid flags, those calls diminished as the players and coaches adapted.The length of games decreased for the first time since 2008, which Blandino attributed to wireless communications among officiating crew members, and league headquarters consulting with referees on video replays.Getting back to that fans reaction to the Cowboys-Packers game, Vincent noted that whenever there were difficult calls in the past, we expanded the rule book.That sometimes made it difficult for the officials to articulate what the rule is, Vincent said. 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