Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith tried to swat the puck aw

TORONTO – His teammates have said all the right things. Theyve defended him, branded the furious finger-pointing as unfair and claimed that they, not he alone, were responsible for the anxious beginnings of a slide that nearly and may still sweep them out of the playoff picture in the East. With Jonathan Bernier sidelined for the remainder of the regular season – he has an MCL strain in his left knee and will be out three weeks – the Maple Leafs will turn once more to the beleaguered, doubted and frequently dissected James Reimer in what may be his final days as a Leaf. But their goal of reviving playoff hopes that simmer tepidly with four games left dont rest solely on his 26-year-old shoulders. "Now its about time we have his back and step up to the plate," said Nazem Kadri defiantly after a much-needed overtime win against Boston on Thursday night. That wasnt the case the first time around. Reimer, who hasnt won a start in more than two and a half months, may have struggled badly in his first rescue attempt for Bernier last month – he posted an .871 save percentage in five starts (all losses) – but he was deserted on an island through much of the wreckage. Of the 18 goals he allowed in relief of his younger counterpart, four came via breakaway, two via odd-man rush and two more from the back-door with little to no opportunity for a save. "At that point when we were losing the team in front of him just couldnt bring it together and figure things out and obviously the goalies left out there to dry by himself," Kadri said. "We didnt play too good as a team," Carl Gunnarsson concurred. "We didnt help him out." That will have to change, starting Saturday when the Leafs host the Jets in the final regular season game at the ACC this spring. Trailing Detroit and Columbus for the final two wild card positions in the East, their hopes cannot rest on Reimer alone – especially at a point when his confidence has sunk to its lowest at the NHL level. Improvement isnt likely to magically appear in the teams defensive play – a struggle from start to finish – but the glut of glaring and often fatal mistakes needs to be kept to a minimum. Errors like two-time Rocket Richard winner Steven Stamkos being left alone to score three goals or Gustav Nyquist burning away for a pair of breakaway markers on the same night. Until recently, Bernier proved an acrobat at masking such deficiencies, piling up eight wins when he faced more than 40 shots in a game this season. Those theatrics, however, have evolved into expectation in Toronto, an unfair burden that became Reimers to shoulder when Bernier went down with a groin injury last month. The situation may have bubbled over in Detroit on Mar. 18. It was after that game against the Red Wings – a 3-2 loss for the Leafs – that head coach Randy Carlyle described his struggling goaltenders performance as "okay, just okay", comments that ignited a firestorm back home. While he later downplayed the remarks – addressing them with Reimer personally a day later – Carlyles blunt post-game observation seemed to ignore the manner in which Reimer was beat that night – two of the three goals came via the Nyquist breakaway, the third circa the odd-man rush – and thereby singled out the goaltender on a night when he was left alone on far too many occasions. It was the culmination of doubt which has surrounded Reimer upon his landing in Toronto for good in January 2011. "Its a non-issue as far as were concerned," Carlyle said Friday of the since quieted controversy. Reimer hasnt won a start since Jan. 21. Like his teammates, his level will need to rise substantially from where its been for the Leafs to have any hope of spicing up a late season race. For all the follies of those around him during the spiral last month, he could not deliver the one or two timely, game-changing saves needed most nights for success. That will have to change in the days ahead. A restricted free agent and almost certainly playing elsewhere next season, Reimer wondered before Thursdays surprise relief appearance if he had seen his last game as a Leaf. Now comes one final (in all likelihood) opportunity to exit on a positive and perhaps even uplifting note – if he and the Leafs can somehow defy the odds and get into the playoffs. "Honestly right now theres lots of thoughts swirling in your head about a lot of things," he said ahead of a clash with the Jets, "but now its just time to stop the puck. It doesnt really matter what transpires after the season or all that white noise per se. All Im trying to do is just play my best, get those two points (Saturday), and then go on to Florida. Try not to think about other stuff." "Ive had a lot of success in the past and had to carry the load in different scenarios and Ive been successful in that. I feel confident." Yeezy 350 V2 España . Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide. Yeezy Boost 750 Comprar . Venable and Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs apiece, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak. http://www.yeezyespana.com/ . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Yeezy Powerphase España . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Adidas Tubular Baratas . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow.San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Antti Niemi stopped 31 shots as the San Jose Sharks blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Saturday night. Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson each had a goal and one assist for the Sharks, who have won three straight and improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Antti Raanta made 18 saves for Chicago, which dropped two of three games in California. The Blackhawks were coming off Fridays 4-1 win over Anaheim after beginning the stretch with Wednesdays 4-3 loss to Los Angeles. Karlsson charged the crease to pounce on the rebound of a Matt Irwin shot. Raanta made another save on Karlsson, who sent the puck out front from the left side of the net. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith tried to swat the puck away from Joe Pavelski and wound up putting it into an open net at 5:09 of the first period. Late in the second period with the Sharks on a power play, Nieemi made a sequence of saves on Jonathan Toews.dddddddddddd The San Jose goaltender received some help from Brent Burns in preserving the lead. He made some very tough saves in succession, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said about Niemi. Thornton scored an empty-net goal with 1:10 left in the third period as the Sharks posted their sixth win in the last seven home meetings with the Blackhawks. It was one of those games where you felt something was going to come eventually and it didnt happen, said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. Game Notes San Jose concludes its season-high, seven-game homestand Monday against Edmonton ... The Blackhawks played the fourth of seven straight road games ... Chicago forward Daniel Carcillo served the final game of his six-game suspension for cross-checking Winnipegs Mathieu Perreault in the arm. ' ' '