TORONTO a€“ The team president stood there at ice-level in a corridor just beyond the Air Canada Centre glass for the first 18 minutes or so of an opening period that did little to bring a smile to his face. Brendan Shanahans Maple Leafs were already in a three-goal pit at that point late in the first frame, well on their way a second straight loss to open the season. They were dominated by Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and company on this night, Pittsburgh scoring three power-play goals in a rout of all kinds at the Air Canada Centre. Particularly ineffective (and often without the puck) in the loss was the teams top line, which has been held off the score-sheet entirely at even-strength in the first two games. Again, we didnt play that great, said winger Phil Kessel following the 5-2 loss, which comes three days after a season opening defeat to Montreal. My line in particular we didnt get [expletive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. Kessel had just one shot attempt all night and was eventually bumped from his normal spot on the right side with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, all part of a shuffling in the third period by head coach, Randy Carlyle. The Leafs were stuck down three at that point a€“ trailing 4-1 a€“ but it was earlier in the night that Carlyle expected and needed some sort of response from Kessel and the teams top guns. Joffrey Lupul brought it to 3-1 early in the middle frame, but then with the Leafs on a power-play, Kessel was called for hauling down Brandon Sutter in the offensive zone a€“ his second minor penalty of the night. Power-play over. Momentum zapped. When the tide of the game swung so hard against our hockey club we didnt have much of a response, Carlyle said. You look to those big guys on your team to be able to grab it back for you and right now, in these two games, theyve had some difficulty doing that. The Penguins scored twice in a minute early in the opening period, including the third already this season from Crosby and his 21st in 29 career games against the Leafs. Pittsburgh would add two more with the man advantage, wreaking havoc with Torontos continued trips to the penalty box. They also dominated the possession battle at even-strength, emerging with 55 shot attempts to just 32 for the home side. Part of the problem, said Stephane Robidas afterward, was the amount of lost puck battles, even singling himself out on the Crosby goal. They were hungrier on the puck, he said. Its a tough one to swallow. Its not the way were supposed to play. Its not the way we wanted to play. The compete level has just got to come up another notch. Its definitely not good enough so far, Kessel concluded. Tonight was not a good enough performance by us. Me in particular I didnt have a good night again. Ill be better [Sunday]. Five Points 1. Top Line James van Riemsdyk tried to dance around Paul Martin at the Pittsburgh blue-line late in the second frame and was vanquished. Martin picked the puck free and then pinned van Riemsdyk and Torontos top line in the defensive zone for upwards of a minute. Its been that kind of start for van Riemsdyk, Kessel and Bozak, one thats seen the line spend more time defending than creating much of anything offensively. The unit has gone point-less at even-strength in the first two games, only Bozak finding the score-sheet with a pair of power-play goals. We just havent got the puck very much right now, said Kessel, who owned 30 per cent possession rating at even-strength. I dont think any of us have really touched it. Its a little sloppy. Weve been in our defensive zone a little too much and I dont know if either way when were out there were getting the puck that much. Its just all over the place you know. David Clarkson replaced Kessel alongside van Riemsdyk and Bozak in the final 20 minutes. Kessel, who played about 17 minutes, finished the night with Lupul and Nazem Kadri. 2. Compete Level Carlyle talked about compete level early and often last season and it appears he may have to visit that well again here soon. The Leafs altered their system in training camp a€“ including in defensive zone coverage and the neutral zone a€“ but Robidas, the 37-year-old veteran, said that had nothing to do with what took place against Pittsburgh. I dont like to use excuses, said Robidas, who played just under 14 minutes. Its not a complicated system. Its just a matter of working and working as a unit of five. Thats what we didnt do. Youve got to win one-on-one battles. It doesnt matter which system youre playing, it doesnt matter which league youre in, if you dont win one-on-one battles youre not going to win too many games. The fifth Penguins goal in particular saw a series of Leafs a€“ Joffrey Lupul, Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri among them a€“ out-willed for the puck, Brandon Sutter eventually beating Kadri to the front of the goal. Robidas said it was unacceptable, additionally, that Crosby beat him to the puck on Pittsburghs second goal. Thats stuff that I cant personally do, he said. Thats something I need to focus on. 3. Bernier The opening two starts of Jonathan Berniers second season in Toronto have not gone to script. Bernier has allowed nine goals on 73 shots a€“ .877 save percentage a€“ including a pair that he needed to stop. Max Pacioretty scored on the Canadiens first shot Wednesday, sneaking one under the pad and then on Saturday it was Hornqvist scoring on the Penguins second shot, tucking it through the five-hole. Obviously you want to win every game and be sharp every night and I dont think Ive got my game yet, Bernier said afterward. James Reimer is likely to make his season debut at MSG on Sunday. 4. Hollands New Opportunity With no power-play minutes to go around, Peter Holland approached the coaching staff with another idea. He wanted an opportunity to kill penalties instead, something he hadnt done since he was in junior with the Guelph Storm. Two facets the head coach will be closely monitoring in regards to Hollands new duties is how he handles himself on the draw a€“ he went 2-0 in the opener a€“ and whether hes able and willing to clog shooting lanes and blocks shots. Those are the things were asking of Peter Holland, Carlyle said. For his part, Holland is not only keen on the added minutes, but on the potential scoring opportunities while shorthanded a€“ breakaways, odd-man rushes etc. 5. Richard Panik Debut Richard Panik scored the first goal of the Norfolk Admirals Calder Cup-clinching Game 4 at Ricoh Coliseum in early June 2012. And now the 23-year-old is back in Toronto as a member of the Leafs organization, claimed off waivers from the Lightning earlier this week. A second-round pick in 2009, Panik is a low-risk, high-upside type of get for the club, similar in some ways to the inexpensive one-year bets made on Mike Santorelli, David Booth, and Daniel Winnik in the offseason. Toronto was a little surprised to find him on the waiver wire given his age, size, and skill, but Tampa was crowded with forwards and ultimately failed in their attempt to sneak him through to Syracuse, their AHL affiliate. Were getting a guy that can make plays, said Carlyle of Panik, most of his exposure to the 6-foot-2 212 pounder coming during that AHL playoff series a couple years back. Hes a big strong kid. And hes got a skill-set that wouldnt designate him as a fourth-line hockey player. He can play higher than that in your lineup. The issue for Panik, Carlyle said, would be consistency. He initially teamed the Slovakian with Brandon Kozun and Holland, his former Guelph linemate. Over his past two NHL seasons a€“ 75 games a€“ Panik, who played eight minutes against the Penguins, tallied eight goals and 22 points. Stats-Pack 21 a€“ Goals for Sidney Crosby in 29 career games against Toronto. 0 a€“ Points in the opening two games by Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. 55-32 a€“ Possession battle at even-strength on Saturday, favouring the visitors. 1 a€“ Shot attempt for Kessel in the loss. 9 a€“ Goals allowed by Jonathan Bernier in two starts this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-5 Season: 37.5% PK: 2-5 Season: 57.1% Quote of the Night Again, we didnt play that great. My line in particular we didnt get [exceptive] done. Its two games in, but its unacceptable so far. Weve got to be better. -Phil Kessel, following a second straight poor performance to open the season. Up Next The Leafs get right back at it against the defending Eastern Conference champs in New York on Sunday a€“ their first of 18 back-to-backs this season.
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Matt Duchene Jersey . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard.April 28, 1984 goes down in the annals of Chelsea FC as one of the most pivotal days in the entire 100-plus-year history of the club. Simply put, without that moment, Chelsea’s supporters across the globe would not have experienced the elation of May 19, 2012, when, of course, Didier Drogba single-handedly rallied his team to Champions League glory in Munich. The architect back in 1984 was club manager John Neal, who dragged Chelsea by the heels from a last-day escape from dropping into the third tier of English football in spring 1983 to promotion to the top tier just the following season. The majestic manner in which Chelsea gained promotion and the football produced the stuff of folklore. Making Neal’s feat all the more unlikely was the fact this was all achieved at a time ‘austerity measures’ reigned supreme at Stamford Bridge. With great sadness Chelsea announced Sunday the passing of John Neal. It is no exaggeration to suggest there might not be a Chelsea Football Club today had he not made such a success of dealing with crisis and getting the team back on its feet, read the final sentence of a highly emotional tribute to John Neal on the club’s website Monday morning. Neal was appointed manager at Chelsea in April 1981 following the sacking of Geoff Hurst, England’s hat-trick hero from the 1966 World Cup Final. Neal inherited a tired and aged squad with the club still under the ownership of the founding Mears family, who had sunk vast sums into the reconstruction of the East Stand just as the price of steel hit a record high. With loans required to complete the work and interest rates at the time more synonymous of loan-sharking rates, Neal was fully aware his transfer budget going into the 1981-1982 season was less than the price of a cup of tea at Stamford Bridge. Things did not improve in Neal’s first season in charge, but the highlight was an outstanding 90-minute performanc, and 2-0 victory in the FA Cup against a legendary Liverpool side, which at the time was the current European Champions. The club finished that season in mid-table mediocrity. Remember, Chelsea is not even in the top tier of English football, but playing in the old Second Division. With a change of ownership in late 1982, which saw Ken Bates buy the club for a princely sum of £1 from the Mears family, winds of change were finally in the chilling Stamford Bridge air. As can often happen to achieve success, you have to take one step backwards to enable you to take those two steps forward – this happened during the 1982-1983 season. Chelsea came within a whisker of falling into the third division for the very first time in the club’s history. Only a win and draw in their final two matches saved them from the drop. Survival gained, the expectation was Bates would relieve Neal of his managerial duties, but with money available and Neal’s canny eye for spotting raw talent and bargain basement experienced players, the owner and the coach cast away the Chelsea driftwood and brought in players who weren’t even famous in their own households. Pat Nevin was one player bought in under Neal. Rejected by Celtic, he got his start in professional football at Clyde, a club playing in the Scottish Second Division. Wee Pat - as he was affectionately called by Neal - went on to mesmerize and turn defences inside and out well before Eden Hazard was even a twinkle in his old man’s eye. Chelsea’s 1983-1984 season could not have gotten off to a better start as they pulverized Derby County 5-0. Winning five of their opening six matches set the tone for the season, where they ended the season going unbeaten in the final 17 matches, winning 13 of those. A number of club legends were born under Neal.dddddddddddd None more so than Paul Canoville, who was the very first black player in club history. This coming at the time racism in the guise of the National Front had infiltrated sections of Chelsea support. Canoville, plucked from non-league football and a possible lifetime of petty crime by Neal, would suffer horrendous racism from his own supporters and, shamefully on one occasion, even from a teammate. Neal famously pulled him aside in the locker room and told him to ignore the thugs, but take comfort from the fact it was those very thugs who were paying his salary. Canoville would go on to play a pivotal role in Chelsea’s push for promotion that season and had a starring role back on April 28, 1984. It is not an exaggeration to state that of all the memorable occasions ever witnessed at Stamford Bridge over the many decades the club has existed that Saturday afternoon in late April from 25 ago stands out foremost. The atmosphere profound, thanks in part to the 10,000-plus Leeds fans who traveled down to London to witness what, for all intents and purposes, turned out to be John Neal’s coronation. Even the weather co-operated, as a sun drenched Stamford Bridge welcomed by far its largest crowd of the season. When at the time, attendance averaged only 15,000, the official attendance that game was 33,447. With the knowledge that victory would finally secure promotion back to the top flight, it felt like 50,000 had packed the standing-room only terraces. The supporters were not to be disappointed - 3-0 up at half-time, Ken Bates, the owner, proceeded to walk around the pitch at the half with a megaphone pleading for the crowd not to invade the pitch and celebrate until the final whistle. Following Canoville scoring a fifth and final goal, deep into injury time, bedlam of the best variety broke out right all around Stamford Bridge and the man who made it all possible, John Neal, disappeared down the tunnel so as to allow his players to receive the adulations and congratulations. That summer Neal underwent heart surgery, but returned as Chelsea took their bow at Highbury to kick off their return in the top flight. Neal’s team drew that day and went on to finish a very credible sixth and managed a semi-final berth in the League Cup. At season’s end, and for health reasons, John Neal retired and took a place in that very same director’s box where he watched tens of thousands of Chelsea supporters celebrate him down on the pitch that previous April. Following Neal’s passing, Nevin, in an interview with a local Chelsea newspaper, said it was Neal’s wisdom, which set him apart from all other managers. A genuine wisdom is the best way to describe it, Nevin told West London Sport. And that’s rare – not only in football, but quite rare in life too.” With the same newspaper, Canoville spoke of the trust and respect Neal commanded. “He had everyone’s trust, Canoville said. He made brave football decisions, but did things in the right way and treated people with respect. He added, “I could not say one bad word about him and don’t know anyone else who could either.” John Neal’s funeral is scheduled to take place on Thursday. His spirit likely over the Stadion Gelsenkirchen this past Tuesday night, as a majestic Jose Mourinho-inspired Chelsea ripped FC Schalke apart, throughout a match where the Chelsea supporters paid their own special tribute and homage to a gentleman with the refined and so very unassuming character – the like of which is so extremely rare in football today. Chelsea’s gain certainly, football’s loss absolutely - John Neal was 82.
Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter
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