TORONTO – James van Riemsdyk wouldnt quite go so far as to admit relief at returning to his natural left wing position on Saturday, but it was evident in his actions. The 24-year-olds four-game experiment at centre came to an end with the early morning trade for Peter Holland. Back on the wing alongside Holland and Phil Kessel, van Riemsdyk scored twice in the opening 14 minutes of an eventual 4-2 Leafs win. “Im probably a little more comfortable playing there,” said van Riemsdyk of returning to the wing, his team hanging on to beat the Sabres at the Air Canada Centre, losing just a night earlier in Buffalo. “Maybe allows me to do some different things as far as being in front of the net a little more often. Thats a big part of my game obviously.” The two goals he scored – his eighth and ninth this season – were almost carbon copies. Instinctively traveling to the front of the net off a pair of faceoff wins – one at even-strength and one on the power-play – van Riemsdyk redirected a pair of Cody Franson point shots behind Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth. He had been pointless in the previous five games, four of those during an unlikely return to centre. Dinged badly by injuries to Tyler Bozak (hamstring) and Dave Bolland (ankle) in the past couple weeks – and then without a suspended Nazem Kadri – the Leafs had little choice but to try the former New Hampshire Wildcat down the middle. Though he accepted the role under dire circumstances – he hadnt played there in the NHL – it was evident that he rarely felt comfortable in the position, especially in the offensive end. Following a 3-1 loss in Buffalo on Friday evening, van Riemsdyk was asked if his struggles to produce offence had anything to do with the shift to centre. “Thats not for me to decide,” he said sharply. Questioned himself, Randy Carlyle said he had no other choice but to position van Riemsdyk down the middle with his top three centres all out. “I dont have anybody else,” said Carlyle with some frustration. Early on Saturday morning another option arrived. A Toronto native – Caledon more specifically – Holland joined the Leafs from Anaheim, flipped alongside Brad Staubitz in exchange for Jesse Blacker and a pair of draft picks. Acquired in the summer of 2012 from Philadelphia, van Riemsdyk had 18 goals in his first season with the Leafs, emerging as a dynamic partner for Kessel. Off to another fine start this winter, he posted seven goals and 13 points in his first 12 games. Thrust into the middle when Bolland went down with injury in Vancouver, van Riemsdyk failed to muster a point in the next four games. “I wasnt exactly disappointed in how I played at centre,” he said, noting proficiency in the defensive end. “I thought I definitely gave it my all there.” And, though he refused to rule his brief stopover at centre a failure, it was quite clear on Saturday that he was right back where he belonged. Five Points 1. Holland trade Looking to stem the void at centre and add depth additionally to their organizational ranks, the Leafs acquired the 22-year-old Holland from Anaheim on Saturday morning. He raced to join the club in time for an evening affair against the Sabres. Holland had been in Providence, Rhode Island on Friday evening, where he scored a goal and had two assists for Norfolk in a 4-3 win. On to Manchester, New Hampshire, he received word of the trade from Ducks general manager Bob Murray the next morning at around 10 a.m. A phone call followed from his new boss Dave Nonis shortly thereafter; Nonis offered a welcome and all the pertinent flight information for the trip home. Holland then drove from Manchester to Boston, landing in Toronto at 3 p.m. He then checked into a local hotel and arrived at the ACC shortly after 4 p.m. Suffice to say it was a hectic day. “Thats one word that could describe it,” he said, “but at the same time its also really exciting. Coming back to my hometown I was fortunate enough to get a lot of my friends and family to the game tonight, my first one ever in Toronto.” Returning home, Holland predictably received an avalanche of text messages. “My phone was on the two-hour battery life,” he said. “I had to plug it in as soon as I got to the Boston airport. It was exploding pretty much all day.” A first round pick of the Ducks in 2009, Holland had 29 games of NHL experience before joining the Leafs, totaling five goals and seven points. Skilled offensively, he had yet to establish himself as a consistent force in Anaheim, playing for their AHL affiliate at the time of the trade. 2. Hollands debut Placed in a prominent position alongside van Riemsdyk and Kessel, Holland played just under 12 minutes against the Sabres, winning 7 of 11 faceoffs. “I thought he did okay,” said Carlyle, slightly familiar with Holland from the Ducks organization. “Its hard when a young guy comes in. And its not like we hid him in the lineup. We put him in a position to play with Kessel and van Riemsdyk. Thats what we believe in. We believe that if you acquire players or have young players it wouldnt be right to put them in a non-offensive situation.” “I was impressed with him,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think hes definitely a very heady player, thinks the game well, really responsible player.” Holland will get at least one more prominent opportunity. Nazem Kadris three-game suspension will conclude when the Islanders come to town on Tuesday. Bozak meanwhile, is expected to join his teammates at practice early next week and could be in line to return early the following week. The 27-year-old has been out since Oct. 25. 3. The mysterious case of Kulemins disappearing offence Over the course of his first three seasons in the NHL, a stretch of 233 games, Nik Kulemin scored 61 goals – a formidable rate of one goal every 3.82 games. Since that point, the offence has slowed considerably for the now 27-year-old winger. Though he remains an effective defensive player – employed mostly in a defensive role – and reliable penalty killer for the Leafs, his gradual disappearance as an offensive threat is rather mysterious. “Its hard to say,” Kulemin told the Leaf Report. “Sometimes it happens, sometimes that the puck didnt go in. Some years, you get so many opportunities that you just didnt score. Sometimes you just dont have a chance to shoot or [get] scoring chances.” Kulemin finally scored his first goal of the season against the Sabres on Saturday, what proved to be the game-winner. He has totaled a mild 15 goals over the past two-plus seasons (126 games) – slowing to a rate of one goal every 8.4 games or more than double his earlier pace. Games Goals Goals Per Game Shots Per Game 2008-2011 233 61 0.26 1.92 2011-Present 126 15 0.12 1.44 Never a high volume shooter – his 30 goals in 2010-2011 came on 173 shots – Kulemin is hardly shooting the puck at all these days. His lone shot of the game Saturday, one that beat Enroth on a feed from Mason Raymond, was just third all season. “Its not enough for me,” said Kulemin, who played 18 minutes. “I [need to] keep looking for more shot opportunities and more shots on goal every game.” 4. Hanging on for victory On the ropes until the very end, the Leafs were outshot 17-5 in the final 20 minutes. Buffalo scored twice in the opening six minutes of the third frame to cut a 3-0 Toronto lead down to one. “Its tough to keep any team stifled for the whole game,” van Riemsdyk said. “They made some plays and then, that being said, I think we also got away from the way we want to play too.” A source of success in the opening period, the Leafs aggressive forecheck diminished as Saturdays action wore on. The Sabres forcefully asserted their presence in the second – they outshot the Leafs 12-7 – and right on into the third. Only a power-play marker from Mason Raymond that increased the lead back to two seemed to stem their momentum. “This one wasnt high on artistic value, but its two points and well move on,” Carlyle said. Having dropped four of the previous five games with an increasingly stagnant offence, a victory was certainly needed. 5. Fraser injury Yet to dress a full lineup this season, the Leafs lost Mark Fraser to a lower-body injury against the Sabres. The 27-year-old, who had recently returned from a lengthy stint on injured reserve, was forced to remove himself after just five shifts in the opening period. “We thought that it would be something that would go away, subside through the course of the second period,” said Carlyle. “Just didnt feel right.” Carlyle didnt think the injury was serious. “I hope not,” he said. “When you take yourself out of a game its serious enough. I dont think its something thats going to be weeks. I hope its day-to-day right now.” Fraser missed 13 games earlier this season with an MCL tear in his left knee. Stat-Pack 3 – Shots on goal for Nik Kulemin this season. 10 – Games without a goal for David Clarkson this season. 11:43 – Ice-time for Peter Holland in his Leafs debut. 2 – Multi-goal games for James van Riemsdyk this season. 1 – Point in the last seven games for Phil Kessel. Kessel played a season-low 15 minutes against the Sabres. 26:14 – Ice-time for Carl Gunnarsson on Saturday, a season-high. 60 per cent – Leafs success rate on the draw against the Sabres. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-2Season: 23.5% PK: 1-2Season: 83.5% Quote of the Night “This one wasnt high on artistic value, but its two points and well move on.” -Randy Carlyle on the victory over Buffalo on Saturday. Up Next The Leafs play host to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. cheap nfl jerseys . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. cheap jerseys . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.co... . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/]wholesale jerseys .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. nfl jerseys china . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.Each week, we will run down the top waiver wire pickups with a focus on the coming week and rest of the season. QUARTERBACKS Nick Foles (at Tampa Bay)Last week: 16/25, 197 yards, 2 TDsFoles is your token injury replacement pickup QB for Week 6. Michael Vick will miss at least next week with a hamstring injury suffered in the Eagles win over the New York Giants on Sunday and Foles was solid in replacing him. In just over a half of play, Foles threw for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers were against the porous Giants defence however, and the 2012 third rounder will face a tougher test against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ryan Fitzpatrick (at Seattle)Last week: 21/41, 247 yards, 1 TD 2 INTs; 6 carries, 50 yards, 1 TDAs Foles is this weeks token injury replacement pickup, Fitzpatricks was last weeks. But if hes still around on the waiver wire after his weekend performance, hes definitely worth a look now. The former Buffalo Bills starter threw for 247 yards and a touchdown and added 50 yards and a score on the ground in helping the Titans move on after the Jake Locker injury. Expecting Fitzpatrick to keep up those rushing statistics on a weekly basis is unrealistic, but he showed he can move Tennessees offence consistently, and thats a start. Matt Schaub (vs St. Louis)Last week: 19/35, 173, 3 INTsMatt Schaub has had a really tough stretch of games lately, throwing inopportune interceptions and even getting benched last week in a blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But the interceptions dont matter much in fantasy and the benching is likely a one-week occurrence. Whats left is a 15th ranked fantasy QB that can be had for cheap. The Texans are a better team than their 2-3 record suggests and should improve – along with their QB – moving forward. Others: Brandon Weeden (vs Detroit), Thad Lewis (vs Cincinnati) RUNNINGBACKS Brandon Bolden (vs New Orleans)Last week: 5 carries, 24 yards; 6 catches, 40 yardsBolden was the latest running back to lead the New England Patriots backfield in touches and even though they havent looked their normal self this year, its still the Patriots offence; having their lead back has got to be worth something. Bolden didnt do much in the rushing game but could be worth his keep when you add his numbers through the air (six catches for 40 yards against the Bengals last week.) Zac Stacy (at Houston)Last week: 14 carries, 78 yardsRams head coach Jeff Fisher confirmed early in the week that Stacy would be the teams starting running back moving forward after an under-the-radar strong performance in Week 5. The rookie fifth-rounder picked up 78 yards on 14 carries for an impressive 5.6 yards per carry average. His performance was under-the-radar because it was against the awful Jacksonville Jaguars. It will be interesting to see how he does against an NFL defence next week against the Houston Texans. Marcel Reece (at Kansas City)Last week: 7 carries, 32 yards; 3 catches, 25 yardsReece is perhaps the most exciting fullback in the league and we could get a chance to see what he can really do in Week 6 against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. Oaklands starting running back Darren McFadden is expected out another week and backup Rashard Jennings suffered a hamstring injury in Week 5 and may not be able to go this Sunday. Reece putt up 10+ points in each of his three starts as a fill-in RB last year as a producer on the ground and through the air.dddddddddddd Others: Willis McGahee (vs Detroit), Montee Ball (vs Jacksonville) WIDE RECEIVERS Denarius Moore (at Kansas City)Last week: 5 catches, 84 yards, 1 TDDenarius Moores status as a viable fantasy WR has been built mainly on a strong rookie season two years ago. But the former fifth-rounder has strung together three straight strong games, accented by a five catch, 84-yard and one touchdown performance in Oaklands Week 5 win over the San Diego Chargers. Moore was inches away from another deep touchdown last week and appears to be developing a workable chemistry with Terrelle Pryor. Vincent Brown (vs Indianapolis) Last week: 8 catches, 117 yardsBrown had his best game of 2013 last week, catching eight balls for 117 yards. Coming off the heels of a seven catch performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, all signs point to Brown breaking out of his early-season slump. If Brown can catch one of those passes in the end zone each game, hes looking at some strong fantasy numbers. Reuben Randle (at Chicago)Last week: 6 catches, 96 yards, 2 TDsRandle was the surprise fantasy star of the Giants deep and talented receiving corps last week, racking up 96 yards and two touchdowns. While its unrealistic to expect Randle to score with the likes of Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks every week, there are plenty of points to be had for Giants receivers when you consider how bad the team has been to start the season. Being behind on the scoreboard means lots of throwing on offence. Others: Keenan Allen (vs Indianapolis), Rod Streater (at Kansas City), Jerome Simpson (vs Carolina) TIGHT ENDS Garrett Graham (vs St. Louis)Owen Daniels, the Texans starter the first five weeks of the season, suffered a leg injury against the 49ers last week that could keep him out of action for a couple weeks. Garrett Graham is the next man up, and through five weeks is only three spots behind Daniels (a top 10 TE so far) in the rankings in most formats. Schaub is clearly comfortable with Graham and with the added opportunity, the former fourth-rounder becomes a borderline TE1 while filling in. Scott Chandler (vs Cincinnati)Last week: 4 catches, 49 yardsWhile its bad for Buffalos offence in general, Thad Lewis fill-in start for the injured EJ Manuel could be a good thing for Chandler. Save for his Week 3 performance against the New York Jets, Chandler has had a disappointing year, but if there is one thing inexperienced starting QBs love its a safety valve. Chandler could see an upswing in targets from Lewis who will likely be looking to play it safe in Week 6 against a strong Cincinnati Bengals defence. Mychal Rivera (at Kansas City)Last week: 1 catch, 5 yardsJeron Mastrud is listed as the Raiders starter but if theres a pass play designed for the tight end in Oakland, its going to Rivera. Riveras numbers have yet to stand out in 2013, although he did have 44 yards and a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in Week 4, but Oaklands offence looks more a legit unit every week and Rivera should continue to grow a bigger role in it. Others: Delanie Walker (at Seattle), Jermaine Gresham (at Buffalo), Jordan Reed (at Dallas) cheap nfl jerseys authentic jerseys nfl wholesale wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '