BUFFALO - With 44 seconds left in regulation and a wide-open cage to shoot at, James van Riemsdyk fired a shot that would have tied the score at First Niagara Center. Instead, his attempt was blocked by the left leg of Sabres defender Christian Ehrhoff and the Leafs were sent their fourth loss in five games. "Theres no bigger stop in the game than Ehrhoff on JVR," said Randy Carlyle following the 3-1 defeat in Buffalo, just the second regulation win for the Sabres this season. "But those are the things that are happening against us right now and weve got to find a way to push ourselves through." Offence has been hard to come by for the Leafs in recent days. In fact, theyve scored just four goals in the past five games, just two of those markers coming at even-strength. "Were getting some good chances - weve just got to start burying them," van Riemsdyk said. Tied for third in team scoring with 13 points, van Riemsdyk is one among a number of the teams highest scoring players who have gone quiet. In fact, the four active leading scorers for the Leafs - van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Mason Raymond - have combined for just six goals and six points in the past six games. Furthering those woes are the limited contributions the club has gotten elsewhere. Seven of the 12 forwards who dressed against the Sabres have not scored this season, including David Clarkson, Jay McClement and Nik Kulemin. The defence, meanwhile, has contributed just three goals on the year, two of those empty-netters. Recalled to fill the void of the suspended Nazem Kadri and help stem a gaping gap down the middle, Trevor Smith was the lone Leaf to score in Ted Nolans return behind the bench in Buffalo on Friday. Questioned on the clubs offensive struggles, Carlyle pointed to the need for a simplified approach. "Put the puck towards the net and drive people towards the net," he said. "Shoot the puck; dont try to be so fine. It seems like were trying to pick the top corners or trying to pick spots where we should be just concentrating [on getting the puck to the net]." The Leafs were actually one of the most effective teams offensively at even-strength last season, ranking fourth with 105 goals in five-on-five situations. So far this season though theyve scored just 29 goals, tied for 20th overall after Friday night. It would be easy to point to the recent losses of Tyler Bozak, Dave Bolland and now Kadri for the clubs offensive struggles. But those troubles have only exacerbated an issue thats been simmering all year (12 of the first 47 goals were scored with the man advantage), kept quiet by a potent power-play thats recently gone silent (2-21 in the past seven games). "We had some point-blank [chances]," said Carlyle, who was pleased with his teams effort and intensity despite the loss. "We didnt have, I think, the great number of second opportunities. The puck was bouncing away from us, but yet we had our chances in the hockey game. You look at the difference in the game: power-play. They get a power-play goal and we dont get one." Five Points 1. Centre Ice Issues Never in his extensive coaching career has Carlyle seen quite a predicament such as the one his team currently owns at centre ice. Down their top three centres - with Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland injured and Nazem Kadri suspended - the Leafs are in a state of flux at the position. "Id have to say this is a new one," said Carlyle prior to the game. "You have plan A, B, C and D in the drawer and I think were at E and F right now." Signed to an NHL contract last week, longtime Nashville Predator Jerred Smithson may have been plan E with Trevor Smith returning to the Leafs as plan F. The 28-year-old played with the Marlies in Cleveland on Thursday night, dropped off by the team on their return home. Plugged as a fourth line centre in his previous nine games with the Leafs, Smith was thrust into a larger role against the Sabres. "We cant expect Trevor Smith to come up at put him on our fourth line," Carlyle said. "Its unfair to him in this situation. When we had other people ahead of him, we had Bozak, we had Bolland, its a little bit different, but in tonights situation hes going to play a prominent role in an offensive line." Smith scored just the second even-strength goal for the Leafs in the past five games, the fifth of his career and second this season. He totaled nearly 17 minutes, mostly alongside Raymond and Clarkson. Smithson, meanwhile, continues to log important minutes for Carlyle - 13 against the Sabres - while assuming the bulk of his teams faceoffs. The 34-year-old has taken 80 draws in four games to lead the team. Update - The Leafs acquired 2009 first round pick and centre Peter Holland from Anaheim. A Toronto native, Holland will join the team immediately with an opportunity to play in the top six. 2. JVR at centre Its been clear from the get-go that the move to centre is not one that completely suits van Riemsdyk. But understanding the dilemma the club has faced and continues to face down the middle, the natural winger has complied with the coachs decision. Rarely looking comfortable and appearing to think rather than instinctively react, the 24-year-old has gone pointless in four games down the middle. Asked if those struggles were related to his shifting to centre, van Riemsdyk replied with a sly grin and revealing response. "Thats not for me to decide," he said. Questioned on whether hed reconsider moving van Riemsdyk back to the wing, Carlyle also replied with some frustration. "I dont have anybody else," he said. "What else do you want me to do? Are we going to put a defenceman at forward?" Phil Kessel grew up a centre, but has played wing almost exclusively in the NHL with plenty of success. Mason Raymond played sparingly down the middle in Vancouver, including a game or two due of injuries last season. Like van Riemsdyk, neither is an ideal option. And so, in all likelihood, the Leafs will have to continue to grind down the middle for at least a few more games. Out since Oct. 25 with a hamstring injury, Bozak should return to practice next week and could be available by the weekend, if not early the following week. Kadri will be eligible to return from a three-game suspension on Nov. 21. Carlyle actually employed two centres on the same line against the Sabres - Jay McClement and Smithson - using Carter Ashton sparingly in a fourth line role. 3. Simplify Friday marked just the second time all season that the Leafs have outshot their opponent, but as Carlyle noted after the game, his club has been reluctant to fire pucks consistently toward the net. "When youre struggling a little bit offensively thats what you always want to try to do is simplify a little bit," said van Riemsdyk, "maybe shoot more pucks towards the net, keep driving the net and doing all those things." The Leafs had 33 shots against Ryan Miller. They attempted 59 - to just 35 for Buffalo - 16 of which were blocked, another 10 missing the net. 4. Kadri suspension One would have expected Nazem Kadris hearing with NHL Senior VP of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan to include a moment or two on the Mikael Granlund hit which got the 23-year-old ejected from Wednesdays game in Minnesota. "Thats what I got the match for so I was expecting some sort of discussion about that," said Kadri. "But it was all about the first one. He agreed, he thought the second one was clean." The first one was, of course, the collision with Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom in the opening frame of an eventual 2-1 shootout loss. "I was just trying to go to the net hard to make a play and just ran out of real estate and accidentally bumped into him," said Kadri of the hit which resulted in a concussion for Backstrom. Instigated by general managers following the Ryan Miller-Milan Lucic collision of 2011, Shanahan has tried to increase protection for goaltenders. According to Kadri, what drew the most concern from the league disciplinarian was the violent strike of the right elbow into Backstroms head. Lying motionless on the ice for a few moments, the 35-year-old ultimately remained in the game before leaving shortly thereafter. "Its definitely understandable," said Kadri of the suspension. "I know theyve kind of cracked down on the interference with the goaltenders and players [have] got to be aware of their surroundings now. That being said, it was unintentional." Kadri said he was surprised to receive three games, expecting either a fine or 1-2 game suspension. 5. Bernier sharp shorthanded Though he yielded a power-play goal to the Sabres on Friday, Jonathan Bernier has been among the most effective netminders this season when his team is shorthanded. The 25-year-old has given up just seven power-play goals on 91 shots, the fourth-ranked save percentage (.923) among goaltenders with at least 10 starts this season. Yielding an inopportune rebound to a Tyler Myers point shot, Bernier was beaten when Cody Franson, trying to tie up the stick of Drew Stafford, accidentally nudged to the puck to Steve Ott, who buried it for Buffalos first goal. Stat-Pack 2 - Even-strength goals for the Leafs in the past five games. 2-21 - Leaf power-play in the past seven games, including an 0-3 showing on Friday. 80 - Total faceoffs for Jerred Smithson in four games as a Leaf, leading the team in that span. 0-3-0 - Career record for Jonathan Bernier against the Sabres. 2 - Points for David Clarkson, who added his second assist of the season against the Sabres, but remains goal-less in nine games. 23:26 - Ice-time for Cody Franson against the Sabres, leading the team. 59-35 - Shot attempts favouring the Leafs on Friday night. 6 - Combined goals and points in the past six games from James van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Mason Raymond. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 21.2% PK: 2-3Season: 84.2% Quote of the Night "That was a heck of a play by him. He made a good read and sacrificed his body for it." -James van Riemsdyk on Christian Ehrhoffs game-saving stop late in the third period. Up Next The Leafs return home Saturday to host the Sabres in the second half of a home-and-home set. Kevin Kiermaier Jersey . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Corey Dickerson Rays Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. http://www... . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. [url=http://www.mlbraysstore.com/authentic-evan-longoria-rays-jersey/]Longoria Jersey . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Chris Archer Rays Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Passed over in the NFL draft in April, quarterback Jeff Tuel settled on signing with the Buffalo Bills a few days later with the sole objective of cracking the teams roster. As of Monday, the raw rookie out of Washington State is in line to start in the Bills season opener against New England Sept. 8. "I came here to play football, and thats what Im doing," Tuel said. "It just explains, you can never expect. You never know whats going to happen in this league. "Its why youve got to be ready." Tuel is in this position because of a string of injuries that have hit the Bills quarterback position. Veteran Kevin Kolb is out indefinitely after sustaining a concussion -- the third of his seven-year career -- in a 30-7 loss to Washington on Saturday. Then theres rookie first-round pick EJ Manuel, who might not be ready to play because hes still recovering from a left knee injury he hurt in a 20-16 win over Minnesota a week earlier. The Bills did sign free agent Matt Leinart on Sunday, but the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner needs time to become familiar with the offence. Should Tuel start against New England, he would be the first undrafted rookie directly out of college to start in Week 1 for any team since the NFL merger in 1970, according to STATS LLC. This is not exactly what rookie coach Doug Marrone envisioned when he intended to have his starter in place within 10 days of the season. "Well, I dont know if Id use the word crazy," Marrone said. "But I would say a little bit of adversity, for sure." And that wasnt the only unsettling news to greet the Bills, who returned to practice in preparing for their preseason finale against Detroit Thursday. Top cornerback Stephon Gilmore will miss between six and eight weeks after breaking his left wrist against Washington. Its an injury that further depletes a cornerback position that already lacks experienced depth behind Leodis McKelvin. Running back C.J. Spiller has been excused to be with his family near Jacksonville, Fla., where his step-grandfather Hubert Allen Jr. allegedly killed two people and shot two others before killing himself on Saturday. Marrone said the team has been in contact with Spiller, but theres no timetable as to when hell return. Chris Hairston, who was supposed to compete for the starting right tackle job, was placed on the season-ending reserve/non-football illnesss list.dddddddddddd Hairston has not practiced after opening training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list. And two-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd didnt sound entirely thrilled to be back in Buffalo after practicing with the team for the first time since signing his one-year, $6.9 million franchise tender last week. Byrd said he didnt want to be a distraction, but acknowledged being "disappointed" when Buffalo applied the franchise tag in March to prevent him from testing free agency. Byrd declined to say whether hes asked to be traded. He wouldnt directly answer a question regarding his chances of playing in Buffalo next season. Byrd only noted that the Bills have the option to place the franchise tag on him again next year. The two sides failed to negotiate a long-term deal before a July 15 deadline. That left Byrd the option of accepting the tender or losing pay once he began missing regular season games. Byrds not sure how ready hell be to open the season after having missed the entire off-season of practice "Only time will tell," he said. The problem is the Bills are quickly running out of time, and healthy bodies. At the least, Buffalo has some reinforcements at quarterback, with Leinart and Thaddeus Lewis each making their practice debuts. Lewis was acquired Sunday in a trade that sent linebacker Chris White to Detroit. Tuel, 22, found it strange providing offensive tips to a 30-year-old Leinart, a 2006 first-round pick. "It was odd," Tuel said. "The last time I saw Matt, I was watching him in the Rose Bowl in the national championship play Texas, and I was in the stands. I was like in eighth grade." The injuries to Manuel and Kolb have at least provided Tuel additional practice and playing time than most third-stringers usually get. In three preseason games, hes combined for 31 of 43 for 299 yards passing, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Leinart is happy to get one more chance to prove himself after spending the entire off-season looking for a job. After spending his first four seasons in Arizona, hes on his third team in as many years. "Im just excited just to be here obviously and humbled and just thankful for the opportunity," said Leinart, who is expected to play Thursday. "Obviously, I know nothing is guaranteed ever. But Im excited to be playing football. "I was getting bored." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '