Paul Maurice said the whole team needs to learn how to play a steadier

RALEIGH, N.C. – You could hear a pin drop in the visitors dressing room at PNC Arena after yet another blowout defeat. "I think the talking has to stop," said Jay McClement with evident frustration. "Weve talked all year all about all these things and were just not getting the job done. Nothing seems to be changing. Were just still very inconsistent with our efforts. Somethings got to change. I think weve done so much talking, we just need a little more action." The Maple Leafs lost their third straight and 20th in the past 31 games on Thursday night, blown out 6-1 by the surging Hurricanes. Months of brewing trouble saw the club finally knocked out of a playoff position for the first time all season, now 10th in the Eastern Conference. "I think were searching for answers and thats the hard part," Mason Raymond said. "Its a cliché, but were the only ones that are going to get ourselves out of this mess." It was more of the same from a wildly inconsistent, unpredictable group that has just five wins in regulation since the start of November and not one during that span on the road. The Leafs have been outscored 18-5 during this most recent three-game slide, an "exclamation point" in the words of Randy Carlyle, for the ills of a troubled hockey club. Just when it appears, however, that a low point has been reached does another disastrous performance occur, this one to a Carolina squad that has now won five straight. "We stood around for most of the hockey game tonight," said a noticeably deflated and dejected Carlyle afterward. "For whatever reason that nobody seems to have an answer to right now is were doing things standing still. Were watching teams skate and were not engaged in the hockey game to a level that is required to give yourself a chance for success." Carlyle urged his group to play with more tenacity and bite in recent days, something more in wake of a season veering dangerously off course. But aside from a late and rather meaningless push, he didnt get it. The urgency and intensity remained mysteriously absent as domino after domino toppled over on the ice in Raleigh. "Theres no excuse why we dont compete every night," said McClement. "Thats something that has to be there every night. Youre not going to win every night, but the effort and the compete has to be there every night. Theres no excuse for that." It was yet another mess in a season thats had too many to count already. An identity-less team to this point, the Leafs are searching for answers on how to right the wrongs of a season thats teetering closer and closer to the edge of something perilous. The problem is, these troubles have been brewing for the better part of the season with little to no change in performance. These are tough times in Toronto with no readily apparent end in sight. "It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that things arent going anywhere near what our expectations are, thats for sure," said Carlyle. Five Points 1. Pushing the Message Preaching for improvement all year, but especially in recent days, Carlyle wouldnt cast the full weight of whats taken place onto the shoulders of his players alone, but what has to be distressing for the head coach and his staff is how few results the message has yielded. Nothing, it seems, has been able to lift the Leafs from a year-long funk. "Theyre not an island out there," he said before Thursdays game. "We dont put our players on an island. We think its very improper to put our players in a situation to say that we dont support them. We support our players to the utmost. And we look back to the players because theyre the ones that are out there doing it. Theyre the ones that are out there sacrificing. Theyre the ones that are out there putting on the performance." Carlyle said that his staffs role is one of guidance. "Were just in a position to try and guide them as a coaching staff. Theres different ways to guide. Weve tried numerous ways to stimulate our group to play a much more competitive brand of hockey. Well continually push for more of that." 2. Reimers First Start in 19 Days Questioned before the game on how he managed to stay sharp with a long layoff – 19 days – between starts, James Reimer, as is the norm, found the bright side. "Its just good preparation for the Olympic break, I guess," he said with a grin. Reimer had no chance yet again in his first start since Dec. 21, on the hook for all six goals in the 6-1 defeat. "Our goaltenders are strung out and left hanging high and dry if you look where the quality of the scoring chances are coming from, theyre coming from that critical area," said Carlyle. "You cant continually give those chances up." Leaf goaltenders were frequently heroic in the opening half of the season, despite inflated shot totals, but have understandably buckled under helpless conditions recently. Reimer and Jonathan Bernier own a .846 save percentage during this most recent three-game slide. "You just want to hang in there and keep it as close as you can so that you can give the boys a chance," said Reimer, who dropped to 4-2-1 lifetime against Carolina. 3. Gardiner Scratched For the second time this season, Jake Gardiner landed as a healthy scratch. Carl Gunnarsson returned from an elbow injury, while Mark Fraser was inserted into the lineup for just the second time in 12 games as Carlyle shook up the defence. "We felt that Jake has struggled in the last couple games," said Carlyle, "his puck movement and decisions with the puck and we felt had a better option in the other two guys at this point with the way our mix was put together." 4. Phaneufs Production Recently signed to a seven-year extension, Dion Phaneufs offensive production has dipped this season, his fifth with the Leafs. Phaneuf totaled a hearty nine goals and 28 points in 48 games in 2013 – a pro-rated 15 goals and 47 points – adding 12 goals and 44 points in 2011-12. But just beyond the midway point this year and the 28-year-old has just four goals and 17 points, an eight-goal and 33-point pace. "I feel good about my game and the way that Ive played," he told the Leaf Report generally on Thursday morning, "But the bottom line is individual seasons dont matter. It matters about team success and weve got to be better as a team and we know that." One area of admitted focus and needed improvement for Phaneuf is the number of pucks directed to the net. He leads the team with 75 shots, but is on pace for a career-low in shots per game, way down from the numbers he accumulated previously. Season Shots Per Game 13-14 1.76 13 1.83 11-12 2.46 10-11 2.88 09-10 2.78 08-09 3.46 07-08 3.21 06-07 2.91 05-06 2.95 5. Ashton, Holland Trade Places The Leafs deemed Wednesday that Peter Hollands progression wasnt being served by remaining on the fourth line, where hes been slotted since the return of Tyler Bozak. They opted to send the 22-year-old to the Marlies, recalling Carter Ashton, who has strung together 15 points in 14 AHL games this season. "He wasnt going to play on the top two lines," Carlyle said of Holland, who had eight points during a 10-game stretch with Bozak out. "We felt it was probably hurting his development curve to leave him as a fourth-line centre." The challenge for the 22-year-old Ashton meanwhile is translating the success hes attained in the minors into something substantial in the NHL. Ashton has just one assist in 33 games with the Leafs, offering only fleeting glimpses of readiness in a bottom-six role. "A young player that has got size and skill and the ability to skate and protect the puck at the American League level doesnt always translate to that in the NHL," said Carlyle. "Its much more difficult, obviously. Youve got a lot less time and space and [youre] playing against bigger and stronger men. We think that hes continually showed some progress." A natural winger, Ashton slotted into the fourth line centre spot against the Hurricanes and barely played, totaling just under four minutes. Stats-Pack 0 – Regulation road victories since Oct. 30. 19 – Days between starts for James Reimer. 3 – Consecutive games with a goal for Joffrey Lupul, who scored his 14th this season in defeat. 18 – Goals allowed by the Leafs in the past three games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2Season: 21.4% (5th) PK: 3-5Season: 76.9% (27th) Quote of the Night Up Next The Leafs visit the Capitals in Washington D.C. Friday for the second end of a back-to-back set. Cyber Monday Air Jordan . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Cheap Air Jordan Online . MacLean clocked 8:24.91 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:27.59 set by Brittany Reimer of Victoria at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal. MacLean and Tabitha Baumann of Ottawa -- second in 8:32.37 -- both went under the qualifying standard to be nominated to the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific teams. https://www.fakejordanwholesale.com/ . 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. Wholesale Jordans From China .com) - Richard Shermans two interceptions highlighted a dominant defensive effort, as the Seattle Seahawks routed the San Francisco 49ers in a highly anticipated NFC West Thanksgiving clash. Air Jordan Black Friday . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3.WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets starting goaltender position is Ondrej Pavelecs job to lose, but Connor Hellebuyck remains an intriguing possibility for a team looking to bounce back after another disappointing season.The top goaltender in the NCAA before he decided to turn pro in April, Hellebuyck is tabbed to play with the Jets AHL farm team in St. Johns, N.L., although right now hes attending his third training camp with the club that drafted him in 2012.Ive been working really hard all summer along with all the other guys in the room and I think its starting to pay off, he said Friday.Hellebuyck, 21, hasnt seen any pre-season game action with the Jets. So far only starter Pavelec and backup Michael Hutchinson have played in net during the teams first two pre-season games.The six-foot-four native of Commerence, Mi., isnt on the list for Saturdays game in Minnesota, although he doesnt sound too worried about when hell play.Thats up to the coaching staff, he said. I just want to give my best in practice every day.Hellebuycks size and skill helped earn him a spot a€” along with Winnipegs Jacob Trouba a€” on the American team at last springs world hockey championship in Belarus.Hellebuyck was a steal for the Jets, who owe their scouts a bonus for spotting him early. They picked him up in the fifth round, 130th overall, in 2012.He then finished two stunning seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. After earning the starting spot in his first season, he had a 38-12-2 record in 54 games along with 12 shutouts, a .946 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average.For the 2013-14 season, he won the inaugural Mike Richter Award ass the top goaltender in college hockey.ddddddddddddBut at 20, the lure of the professional ranks and a three-year, two-way deal worth an average of just under US$1 million a year, ended his college career.Goaltending has been an Achilles heel for the Jets as they struggle to earn a playoff berth, but so far the team has refused to lay the lions share of blame in front of Pavelecs pads.As camp got underway this year, coach Paul Maurice said the whole team needs to learn how to play a steadier defensive game before its even possible to assess Pavelecs level of responsibility.But his numbers a€” the most goals allowed in the league last season along with one of the worst save percentages a€” have earned him plenty of critics.This is the first season since the former Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011 that the team hasnt brought in a veteran backup. Instead theyve elected to stick with Hutchinson a€” at least for now.Like Hellebuyck, Hutchinson, 24, is from the Jets system. He won two of three games in Winnipeg late last season after splitting the campaign between the ECHL and AHL.Hellebuyck has yet to play a game in the AHL and said he knows hes got a lot to learn.As long as Im improving every day Im happy, he said. I dont want to go out there and have a bad day and not take something from it.Its something he says hes learned from watching other goaltenders like veteran Tim Thomas, who started for the U.S. national team in Belarus. Hellebuyck was third on the depth chart and didnt see any action as the U.S., like Canada, was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Youre always a student, til the day you retire. ' ' '