TORONTO -- Things looked bleak for the Maple Leafs, coming off a losing performance in St. Louis that coach Randy Carlyle termed "brain-dead" and with the league-leading Chicago Blackhawks in town. But the form sheet was thrown out the window Saturday as Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland each scored twice and combined with linemate Mason Raymond for 11 points to lift Toronto to a commanding 7-3 win over the Stanley Cup champions. Toronto lost 6-3 to the Blues on Thursday with the scoreline flattering the losers. Toronto had played a strong game the previous night but was still beaten 3-1 by the visiting Los Angeles Kings. A 5-2 home defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins started a three-game slide. "We really felt we needed a win," Lupul said of the Chicago contest. "Its a hard stretch for us, a lot of games in a short stretch of time so Saturday night at home with a day of rest, we came into the game feeling like it was pretty close to a must-win for us. Things were kind of starting to snowball the other way." Tied 1-1 after the first period, Toronto outscored Chicago 4-1 in the second to pull ahead for its first win in regulation time since Nov. 19, a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders. The victory also snapped an eight-game losing streak to Chicago that dated back to February 2003. Jerry DAmigo, Nikolai Kulemin and Phil Kessel also scored for Toronto (17-14-3) before a season-high announced attendance of 19,603 at the Air Canada Center despite a cold, snowy night. Toronto outshot the opposition for just the fifth time this season, holding a 32-28 edge on the night. It was a welcome sharing on offence for the Leafs, who have had to count on their top line of Kessel, Nazem Kadri and James Van Riemsdyk in recent weeks. Lupul finished with two goals and two assists while Raymond had four assists and Holland two goals and an assist on a breakout night for the newly assembled Leafs second line. Patrick Kane, with two, and Brandon Saad replied for Chicago (23-7-5), whose league-best offence sputtered on the night. The Blackhawks had arrived riding a three-game win streak during which they had outscored the opposition 19-6. The Hawks were also 9-0-2 against Eastern Conference opposition. "We were not very good," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. "They were much better than us. We got what we deserved tonight. We still got ourselves back in the game, 1-1 at the start of the second period and put ourselves in a decent spot.... But basically we got what we deserved because we werent ready to play." The Leafs came into the game in a nose dive, with just two regulation wins in their last 19 outings. It was water under the bridge as they welcomed the Hawks with a season-high seven-goal scoring spree. The lack of pushback in the St. Louis performance had been a particular low for the Leafs. "They werent very proud of our performance. They knew we didnt do a lot of things that we set out to do," Carlyle said of the Blues game. "I thought our hockey club responded the way they needed to respond. They took responsibility for our actions and thats a good sign. The most encouraging thing for us tonight was our work ethic and we stuck to out system and played it." The game was Carlyles 100th as Leafs coach, improving his record at the Toronto helm to 49-40-11. Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension for boarding Boston defenceman Kevan Miller. The Leafs revolving door kept turning, however, as forward David Clarkson was handed a two-game ban earlier in the day for an illegal hit to the head of St. Louis forward Vladimir Sobotka. Finnish rookie Antti Raanta got the start again for Chicago in the absence of the injured Corey Crawford and Nikolai Khabibulin. He was pulled from his eighth career NHL game with the score 5-2 after two periods in favour of Kent Simpson, a 21-year-old from Edmonton making his NHL debut. "I think you could say that Chicagos goalies had a rough night ... and you have to take advantage of that when it comes your way," said Carlyle. It was a horrific start for the Blackhawks, who drew three straight penalties in the first period. But some indiscipline by the home team later in the period evened the score. Toronto was on its second power-play before Chicago got its first shot on net, some seven minutes into the game. Holland made the Hawks pay for the Andrew Shaw tripping call, tapping in a Lupul feed across the crease after a nice pass by Raymond at 7:14. "Not the start we wanted, getting the penalties and getting down a goal, then probably thinking too much offence as the game went on," said Kane. "The start wasnt good, especially the first 10 minutes. Three penalties kind of takes you right out of the game. "We tried to fight back and get ourselves into it but it was too little too late." Toronto faced a 58-second five-on-three after Raymond was called for tripping behind the Chicago goal while killing off a penalty to Holland. The Blackhawks scored 29 seconds later when a sprawling Phaneuf redirected Kanes pass from the side of the net past Jonathan Bernier into the goal at 16:14. It was his 18th goal of the season and marked the eighth straight game Chicago has scored on the power play. Kane, the leagues first star in the month of November, has collected points in eight straight games and 20 of his last 21. Van Riemsdyk could have made it 2-1 near the end of the period but, with a good portion of the Chicago goal empty after a pretty passing sequence, he couldnt connect on a Kessel feed that took a nasty bounce. Toronto had the first five shots of the game but the shot count was tied at 11-11 after 20 minutes. DAmigo made it 2-1 on the Leafs 13th shot just 42 seconds into the second period when he tucked in a Kulemin rebound that dropped out of Raantas glove. It was the first goal of his six-game NHL career. Both the puck and DAmigos stick will be displayed in a frame soon. "You guys cant see it but Im just going crazy inside here now," said DAmigo. A Chicago goal minutes later was called off for being directed into the goal by a Hawks hand (and then Phaneufs stick). Holland scored his second at 12:09 of the second period, left to finish all alone after taking a nice pass from Raymond. Kane replied at 13:30, snapping a wrist shot past Bernier after a Toronto turnover in the neutral zone. But Kulemin restored the Leafs two-goal advantage at 14:36, on a low shot from a Jay McClement feed. Lupul increased the lead to 5-2 on the power play, tipping in a Jake Gardiner shot from the point for his ninth of the season at 17:08. Simpson gave up a goal on his first shot when Lupul, just 28 seconds in, beat him from the faceoff dot after doing some good digging behind the goal. Holland had a chance at his hat trick but shot wide on a breakaway. Seconds later, Saad pulled one back for Chicago with a tip-in at 7:38 for his 12th of the season. Kessel made it 7-3 at 8:35 with a quick shot from the slot for his 17th of the season. Toronto heads to Pittsburgh next for a game Monday. The Hawks return home to host Los Angeles on Sunday. . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. . A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court said his girlfriend told police they got into the argument early Thursday at his suburban Minneapolis home.
http://www.blackhawksauthority.com/auth ... jersey/.ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. .com) - Longtime Senators star Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa on Thursday to officially announce his retirement. .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration.PARIS - Amélie Mauresmo was officially appointed Andy Murrays coach on Sunday as the British star prepares to embark on the grass-court season and defend his Wimbledon title. There are a handful of women coaching players on the ATP Tour, but none with anywhere close to the profile of Murray, a two-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medallist. "Amélie is someone I have always looked up to and admired," Murray said in a statement. "Shes faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player." It is rare for an elite mens player to be mentored by a woman, especially one who is not related to him. Jimmy Connors was once coached by his mother. Billie Jean King coached Tim Mayotte for a short time. Andrei Chesnokov was coached by Tatiana Naumko. Early in the French Open, Murray was asked about the possibility of hiring a female coach and how that may be received by his peers. "For me, I dont care," said Murray, who had been without a coach since parting ways with Ivan Lendl in March. "I dont really care whether some of the other male players like it or not. Thats not something that really bothers me. I was coached by my mum for a long time. I have had her around at tournaments for a long time. There has been ex-players and stuff that have said, Oh, your mom shouldnt be around, or, She shouldnt come and support you or come to watch. You know, its silly. "Everyone is entitled to have the team around them that they want. Everyone works very differently. You know, some men might not work well with a female. Some men might work well with a female coach. Its just whatever your preference is and whatever your needs are. Thats basically it." Judy Murray, Andys mum, weighed in on Twitter saying, "Love it," in response to the news. Mauresmo, a former world No. 1, who won Wimbledon and the Australian Open, held a news conference in Paris just moments before the start of the mens French Open championship match between Rafael Nadal, coach by his Uncle Toni, and Novak Djokovic, who is coached by Boris Becker. The following is a transcript of Mauresmos exchange with reporters: Q. What was the moment when you thought that you would take over as coach of Andy Murray? What is it about the job that is fascinating to you? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Andy contacted me a few weeks ago and we started to talk about this possibility to work, to be working together. Its not really something that I was thinking doing when I stopped being a tennis player. Then we talked again a little bit more about how to do the things maybe about his game, about different things. We came up with the will from both sides to, yeah, to give it a shot. Q. Could you talk a bit about the fact obviously youre a woman, hes a man. Do you consider that of any relevance, or do you see it possibly as a positive advantage for you? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I would say that, yeah, I mean, its probably something that have to you ask him at some point why he made this choice. We all know his mother was a big part of his tennis career. I think hes maybe looking for something different, about emotions and sensitive things. Its not really interesting for me, this part of the story, to be honest. All Im interested in is to be able to help him in his goals. Thats about it. The rest is the story for you to write, I guess. But, yeah, for me its a challenge. I want to take it. Q. Can you tell us what areas of Andys game you believe you can be the most help to him in? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I dont think Im going to go into these details right now. I think we really get to know each other, really get to start, and actually start working together. Well maybe talk about iit at some point.dddddddddddd Q. He had obviously choices and people to consider. When he contacted you the first time, did he say, Amélie, the reason I decided that you would be the right person is because you could bring me this or this that? Did he give you a reason why he thought of you? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah, he did. Q. Can you tell us what it is? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Not really (Laughter). Not really. I mean, maybe he will tell you at some point. Q. Have you watched his game much over the years? Did you have any sort of relationship with him? Were you surprised when he rang? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: We didnt really talk to each other more than just greeting each other and stuff. I have watched him play, yes, many times. Again, we have talked a little bit already about his game. We definitely going to get more into this very soon, I guess. Q. Were you surprised when he rang? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: It was a little bit of a surprise, yes. To be honest, yes. Q. This will obviously get a lot of attention because you are a woman going to be coaching a top man. Do you think it is an important step for mens sport for somebody to make this decision? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Again, I mean, I guess it is a big story to write on and a step forward. But honestly, its not my big concern right now. Im happy about this new challenge. I want to help Andy. Its the only thing that I have in mind right now. Q. I think the reason why Andy stopped working with Ivan Lendl is Ivan said he didnt have enough time to spend with him. You will be available to travel with Andy throughout the year, will you? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: We have already, yes, talked about this. Yeah, not the whole year, not as fulltime, but, yes, significant amount of weeks that we have agreed on and should be good for everyone. Q. From your point of view, what do you expect to achieve with Andy and what would make the job a success for you? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Well, its quite easy for me to answer this, and hes very open on this. He wants to win more Grand Slam or Grand Slams, so I guess thats what it is. Q. You were in a comfortable position as a TV consultant. AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah, I was sitting. Now I will be... Q. You will have almost the same pressure as Andy. The expectations will be high. So what was the reason for you to accept such a tough challenge? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: First of all, I think he has the most pressure. Thats for sure when youre a player, and I know what it is. You have huge pressure on your shoulders. This will remain this way. Yes, it will change a little bit my life and my retirement, lets say. But Im passionate. Im passionate about this sport. I love challenges. I dont know, I guess I like to put myself on the line at some point and see what I can do. Q. We all know that since Billie Jean, a big part of the WTA, has been about the empowerment of women and opportunities. We all know also its extremely difficult for WTA players. What were your thoughts that Ernests Gulbis made the other day that he would not want his sisters to go into tennis and that its very tough and they should be focusing on families? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I know him a little bit. I think you guys also know him quite a lot. Hes provocative at some point. Im not sure he was really thinking this way. He explained a little bit later why he said this. Im not really Im not shocked by this because I know him. I know how he is. Q. How long is your commitment with Andy? AMÉLIE MAURESMO: We are going to do the grass court season and we will talk after that. ' ' '
