Dein erstes Forum » The Yankees said Rodriguez was

TORONTO – Before his unlikely heroics on this night, James Reimer wondered whether he had played his final game in a Maple Leafs uniform. Nikita Kucherov Jersey . And then he had an odd feeling as he left his home in the greater Toronto area on Thursday afternoon, a feeling that he was going to play that night against the Bruins – a game that Jonathan Bernier was to start. He told his wife April as much. “I didnt know why,” he said afterward. “Sometimes you just get those feelings.” His premonition proved on point. Reimer stepped in for the injured Bernier on Thursday night and helped the Leafs keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 overtime win – their second straight against Boston. “He gave us a chance,” said head coach Randy Carlyle afterward. “And good for him. We needed that and he needed that. Its great.” It was the second time in less than a month that Reimer came to the rescue for the Leafs. Back in mid-March, he stepped in for Bernier at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and delivered a perfect 31-save performance in what seemed then to be a defining win. But he struggled mightily in the days that followed – .871 save percentage in five starts – a cloud of negativity building as the losses piled for both him and the team. Pulled 10 minutes into a Mar. 23 start in Jersey, his career as a Leaf appeared over. The former No. 1 had become the scapegoat what for ailed the sinking Leafs – his obvious struggles notwithstanding. “I was just focusing on playing the best I can for my teammates and trying to grind out a win,” he said of relief duty against Boston, stopping 10 of 11 shots. “Obviously those are thoughts that kind of go through your mind, but you cant be thinking about that when youve got Chara standing in front of you.” He hopped off the bench and into the net with less than 12 minutes left in the final frame and the Leafs up a goal at 3-2, another third period lead hanging on by a thread. Boston had a power-play too, Paul Ranger punished from shoving Patrice Bergeron into Bernier and thus injuring the 25-year-old netminder. Cold, save for a few stretches in front of the Toronto bench, Reimer jumped in and stopped all three Bruins shots with the man advantage. Bergeron, an infamous nemesis, snuck one by to knot the score at three, but from there Reimer held strong, keeping his teams playoff hopes alive until Nazem Kadri won it in overtime. “Hes the first guy that everyone seems to hop on when our team doesnt do so well,” Kadri said of finger-pointing in Reimers direction last month. “At that point when we were losing the team in front of him just couldnt bring it together and figure things out and obviously the goalies left out there to dry by himself. We felt bad. Now its about time we have his back and step up to the plate.” Cast aside countless times in his Toronto tenure, Reimer might have an opportunity to salvage some good and redeem himself in what are likely his final days as a Leaf. He may just be the guy – with Berniers status in question – the Leafs have to lean on one last time as they fight for playoff hopes that remain thin even after Thursdays timely win. Toronto remains a point back of Columbus – who also won Thursday and holds two games in hand – with just four games left. “Im going to try and go in there and just give the guys a chance,” he said. “Ive got belief in this team. I know weve got the passion and the desire to get it done. Were going to pull together and give it all we got.” Five Points 1. Biggest Goal Kadri played the fewest minutes of his season Thursday, but scored what was easily the biggest goal. The 23-year-old deposited a Cody Franson rebound beyond Bruins backup Chad Johnson. “That was unbelievable,” he said of his 19th marker this season. “Its probably one of the bigger goals of the year that weve scored. We needed it. That was a good Boston team that is relentless. We knew that coming in we werent safe with a one or two-goal lead; that we had to keep fighting to the end and thats exactly what happened.” Dropped to the fourth line against Boston, Kadri played alongside Jerry DAmigo and a rotating cast of wingers. He finished the night with 11 minutes and 40 seconds, given an opportunity on the power-play in overtime. “Obviously I dont control that sort of thing,” Kadri said of his ice-time, which has dipped over the past couple weeks. “Its out of my control and I just worry about trying to bring everything I can for the team every single day, no matter if Im on the first line or fourth line, it doesnt matter to me. Im going to still play my game and try and contribute as much as possible.” Carlyle explained Kadris decreasing opportunity prior to the game. “We felt that Nazzie wasnt moving his feet and he wasnt playing the north-south game, he was playing more of the same east-west game and he was getting caught a lot by back-side pressure,” Carlyle said. “Weve talked to him about it. Weve had discussions about it. Hes got to be stronger down-low.” 2. Injured Bernier, who missed the aforementioned five games in March with a groin injury, put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice in front of a stunned ACC crowd. Labeled a lower-body injury – Carlyle wouldnt say if it was a re-aggravation of the groin issue – he was due to go for an MRI as soon as possible. Seeing his crease counterpart hunched on one knee in the crease, Reimer knew something was wrong and figured hed be going in. “I know what its like to get hurt and you kind of know the body language of a goalie,” Reimer said. “I tried to hop over the bench as soon as possible and start getting warmed up. Obviously youre hoping that hes going to be alright and that he can stay in there because he was doing a heck of a job for us, but obviously wasnt the case. I just tried to do my best and hopefully he can get back soon.” 3. Freeze Catchphrase It was déjà vu of sorts for the Leafs in the final period as the Bruins raced all the way back from a 3-1 lead, scoring twice on goals from Milan Lucic and Bergeron. Under siege for the better part of the frame – they were being outshot 10-1 at one point – Toronto was just hanging on for life – much like Game 7 last spring. Carlyle told his club – which has gone into “freeze mode” on many occasions – to breathe. “Thats been our catchphrase now because you cant do anything if you dont breathe. And thats whats happened to our hockey club is when were freezing were paralyzed,” he explained, before repeating what would seem to have been his advice. “‘Just breathe. Just breathe. Take it easy. Breathe. Well get through it. Do the things that youre accustomed to doing. Believe in the system. Commit to it and just breathe. Relax.” 4. Top Line Scorching in the opening months of 2014, Torontos top line had cooled considerably coming into Thursdays game, specifically their two top guns, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. Kessel had only four goals and 10 points in the previous 16 games, van Riemsdyk totaling five and eight in that same span. Both, along with Tyler Bozak, came alive against the Bruins. Kessel initiated a pair of goals from the line, firing a pass off the midsection of Bozak for the Leafs second goal and then finding van Riemsdyk in front of Johnson for the third marker. The latter was the 30th goal of the season for the 24-year-old van Riemsdyk, the first time hes hit that mark in the NHL. “Obviously it was a nice milestone,” he said afterward. As to whats ailed the Leafs top pair, fatigue might be one factor – along with the subsequent bumps and bruises. Both Kessel and van Riemsdyk actually saw their ice-time increase after their Olympic experience with Team USA to nearly 22 minutes per game in March. Carlyle, however, saw the struggles of the man advantage as one reason for their slowdown. “Obviously the power-play is a big part of their opportunity to give us more offence,” he said. “And I think the power-play has been up and down at times for us. Some nights we look real good on it and then some instances within the game it actually has taken energy away from us with our inability to execute on it and not even create scoring chances.” True enough. Empty on Thursday, van Riemsdyk has now gone 22 consecutive games without a single point on the power-play, his last goal coming all the way back on Jan. 30. Kessel has just one power-play point himself in the past 21 games and hasnt scored a power-play goal since Feb. 1. The duo remains 1-2 in team scoring this season. 5. Still Alive Of the Leafs still tepid playoff chances, Carlyle wouldnt jump too far ahead after back-to-back wins. “Were alive,” he said, “but theres a lot of things that have to go our way. All were going to focus on is what we can control and we can control our effort and our commitment to our team game and thats what were going to focus on.” Asked if his team needed to run the table in the remaining four games – opposite Winnipeg, Tampa, Florida and Ottawa – Carlyle responded, “I just worry about the next one.” And that next one comes Saturday against the Jets. Stats-Pack 30 – Goals for James van Riemsdyk this season, the first 30-goal campaign of his career. 11:40 – Ice-time for Nazem Kadri, his lowest of the season. 22 – Consecutive games without a power-play point for van Riemsdyk. 2-2-0 – Leafs record versus Boston this season. 20:29 – Ice-time for Troy Bodie, a career-high and the most of any Leaf Thursday save for Kessel. 79 – Points for Kessel this season, now third in league scoring. 10 – Stops for James Reimer in relief of Jonathan Bernier. 5 – Points in the past 13 games for Kadri, third in team scoring with 49 points. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3Season: 20.5% (5th) PK: 2-2Season: 78.8% (28th) Quote of the Night “Wed like to win, thats for sure. Wed like to win as consistently. Those are models that every organization aspires to.” -Randy Carlyle, on replicating the Bruins success. Up Next The Leafs host the Jets Saturday in their final home game of the regular season. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . LaQuinton Ross scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers, to send No. Martin St. Louis Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors reserve centre Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured right hand. http://www.hockeylightning.com/authentic-steven-stamkos-lightning-jersey/ . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is set to play Tuesday night in his first minor league game on a rehabilitation assignment. And this time, all sides agree hes ready to go. Rodriguez said he felt fine and was eager to get on the field for Class A Charleston. "Awesome," he said Monday at the Yankees spring training complex. "Im really excited." Rodriguez said he didnt have a timetable for rejoining the Yankees, a team in desperate need of hitters. He was on a conference call with team officials earlier in the day. "I have no idea," he said. Last week, Rodriguez posted on Twitter that his hip surgeon had cleared him to play in rehab games. That upset Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who said Rodriguez hadnt been OKed by team doctors. Cashman lashed out at Rodriguez with a profanity, then said the next day that he regretted his word choice. Rodriguez later spoke with owner Hal Steinbrenner, with the executive reiterating that injury news should be announced by the team, not players. Now, no problems. "Its all been very positive. Were all looking in the same direction: ... Get back to New York as soon as possible, and tomorrow is the first big step," Rodriguez said. "Weve talked to all our doctors. Everyone has approved it." The Yankees rank near the bottom of the American League in runs and home runs. Minus Rodriguez, the Yankees have especially struggled at third base. Rookie David Adams is hitting under .200 and Kevin Youkilis, signed in the off-season to hold the job until A-Rod returned, was batting only .218 before he went on the disabled list with back problems. Rodriguez and Youkilis are among several injured players on the Yankees, who began the day in fourth place in the AL East. Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are also sidelined, as are others. Manager Joe Girardi called the rehab assignment "a step in the right direction." "I expect him to be a productive player," Girardi said before the Yankees opened a series at Minnesota. "The last time he got his hip fixed, he came productive. Hopefully this will solve some of the things he was dealing witth last year and I expect him to be productive. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys. "I cant tell you exactly what hes going to do, but I think hes going to be a good player," he said. The Yankees said Rodriguez was scheduled to start for Single-A Charleston in the South Atlantic League. Rodriguez was supposed to play at least three innings against Rome during the game in South Carolina. "It will be the first game that I play in, in maybe over eight months. Its been a long time. Its going to be great to suit up again. It gets me one step closer to helping my team win in New York," he said. Rodriguez has been working out in Florida this year while recovering from surgery on his left hip on Jan. 16. The three-time AL MVP turns 38 later this month. Many rehabbing Yankees play for the minor league team in Tampa, but lately the weather has been rainy. The inclement forecast prompted the Yankees to have Rodriguez start with Charleston. "Two things -- were working with the scheduling, where all these teams are at. Theres rain all over the East Coast. So, were just going to try and run away, try to find some good sunshine." "It has to do more with the weather. In an ideal world, we would always play at home because we can do more work, but if the weather is bad, we may have to jump over at X, Y or Z, depending where the sunshine is," he said. Rodriguez walked out of the camp carrying an equipment bag while a clubhouse assistant brought a box of bats. They put them in Rodriguezs car, and he signed several autographs before driving off. Rodriguez has 647 career home runs. The Yankees have struggled this season while Rodriguez and several other stars have been on the disabled list. Rodriguez has 20 days on this assignment to get ready to play. Once he is ready, Girardi said he still envisions Rodriguez as an everyday third baseman with no plans to make him a primary designated hitter. "Weve had trouble scoring runs," Girardi said. "Thats no secret. So itd be nice to get some big bats back." NOTES: SS Derek Jeter (ankle) ran the bases for the first time during his recent recovery. ... OF Curtis Granderson (broken finger) put on a glove and caught easy flyballs. 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