lay to it," said Carlyle, ahead of a Wednesday date with the thri

RALEIGH, N.C. - Even as Buffalo goalie Michal Neuvirth made save after save Thursday night, the Carolina Hurricanes did not get frustrated. "We were creating a lot of opportunities," Carolinas Eric Staal said. "We knew that wed eventually break him." When it finally happened, the break came fast, with Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty scoring in a 1:55 span in the third period to give the Hurricanes the lead in a 4-2 victory over the Sabres. Semin tied it at 2 on a power play with 8:12 left, and Tlusty scored the game-winner with 6:17 to go. Carolina put up a season-high 55 shots against Neuvirth. "The guys did a good job of not getting frustrated," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "We talked after the second period and said, Lets take a breather, get our rest and lets focus — and lets play the same way." Jeff Skinner had a first-period goal — his 26th — to help Carolina win its second in a row after losing seven of eight. Nathan Gerbe added an empty-net goal with a second left. Cam Ward made 21 saves, making his second consecutive start after backstopping the Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Tyler Ennis scored on a penalty shot and Drew Stafford added a goal for Buffalo. Neuvirths season-high 51 saves came in his second start for the Sabres since being acquired in a trade with Washington on March 5. "I thought he was good again," Buffalo coach Ted Nolan said. "The one thing our goalies are going to end up doing in the remaining 16 games we have — theyre going to get a lot of good looks and play for that position." Tlustys winner came after he took a pass from Semin, walked into the slot and beat Neuvirth with a wrist shot above the glove. Stafford scored with 11:17 left to give Buffalo a short-lived 2-1 lead. The Sabres Cory Conacher attempted a wraparound on the play, but the puck bounced off the skates of Tlusty and Carolina defenceman Andrej Sekera in the crease before coming to Stafford at the side of the net. Stafford snapped it past Ward for his third goal in three games. He has nine goals in his last 15 contests. Carolina tied it when Semins slap shot from the wing deflected off the skate of Buffalo defenceman Mike Weber in front of Neuvirth. It was only Carolinas second power-play goal since the Olympic break. The Hurricanes came into the game mired in a 1-for-32 slump with the man advantage. Buffalo opened the scoring midway through the opening period after Tlusty was called for slashing Ennis on a breakaway. Official Eric Furlatt called a penalty shot for the infraction, and Ennis beat Ward with a rising shot above his blocker. The Hurricanes tied it little less than 3 minutes later when Skinners shot from a sharp angle went under Neuvirths blocker. "That first goal they scored was not a very good goal for my part," Neuvirth said. Carolina dominated for long stretches of the second period, outshooting the Sabres 22-4. But the Hurricanes couldnt find a way to beat Neuvirth. NOTES: Carolina D Joni Pitkanen said his recovery from a broken heel was progressing and that he hoped to play next year. Pitkanen has missed the entire season. Hydro Flask Flasche . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Hydro Flask Kinder Trinkflasche .C. Lions. The clubs former starting quarterback, assistant and head coach returned Thursday as its receivers coach. http://www.hydroflaskflasche.ch/. The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. Hydro Flask Kaufen Schweiz .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Hydro Flask Günstig Kaufen . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta.ST. PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. "I couldnt believe when I heard after the game thats how long it was," said Fraser, in conversation with the Leaf Report, minutes before the team departed for Minnesota. "It actually didnt feel that long because that seems so unfathomable. None of us were able to move." He and his teammates would later sustain a similar bit of pressure themselves, hammering the Bruins with wave upon wave of pressure in a second period that was arguably their best this season. It was that style, that relentlessness, that enthusiasm that Randy Carlyle would like to see from his team on a more consistent basis. "I just think that the good teams in the league, they have a template and they play to it," said Carlyle, ahead of a Wednesday date with the thriving Wild. "They put the puck in and go to work. And we have to gain more of that type of an attitude from our group. Thats whats necessary to have success in the NHL and you have to do it day in, day out." Despite an 11-6-0 record that ranks third in the Atlantic Division, the Leafs have, to this point, only seen hints of the team they would like to resemble this season. Theyve not managed to impose the edge, force or speed which defined their attack with surprising success last season. Carlyle has harped often on the need for that to change. Bits of improvement were seen in a 2-1 shootout win over New Jersey last week, further signs of hope emerging in the loss to the Bruins over the weekend. "I think that weve been preaching that for a long time," said Carlyle. "There is an understanding that we have to play a certain way. And when you see signs of it happening, thats encouraging but its got to happen more often and thats what were going to ask of them." What Carlyle is looking for specifically is improvement at even strength. Though they boast a positive goal differential – because of terrific goaltending – the Leafs have only managed 29 goals in five-on-five situations, which ranks 20th this season. In the past three games, theyve scored only once at even strength. More alarmingly, theyve been outshot by a margin of 455-322 in such situations; attempting the fewest shots of any team in the league (611) while yielding the seventh most against (850), as per extraskater.com. "We need to be a better five-on-five team," said Fraser. "So far, our specialty teams have been pretty good for us, but itd be nicer to win more games in the five-on-five play and not have to rely on those which wont always be there for you." A source of much of the clubs success – in addition to goaltending – Toronto special teams, dominant in the very early stages this season, have predictably cooled in recent days.dddddddddddd Now ranked 13th overall, the penalty kill allowed a pair for the first time all season against the Bruins, the power-play empty in three opportunities and now 1-15 over the past five games. Special Teams Last 5 Games First 11 Games Power play 1-15 – 7% 12-45 – 27% Penalty kill 17-21 – 81% 40-47 – 85% What the Leafs did so well amid an impressive and yet all too rare stretch of 20 minutes at TD Garden on Saturday was pressure and pressure with persistence and grit. They outshot the Bruins 18-8 at even strength in the period, scoring their lone goal in an eventual 3-1 defeat. "The first thing we did is we dumped the puck effectively and we were able to get it back off our forecheck," said Carlyle. "And then we moved off the puck; we moved the puck and moved ourselves. Those are the things that are easy to talk about, but sometimes theyre a lot harder to duplicate." A tactic they employed with success against Boston in the playoffs last May, the Leafs used their speed and tenacity to wear down the Bruins defence. As a result, they sustained possession deep in the offensive zone while fatiguing their opponent. "Once we had them hemmed in, it was to the point where we werent allowing them to change," Fraser said of the game on Saturday. Hardly in line with the preference of the coaching staff, most of the clubs offence at even strength this season has relied on quick strikes and marksman-like accuracy (the Leafs boast the fourth-best shooting percentage as per extraskater.com). Only in very small doses has the club sustained possession and pressure in the opposition end. Often careless with the puck, theyve often spent far more time defending than attacking. Notably, the Leafs have yielded more shots than anyone but the Ottawa Senators (36.5 per game). "It hasnt changed in our minds," said Fraser of the desired template, "but perhaps just in our execution of it." The challenge has been demanding and attaining such execution while the team continues to win in manners that are unlikely to be sustained. Its for that reason that Carlyle has preached for improvement all year long, even when the wins piled up early. "Weve been recognizing it perhaps a bit more and just collectively trying to get back to where we were, which was a hard-working team that was initiating our style instead of receiving the other teams [style]," Fraser said. "Its hard to know when youre kind of sneaking away some victories." ' ' '