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TORONTO – October was a productive month for Phil Kessel. The 26-year-old signed an eight-year extension worth $64 million on the eve of the regular season before posting a bountiful nine goals and 18 points in 14 games. But just as the weather has chilled outside, so too has the Leafs best player. Now tied for 31st in league scoring, Kessel went pointless for the ninth time in the past 11 games in an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday night. He has just one even-strength point in November and a scant three points all month (Mason Raymond leads the team with six points, trailed by the now press box-bound Trevor Smith with five). In fact, he has gone 11 straight games without registering even a single assist – he led the team in each of the past two seasons – his last helper coming on Oct. 29. Considering the teams ongoing struggles to produce offence at even-strength – shut out for the second time all year, they have just 10 goals in the past 10 games and sit 20th overall – this lingering dip in production from their top player is no small thing. Kessel may be a streaky goal scorer (most are), but with age and experience in Toronto, has evolved into an incredibly reliable and certainly elite point producer. After stalling at the outset of last season – he failed to score in the first 10 games – he never went more than two games without registering a point. A year before that, he never went consecutive games without a point until January. So what gives? It would be easy to point to the extended absence of Tyler Bozak – who returned Monday after missing 12 games – as the reason for such woes, but that would fail to ignore Kessels history of producing offence without him. In the two games that directly followed Bozak going down with injury in Columbus, Kessel posted three goals and six points alongside Nazem Kadri in wins over Pittsburgh and Edmonton. Of course, the Leafs would lose Dave Bolland to injury four nights later in Vancouver, jumbling their situation at centre further and thereby impacting Kessel. James van Riemsdyk was forced to the uncomfortable middle for four games, replaced on the top line by the incoming and still inexperienced Peter Holland thereafter. Kessel and Bozak certainly have a defined chemistry with one another – the top reason the latter was signed for five years in the summer – and perhaps Kessels slump simply manifested in the absence of a consistent set-up man – though he tends to generate offence himself in many regards, even with Bozak in the lineup. (Though hes played the majority of his games in Toronto with Bozak, Kessel has actually lined up with eight other centres as a Leaf: Kris Versteeg, Matthew Lombardi, Tim Connolly, Mikhail Grabovski, Joe Colborne, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Peter Holland.) "Is he back?" Kessel shouted repeatedly with glee when he saw Bozak being interviewed prior to Mondays game. Save for the absence of Bozak, an injury (or the flu bug, which nearly kept him out of a game last week) would help to explain the recent slowdown and Randy Carlyle didnt exactly refute the suggestion that Kessel may be hurt, noting last week that "all our players have bumps and bruises". It may just be a simple and increasingly rare slump, one that becomes magnified as the team struggles to produce offence. Kessel remains the Leafs leader in goals, points, and even-strength points. Five Points 1. Shelled It was may have been their worst loss all season. The Leafs were spanked 6-0 on home ice by a Blue Jackets squad that was missing two of its best players – Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik – and had just played on the other side of the country over the weekend (a 6-2 loss in Vancouver on Saturday). "It was a very frustrating game for our hockey club," said a puzzled Randy Carlyle afterward. "It just seemed like we lacked the necessary pace that was required to compete in the game and thats mind-boggling." So boggling for Carlyle was the lack of energy following a complete day-off on Sunday. The Leafs allowed a season-high six goals, were shut out for just the second time all season and mustered a mere 18 shots on Sergei Bobrovsky. They also allowed two power play goals for the third time all season, failing to score on a single earned man-advantage. "Maybe a little bit of a wake-up call for us," said Tyler Bozak. "Were getting a little too comfortable." "We talk about outworking teams and tonight, we got outworked," Dion Phaneuf concluded. 2. Reimers evening Two nights after he stopped 49 of 50 shots in a 2-1 shootout victory over Washington did James Reimer yield six goals on 21 shots, hooked late in the third frame against the Blue Jackets. "What can he do?" said a frustrated Carl Gunnarsson of Reimer. "We had a really [expletive] game and hung him out to dry." Defensive breakdowns and odd-man rushes marked the evening, the Leafs netminder often left with little to no chance of success opposite a club that scored four goals combined in the previous three games. "I think that was on par with the rest of our group," Carlyle said of the goaltending from Reimer. "It was a team effort and it was nowhere near what we needed and obviously goaltendings part of that." The league leader in save percentage entering the night, Reimer dipped to a .934 mark, now 6-3-0 on the year. "I dont really have much to say," said Reimer, following his first loss at home this season. "It just wasnt my night tonight. Youll have nights like that where the puck just eludes you. As hard as you work and as much you try and bear down, it just doesnt work out sometimes. Its obviously disappointing when it happens and frustrating, but its just the way she goes." 3. Lacking offence Never a team that shot the puck often – they average 26 per game, third fewest in the league – the Leafs are finding their early luck drying up in recent weeks. Monday marked the eighth time in the past 10 games that they scored two or fewer, their shooting percentage in that span just seven per cent. "I thought we had a lot of zone time tonight," said Bozak. "We were just trying to be too cute and make the extra pass when we did have a chance to shoot." A frequent complaint of the head coach, Carlyle has harped often on the need for his team to shoot the puck with more frequency. The 18 shots on goal against Columbus were the second fewest his team has managed all season (14 vs. Minnesota on Oct. 15). "Were very selective on when we want to shoot the puck," he said after the shootout victory over the Capitals on Saturday. "I would say we have some thick heads." The Leafs have scored just 10 even-strength goals in the past 10 games and sit 20th overall in that regard this season. Of the 63 goals theyve scored thus far, 18 have come with the man-advantage. 4. Lupul hurt Save for the injured Dave Bolland, the Leafs lineup on Monday was about as full as it has been all season. But just as one returned (Tyler Bozak) did another go down. Joffrey Lupul left late in the middle period with a pulled groin. "I dont know what that means," said Carlyle of the injury. "He just said he pulled his groin." 5. Bozaks Return Bozak said the most frustrating aspect of a hamstring injury that kept him out of the lineup for 12 games was the uncertain healing time for it. "Theres no real timetable for it, I guess," he said. "You kind of heal when you do." Bozak was injured on Oct. 25 in Columbus, returning to the lineup against those very same Blue Jackets on Monday night. There was an expectation – even voiced by Randy Carlyle – that the 27-year-old would play against the Capitals two nights earlier, but he remained out, finally activated off long-term injured reserve on Monday. "I wanted to play last game," he said, "[but] the doctors said I shouldnt play and I couldnt play." "Its been tough sitting out," Bozak continued. The hard part is bagging at practice every day pretty much. Youd rather be playing the games then bag-skating after practice, but [the extra couple days] does help. It should be in good shape when I get out there now." Stat-Pack 1 – Even-strength points for Phil Kessel in November. 9 – Number of games without a point for Kessel in the past 11 games. 2 – Number of times the Leafs have been shut out this season. 10 – Even-strength goals for the Leafs in the past 10 games. .934 – Save percentage for James Reimer this season. 74% – Success rate for the Leaf penalty kill in the past 10 games. 6 – Points for Mason Raymond in November, first on the team. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-1Season: 24.3% PK: 2-4Season: 81.5% Quote of the Night "What can he do? Cant blame him for anything. We had a really [expletive] game and hung him out to dry." - Carl Gunnarsson, questioned on James Reimers performance following the 6-0 loss. Up Next The Leafs travel to Pittsburgh for a Wednesday night affair with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Bruce Matthews Jersey . QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (vs Colts)Last week: 30/42, 419 yards, 2 TDsWinners of their last three and now tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Cardinals are worth keeping an eye on. Earl Campbell Jersey . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-7...omens-Jersey/.I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. Custom Tennessee Titans Jerseys . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place. Steve McNair Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored twice and added two assists as the Erie Otters beat the Sarnia Sting 7-3 on Saturday night in Ontario Hockey League action. The Bruins win in OT, the Wild dominate in a 2-1 win and the Kings tell the Sharks to put away the brooms. Scott Cullen has notes on Tatar, Pominville, Hishon, Brown, Voynov and more. GETTING IGGY WITH IT Jarome Iginla deflected a Dougie Hamilton wrist shot off Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser for the overtime winner in the Bruins 3-2 Game Four victory. Boston leads the series three games to one. The night started right for the Red Wings, with goals scored by new fathers Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall (who assisted on each others goals) to give the home side a 2-0 lead, but Torey Krug and Milan Lucic scored to tie the game. Detroit had good news and bad news on the lineup front coming into the game. LW Henrik Zetterberg was deemed ready to play -- his first game since February 8 -- and he logged 19:34 of ice time. The bad news, coming in, was that starting goaltender Jimmy Howard was unable to play because of the flu, leaving Jonas Gustavsson to handle the job. Gustavsson played well, stopping 37 of 40 Bruins shots, and the winning goal was a bad bounce off his defenceman, not something for which he should take blame. Forced to play from behind, the Bruins ended up with better possession stats over the course of the game, with their second and third lines both getting more than two-thirds of the even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice. Bruins D Matt Bartkowski tied for the team lead with six hits in Game Four and his 26:40 of ice time ranked second on the team, behind Zdeno Chara. Red Wings LW Tomas Tatar had a game-high eight shots on goal in 14:41 of ice time. The loss leaves the Red Wings in a 3-1 hole, a deficit that will be very difficult to overcome, particularly with their inability to score. Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Riley Sheahan were three of the Wings most important forwards this season and that trio has yet to record a point through four games. A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE The final score of Game Four between the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild was a 2-1 Wild win, which would denote a close game, but it really wasnt as close as the score appeared. The Wild outshot the Avalanche 32-12 (47-19 in shot attempts), so it was a relatively easy game for Minnesota G Darcy Kuemper, stopping 11 shots to earn the win. Leading the way for Minnesota was the line of Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville, as all three were on for more than 80% of the shot attempts.dddddddddddd Pominville was on the ice for 22 5-on-5 shot attempts for and two against. Coming into Game Four, the Avalanche knew they would be in tough, missing D Tyson Barrie, and they clearly missed Barries ability to move the puck. Ryan Wilson, who was inserted into the Avalanche lineup, was on the ice for 2-of-16 (12.5%) shot attempts at 5-on-5. The series is even and going back to Colorado, but the signs are tilting in the direction of the Wild. Not only are the Avs missing Barrie and C Matt Duchene, but Minnesota has been the most dominant possession team (and Colorado the mirror image) to this point in the first round. In a bit of a feel-good story for the Avalanche, C Joey Hishon, a first-round pick in 2010, made his NHL debut. Hishon suffered a concussion at the 2011 Memorial Cup and has battled injuries since, but he played 6:31 for the Avs in Game Four, getting time on the power play to accompany sporadic fourth-line shifts. STAYING ALIVE Facing elimination, the Los Angeles Kings avoided the sweep with a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. Marian Gaborik and Justin Williams each scored a pair of goals for the Kings, while rookie RW Tyler Toffoli added a goal and an assist. Kings captain Dustin Brown also had a goal and an assist, along with a game-high 10 hits, though he had the worst possession stats of any Kings forward. The Sharks outshot the Kings, 39-31 (43-37 5-on-5 shot attempts), while the defence tandem of Robyn Regehr and Slava Voynov was eaten up. With Voynov on the ice, the Kings had 25% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. With Voynov off the ice, the Kings held 55.4% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts. Sharks G Antti Niemi was chased from the net after surrendering five goals on 26 shots. Alex Stalock only needed to make four saves in 17:46 of action. Sharks LW Patrick Marleau picked up a couple of assists, giving him seven points through four games. Even though the Kings managed to stave off elimination, they have a tall order to catch the Sharks in this series, heading back to San Jose for Game Five and coming out second-best in the series puck possession battle. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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