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TORONTO – Shootouts have proven a nemesis for Jonathan Bernier. Colorado Avalanche Pro Shop . But with a few adjustments on Friday evening, the 25-year-old managed to secure his team an extra point, stopping all three Buffalo shooters in a 4-3 triumph at the ACC. „I just changed a few things and felt more comfortable in net,“ Bernier said after the win, the Leafs fourth straight to end in a shootout. History hasnt been kind to the emerging, young netminder in the skills portion of extra time. Bernier entered the night with eight losses in 11 career shootouts – two of his three victories coming this season – his .500 save percentage amongst the worst of any active goaltender. In the final two games before the three-day Christmas break – both shootout losses – he failed to stop any of the four shots he faced from the Red Wings and Rangers. He was particularly sour with the result after a 2-1 defeat at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, one that saw him backstop the Leafs with an impressive 42 saves. He found a flaw though, with the help of video, and put it to work against the Sabres. „I think I was backing too quick the last two I did and thats the adjustment I made,“ said Bernier, who stopped 32 of 35 shots in regulation and overtime. „They were seeing too much net. I feel Im agile enough to get there and thats where I wanted to get the angle right and take away the net behind me.“ Luck was also on his side. Tyler Ennis hit a bar on the Sabres second attempt while Zemgus Girgensons failed to tuck the puck across the goal-line after beating Bernier with a clever move. Still, it was victory all the same and one the Leafs needed after two defeats to the cellar-dwelling Sabres earlier this season. Bernier improved to 3-4 in shootouts this season and now boasts a .543 career mark. Five Points 1. Unpredictable Coming off a three-day break for the Christmas holidays, Randy Carlyle wondered aloud on Friday morning what type of team might show up against the Sabres. „These games are different games Im going to tell you,“ he said, citing the now CBA-mandated three days off the ice with only a morning skate to speak of. „You never know what youre going to get.“ Unpredictable and inconsistent as they have been all year, the Leafs were under siege for most of the opening period. Buffalo scored twice in a span of 53 seconds and outshot Toronto 15-4 over the final 16 minutes of the first frame. „We self-inflicted a lot of things that happened to us in the first period,“ said Carlyle, highlighting an offensive zone turnover from Joffrey Lupul on Buffalos second goal. „We seemed to be trying to be too cute and played fancy and obviously that wasnt really what we needed to do. We needed to put the puck in and find ways to get through the neutral ice and establish more of a grind game and offensive zone time and we were able to do that in the second period. We were like two different hockey clubs.“ The Sabres 2-0 lead was quickly vanquished. Jake Gardiner, Peter Holland and Phil Kessel all scored in a dominant second frame, one that saw the Leafs outshoot their Atlantic division rival 17-5 while playing with the punishing down-low game they have been searching for all season. „We said theres nothing we can do about the first – it was done,“ Dion Phaneuf said afterward. „We felt that we could play better and we went out and we did that. It was a really big second period for our team.“ The lead nearly survived regulation. But with Phaneuf whistled for hooking in the final minute of regulation, Steve Ott managed to knot the score at three, eventually pushing the Leafs to their fourth straight shootout. „The positive is that we found a way to regroup and get ourselves back on track,“ said Carlyle. „But we have to play 60 minutes like we played the last two periods – as close to that as we possibly can.“ 2. Disdain for Shootouts Carlyle made no secret of his disdain for shootouts prior to the game. „My personal opinion on shootouts is they can take them and they can take it someplace else,“ he said with a hearty laugh. „Id rather see us go to overtime, go to three-on-three, two-on-two to find a winner. I look at it differently than obviously the people that have it in place.“ The Leafs, now 6-4 in shootouts, have won six games since Nov. 19, four of them coming in the shootout. 3. Offence from the Defence A source of some concern in the opening two months of the season, the Leaf offence is finally getting a boost from the back-end. Gardiners second goal this season gave the Leafs six goals from the defence corps in the past 11 games compared with a scant three in the first 29 games. Phaneuf leads the group with three goals this season, Franson pacing the way with 20 points, including a pair of assists on Friday. 4. Necessary Adjustments Paul Ranger played in each of the Leafs first 22 games this season, but over the course of the past month he has bounced in and out of the Toronto lineup. Carlyle said he the rust element for Ranger, following a four-year NHL absence, but „were in the business to win hockey games“. Among the adjustments being asked of the 6-foot-3, 210 pound defender is a more consistent physical dimension. „I think Paul Ranger is a big, hulking man that has got much power as any player that Ive saw – hes that strong,“ said Carlyle of the 29-year-old. „He does things that normal people cant do as far as power. And Id like to see him use that power element on the defensive side of it…“ What the Leafs would like specifically is for Ranger to assert himself with a physical edge in the defensive zone, eliminate the opposition with the size and strength hes accumulated since he last played in the league in 2008. „He has that kind of power and strength,“ Carlyle said. „We think thats the quickest for him to get back to the confidence level that he played at before. We need him to do that for our hockey team.“ Ranger was not that type of defenceman when he played in Tampa for five seasons. „He was an offensive guy,“ Carlyle said of Ranger, who posted a career-high of 10 goals and 31 points in 2007-08. „He was asked to join the rush all the time. And we dont think that that suits his model right now for him to get back to where he was.“ „I think playing consistently,“ said Ranger of needed improvements during a conversation with the Leaf Report. „Just reliable and consistent. And then be able to play my game a little bit more. I guess relax a little bit out there and just play my game like I know I can.“ 5. Christmas Break Reset The Leafs were hopeful that the recent three-day break would offer an opportunity to recharge the batteries with a furious January ahead. „You kind of hit the reset button and get away for a little bit,“ said Franson. „I think thats big for a lot of us right now, just having gone through what we went through the last little while here and trying to find our identity a bit. The breaks big for that, to be able to step away from the game for a couple days and be with some family and think about other things than hockey.“ Stats-Pack 4-8 – Career record for Jonathan Bernier in the shootout. 1 – Regulation victory for the Leafs in the past 19 games. 8 – Points for Peter Holland in the past 10 games, including his sixth goal this season against the Sabres. 6 – Goals from the Toronto defence in the past 11 games. 3 – Goals from the Toronto defence in the first 29 games. 2 – Points from Phil Kessel on Friday, his first multi-point outing since Dec. 7, a nine-game stretch. 5-6-2 – Leafs record in December. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3Season: 22.7 per cent (4th) PK: 0-1Season: 77.9 per cent (27th) Quote of the Night „Do we like shootouts? No.“ -Randy Carlyle, following his teams fourth straight shootout decision. Up Next The Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night, their final game before Wednesdays Winter Classic. Fake Avalanche Jerseys . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Canadiens at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio Montreal 690. The Calgary Flames will see if they can take their recent hot streak on the road when they shoot for a sixth consecutive win Monday night in Montreal. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys .J. — The NHL reduced its penalty against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for signing Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010.DENVER — Reserve J.J. Hickson had 21 points and Ty Lawson scored eight of his 19 in a late fourth-quarter run, helping the Denver Nuggets end the Los Angeles Clippers 11-game winning streak with a 110-100 victory Monday night. The Clippers streak was tied for second-longest in franchise history. Their longest, 17 in a row last season, also was snapped by Denver at Pepsi Center. Kenneth Faried added 18 points and 16 rebounds in a duel in the paint against Blake Griffin, who finished with 26 points and 12 boards. Down 98-96 with 4:21 remaining, Lawson hit a 3-point to give the Nuggets a lead they wouldnt relinquish. It was part of a 14-2 run to close out the game. The Clippers didnt score again after DeAndre Jordans dunk at 3:31. The Clippers had plenty of chances to get back into the contest, but Randy Foye foiled any rally bid — hitting a big 3-pointer and later blocking Reggie Bullocks shot on a drive. Still, it was quite a St. Patricks Day for Griffin. He began the day by being named the leagues player of the week for a third time this season. Then, he went out and scored at least 20 points in a career-best 27th straight game. Chris Paul finished 29 points. He also had seven assists, giving him 5,996 or his career. Hes trying to join Magic Johnson, John Stockton and Isiah Thomas as the only NBA players to go over the 6,000-assist plateau before their 29th birthday. Paul turns 29 in May. The Clippers played the night before, beating Cleveland 102-80, and seemed to fade late in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles was without Darren Collison, who didnt make the trip because of a stomach virus. The team already was missing J.J. Redick (bulging disk), Jamal Crawford (strained left calf). Denver turned in a five-point possession moments after losingg the lead early in the third quarter. Stitched Avalanche Jerseys. Lawson hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and was fouled by Paul, who was incensed over the play and given a technical. Foye made the technical foul and Lawson hit his free throw to make it a 65-63 game. Griffin tumbled all over the court in the first half, dragging down Faried on one sequence — Faried was called for a foul — and ran into a cameraman at halfcourt trying to track down a loose ball. Paul was a bit dinged up as he landed awkwardly on his left leg after a shot in the second quarter, and later was hit in the face by Wilson Chandlers leg when Chandler tried to leap over the Clippers point guard. Paul stood his ground and drew the charge. Denver led 56-53 at halftime despite Paul going for 20 and Griffin adding 16. The Nuggets wore replica uniforms of the 1993-94 team to honour the squad that knocked off top-seeded Seattle in the post-season. Several of the players and coaches from that team showed up for the celebration, including Dikembe Mutombo and LaPhonso Ellis. Ellis and several of his former teammates had dinner the night before with current players to chat about the glory days, when the Nuggets erased a 2-0 deficit to beat the Sonics — then coached by George Karl — in a decisive fifth game. „Fascinating to hear all the stories and add some little details to maybe some unfinished stories,“ Ellis said. „We feel very overwhelmed, flattered and honoured that (the Nuggets) would extend to us an unbelievable gesture.“ NOTES: The Clippers were outscored in second chance points, 23-19. … Nuggets Fs Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur were both called for technical fouls in the first half. … Dan Issel, the head coach of the 93-94 team, brought out the game ball before tip. ‚ ‚ ‚