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ST. LOUIS – The steam oozed off of Dion Phaneuf in the minutes after yet another demoralizing loss, the 12th in 15 games for the sputtering Maple Leafs. It feels awful, said Torontos captain, displaying an unusual bit of public fire after a 3-0 defeat in St. Louis, the capper on an empty trip. It feels absolutely terrible. I dont know what more I can say than when you lose games, when you go through stretches like this, its awful. A hellish four-game road swing ended with four losses and amazingly, for a team that recently led the league in scoring, just a single goal scored. Toronto was outscored 12-1 on the week-long trip through L.A., Anaheim, San Jose and then St. Louis. Not one forward found the back of the net at all, Roman Polak posting the only goal Thursday in San Jose. Were cold as ice right now, said James van Riemsdyk, stuck on 19 goals this season. The list of Leafs gone dry is lengthy. Phil Kessel has just one even-strength goal in the past 18 games and only four total in that same span. Nazem Kadri has gone eight straight without scoring. David Clarkson has one goal in 20 games. Tyler Bozak has one in the past 11. Van Riemsdyk has found the back of the net in just one of the past eight games. Richard Panik hasnt scored in eight games. Mike Santorelli hasnt scored in six. A once devastating power-play - the foundation of offence for Kessel, Bozak and van Riemsdyk – has gone completely cold, 0-11 on the road trip and 2-21 in the past seven games. You cant really let it get to you, said van Riemsdyk, who shot a middle period opportunity over the net of Brian Elliott. As an offensive player youve got to stay confident, stay with it. These things happen; Ive never quite maybe seen it like this. Of late and despite their recent record, the Leafs have not actually played all that poorly. They kept it tight through every step of a difficult trip against a four-some of quality opponents. They limited shots and chances and held tight in terms of possession, but simply never could put the puck in the back of the net. Yeah, but the bottom line is you go home at the end of the night and you didnt win a game, Phaneuf said with some venom. You go home at the end of the night and we didnt win a game in four on a road trip. Yeah, we can draw on positives and we will draw on the positives, but youre asking me how I feel and I dont feel very good. Chasing a share of the division lead as recently as mid-December, the Leafs are now just hanging onto the sight of any playoff spot at all. They trail the Rangers and Bruins by seven points for the two wild card spots, now being nipped at by the Senators and Flyers. Just a day after his second coach in Toronto was fired, Kessel opined on what exactly captured his troubled tenure as a Leaf and it came down to stretches like this. Were always right there every year, Kessel said, and then all of a sudden we just hit these rough patches…You know youre going to lose a couple games here and there, but you cant go on long losing streaks like weve had in the past. I think that happens every year with us and weve just got to somehow kick that. And that may indeed define another failed Leafs season, a one-month run thats seen the club pick up just six of a possible 30 points (3-12-0). Five Points 1. Kadri on the Point One tweak the Leafs have made to jump-start their struggling power-play: re-inject Nazem Kadri onto the point of the first unit. They tried it briefly earlier in the year to no avail, but are looking to Kadri again for a different type of threat from where Phil Kessel operates on the left half-wall. I think we can play from both sides, Horachek said, citing the need for a balanced look, start using [Kadri] on the other side so theres two strong sides instead of just playing from one. Kadri, who hadnt played the point of the power-play since junior, says hes a lot more comfortable in the role this time around. Now I can survey my options a little quicker and know what to do, just feel comfortable backing up in the offensive zone, just little things like that, said Kadri, who is amid an eight-game goal drought. The changes go deeper than that though, especially in contrast to the 24-year-olds usual spot on the left half-wall of the teams second (largely unsuccessful) power-play grouping. You kinda gotta be a little bit of a safety valve on the point, Kadri explained, whereas on the half-wall everything is kind of working through you, and you have layers of structure that if you do turn the puck over theres help. You have a little bit of that on the point, but youve got to be a little more safe and youve got to be an out for those guys down low. 2. Full Value? Roman Polak played the first 424 games of his NHL career in St. Louis, returning to the Scottrade Center for the first time on Saturday. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock observed before the game that neither team had seen the best of a summer trade which brought Polak to Toronto and Carl Gunnarsson to Missouri. I dont think either team has seen the true value of what the players can do because both players have been hurt, Hitchcock said. Polak missed 10 games this season with a knee injury; Gunnarsson limited early after offseason hip surgery and then more recently due to a concussion. I think you wouldve saw a bigger impact with [Roman] if he wouldve stayed healthy from his injury too, Hitchcock said. Polak has a certain element that unnerves the opposition and Gunnarsson has a good element that really makes him a good partner for Shattenkirk. We needed that type of partner for [Shattenkirk]. Its a good trade, but I dont think both teams have seen the full value until these players are both healthy. 3. Polak II Hitchcock said the Blues loved Polak, but needed a different element in Gunnarsson, one that was capable of stepping into their top-four and playing with the under-looked Kevin Shattenkirk – tops among NHL defenders in points entering Saturdays game. Its what you gotta give to get the element that was missing on our team, said Hitchcock. If there is one big shift for Polak in his transition to Toronto its how hes being used or more specifically, how much hes being used. The 28-year-old was a third pairing defender in St. Louis – averaging 17 minutes last season – but with the Leafs hes been strictly in a top-four role, even teaming with Dion Phaneuf on the teams top pair for a night in San Jose. Toronto doesnt have near the talent obviously of Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester at the top of its defence, thus requiring more out of Polak, who is averaging nearly 21 minutes or the most since his first full season in the league (2008-09). Its a different role just to play a little bit more minutes in the game, said Polak, who led the Leafs with more than 24 minutes opposite his former club. He appears better suited to the more limited role he had in St. Louis. Polak holds a 41 percent possession mark since his return from the knee injury last month. 4. Sitting Inked to a three-year deal in the summer, Stephane Robidas sat as a healthy scratch for the eighth time on Saturday night. A look at the numbers might reveal why hes been replaced by Korbinian Holzer for the better part of a month on the Leafs third pair. Even-Strength Possession since Dec. 17 (entering Saturdays game) Korbinian Holzer 49 percent Stephane Robidas 39 percent 5. Shattered David Booth thought his nose was shattered when the right elbow of Ducks defender Sami Vatanen flew up and hit him in the grill. It was just more a shock than anything, Booth said a couple days after the incident I wasnt expecting it. His nose was indeed broken, but curiously and fortunately for the 30-year-old, there was no hint of a concussion. Booth managed to suit up against the Blues sporting a full face shield. When first pegged by Vatanen – who was fined by the NHL – Booth lost balance, was noticeably disoriented and could not make to the bench, let alone the dressing room in Anaheim, without assistance. Booth says it was because of his vision. I couldnt open my eyes which was weird, he said. My eyes were just watering. I couldnt open them so I felt a little off-balance there on the ice, but I knew where I was, I knew what was going on, I just couldnt open my eyes and whenever you cant see you kind of feel off-balance. Stats-Pack 2-10-0 – Leafs record in their past 12 road games. 12-1 – Scoring differential for the Leafs on their four-game road trip. 2-21 – Toronto power-play in the past seven games. 7-12-3 – Leafs road record this season. 9th – Leafs league-ranking in offence this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2 Season: 19.2% (13th) PK: 3-3 Season: 82.6% (12th) Quote of the Night It feels awful. It feels absolutely terrible. I dont know what more I can say than when you lose games, when you go through stretches like this, its awful. - Dion Phaneuf on his feelings after a 3-0 loss in St. Louis. Up Next The Leafs return home to host the Hurricanes on Monday night. Vapormax Canada . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. Vapormax Mens Canada . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/ . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. Nike Air Max Plus Just Do It Orange . Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Vapormax 97 Sale . Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines.PHILADELPHIA - For a team that was dominated at home in front of a national television audience on Thanksgiving, the Dallas Cowboys have plenty of confidence going into their rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles. First place in the NFC East is on the line when the Eagles (9-4) host the Cowboys (9-4) under the prime-time lights Sunday night. Watch the action live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 at 7pm et/4pm pt. The winner takes control of the division while the loser has a tough road to get into the playoffs. If we play like the team we are capable of, we shouldnt have any worries, Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. Just 17 days earlier, the Eagles routed the Cowboys 33-10. But Dallas rebounded with a win at Chicago and has three extra days to prepare for the Eagles, who are coming off a loss to Seattle. We need to be the best version of ourselves this game, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said. I dont think our team played as well as were capable last time. The guys will be ready to go. Having a few more days off, I expect our team to be at our best. The Cowboys lost a winner-take-all game at home to the Eagles in the regular-season finale last year. So, they have extra motivation going for them, a factor that may be a bigger deal for oddsmakers than anyone else. Were not satisfied with the last game, Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr said. Its out of character for us the way we played. Weve got an opportunity to go out there and prove ourselves one more time. The Eagles also have something to prove after the Seahawks snapped their 10-game home winning streak. Theyre only 2-4 against winning teams, including a blowout loss to Green Bay and a last-minute loss to Arizona. Mark Sanchez and the rest of the offence were shut down by Seattles Legion Of Doom defence, holding Philadelphia to just 139 total yards and 18:04 time of possession. Heres some things to watch for Sunday night: MURRAY VS. MCCOY: DeMarco Murray leads the NFL with 1,606 yards rushing while LeSean McCoy is fourth with 1,068. McCoy won the first matchup. He rushed for 159 yards and a TD in the first game and has 474 yards against the Cowboys in the past four meetings. The Eagles held Murray to a season-low 73 yards on Nov. 27. I think theyll come in trying to stop the run, McCoy said.dddddddddddd Im sure theyre not happy about last game. I dont think itll be like that, that type of blowout. ROAD WARRIORS: The Cowboys are 6-0 on the road for the third time in franchise history. Theyve had their two best rushing games on the road and also beat the Seahawks in Seattle, handing Russell Wilson only his second home loss in three seasons. There arent a lot of the distractions that sometimes you have at home, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of the teams road success. And sometimes theres that warrior mentality where you go on the road and you kind of embrace all the challenges that come with it. I think our team has done a good job of that this year. UNDERRATED D-LINE: The Eagles defensive line set the tone for the win at Dallas by controlling the line of scrimmage against a talented offensive line. End Fletcher Cox is having an excellent season and Vinny Curry has a career-best eight sacks coming off the bench in passing downs. Fletcher Cox is a force in both the run and pass, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. Were very happy with Vinny and the production hes given us. Cedric Thornton and Bennie Logan helped stuff Murray the first time around and kept Marshawn Lynch in check last week. FRUSTRATED DEZ: Dez Bryant had only four catches for 73 yards vs. the Eagles two weeks ago and called them cheap afterward. He was visibly frustrated during the game and was seen shouting on the sideline. I guess we got in his head a little bit, Eagles cornerback Bradley Fletcher said. Its not a bad thing at all. When were able to do that, thats a good thing for us. RESTED COWBOYS: While the Eagles played a tough, physical game against the Seahawks late Sunday afternoon, the Cowboys were sitting on their couches and relaxing after a win at Chicago on Thursday night. No doubt the extra time off could help Dallas. As coaches, we try to take advantage of this little bit of extra time, Garrett said. For our players, the biggest thing is to get away from it, get refreshed. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.organd AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi ' ' '