DALLAS – Standing behind the visitors bench at the American Airlines Center as his team was being pummeled, Randy Carlyle muttered under his breath some of the frustration and disappointment that goes hand in hand with such a thoroughly one-sided defeat. Authentic Ante Zizic Jersey . "It gets passed a point of mad and frustration," said Carlyle, bearing the look of a baffled head coach. "It just gets to a point of disappointment and what the heck is going on out there. Those are the things that bring you back to Earth in a hurry. "This is the thud." Toronto hadnt won seven straight in more than 10 years. Thumped 7-1 by Jamie Benn and the Stars in Big D on Thursday night, theyll have to wait at least a little longer to do it once more. The Stars exploded for four goals in an imbalanced middle frame – Benn with a pair of assists – wrestling complete control of a tilt that featured on a whole lot of ills from the visiting hockey club, including a host of turnovers and slew of lost battles. "We didnt really have anything going for a good part of the hockey game," said Carlyle. "We turned the puck over. We didnt make strong plays. We looked like we were a step behind the Dallas hockey club tonight. They skated and we didnt." Considering their recent string of success – the longest win streak by the club in more than seven years – the lacklustre effort seemed to come out of nowhere and was more in line with much of the disappointment and inconsistency that plagued the seasons first half. "It might help put us back down to even-keel here," said Tyler Bozak afterward. "We were pretty confident and maybe a little overconfident after that win streak we had." "Its the management of success as well as well as management when youre not having success of how to remain on an even-keel," Carlyle said. "Obviously we didnt do a very good job of that in our performance tonight." All the elements that flourished so prominently during the six-game win streak disappeared in a hurry. The goaltending had a rare off-night. The previously scorching top line was silent and burned often on the other end. And the power-play, so prominent in the past week and really all season, was a large negative, empty in three attempts with a shorthanded goal against. Blown out in Carolina two weeks ago to the day, the Leafs responded with some of their best hockey, eventually rallying with this most recent win streak. Theyll be looking for more of the same when they visit the suddenly resurgent Jets to conclude the road trip on Saturday. "Weve got to find a way to pick ourselves back up because we cant let this linger with our group," Carlyle concluded. Five Points 1. Rare Off-Night in Goal Between Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer, goaltending has been a strong point for the Leafs all season and more recently during the six-game win streak. But on this night that elite level of performance was nowhere to be found (though they lacked much help). Bernier was bounced for just the second time all season following the third Dallas goal – 13 shots – a redirected Benn point blast that snuck through the five-hole of the 25-year-old. He was replaced by Reimer, who fared no better, yielding four more goals on just 15 shots. "I think they fit in with the rest of our team," said Carlyle of the goaltenders. "Im not going to throw those guys [under the bus] any more than the rest of the group. We just didnt have anything going. We just didnt have it." Leaf goaltenders owned an impressive .932 save percentage during the six-game run, but were hammered for seven goals on 28 shots against the Stars. 2. Top Line Finally Silenced The trio of Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak combined for 12 goals and 25 points during the win streak, but they were completely silenced in Dallas. The line failed to generate much of anything against the Stars – combining for just four shots – while also being burned for four goals against on the other end. "We werent skating. We werent winning battles. We were getting outsmarted pretty much all over the ice," said Bozak. "Especially our line – we were terrible. They outplayed us in every facet of the game. Its just one that weve got to put behind us." Prior to the game, Carlyle described their recent success as more expectation than surprise. "Check the size of their pay cheque," said Carlyle with good humour. "Arent they supposed to do that? Thats what theyre paid to do. Thats the bottom line. The reality of it is they are paid to provide offence and I guess theyre doing their job." Kessels potent seven-game point streak was snapped in the loss. He had six goals and 14 points in that span, but was held to two shots on Thursday. 3. Lupul at LW After residing on the right wing for the better part of a month – mostly due to injuries – Joffrey Lupul has, in recent days, returned to his more comfortable left wing. Lupul spent the past three seasons on the left side, moved there at the request of former Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. Randy Carlyle noted Thursday morning that Lupul "seems to be much more comfortable on the left side than the right side". The reasons why, as explained by Lupul himself, start in the defensive zone. "Im better in my own zone for sure," he told the Leaf Report on Thursday morning. "I find it easier to get the puck out on the wall – which a lot of guys dont. I dont why necessarily I do, [but] I find it easier to protect the puck and play better in my own end." Additionally, the 29-year-old believes he is a more dynamic threat offensively streaking down his off-wing. "I think Im a much better passer off the left side," said Lupul. "[Playing there] just gives me a chance to use my body again to protect the puck whereas on the right wing I feel like Im kind of skating with the puck exposed and it can get knocked off a lot. And it just gives me a chance to buy myself that extra second, whether it be to shoot or to pass." 4. Wrong Direction Hes unquestionably been felled by some particularly rough outings from his teammates, but Reimers season has gradually turned in the wrong direction just as Bernier has clutched hold of the crease. The 25-year-old burst out of the gate with a .949 save percentage in October, but has trended downward ever since. Reimer has started three games in January, while stepping in for Bernier in two others, owning an unflattering .875 save mark in the opening month of 2014. Month Save Percentage October .949 November .916 December .909 January .875 5. Clarkson & Other Injury Updates Missing his fourth consecutive game with an elbow injury, David Clarkson isnt due to return to the Toronto lineup until next week. Clarkson had been playing with an infection in his elbow since December and required minor surgery last week to alleviate the issue. Frazer McLaren meanwhile, out the past five games with a bruised shoulder, was due to meet the team in Winnipeg on Friday. Trevor Smith, sidelined since the middle of December with a broken right hand, is expected to start skating with his teammates next week. Stats-Pack 4 – Goals scored against the Leafs top line on Thursday. 2 – Number of times in 32 starts that Jonathan Bernier has been pulled this season. 7-14-2 – Leafs record when failing to score the first goal. 2 – Number of games this season in which the Leafs have allowed seven goals. .750 – Save percentage for the goaltending duo of Bernier and Reimer against the Stars. 11-8-1 – Leafs record versus the Western Conference this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 22.5% (4th) PK: 1-2Season: 77.5% (28th) Quote of the Night "This is the thud." -Randy Carlyle, on being brought back to Earth in Dallas. Up Next The Leafs conclude their four-game road trip in Winnipeg on Saturday night. Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. Authentic Kyrie Irving Jersey . -- The Denver Broncos locked up a shutdown cornerback, only his name wasnt Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. http://www.cheapcavaliersauthenticjerseys.com/ . Now, the hottest team on the ATP are pointing their sights on qualifying for the eight-team season finals in London next November. Pospisil has now established the year-end World Tour Finals as the benchmark for a breakthrough season, with Pospisil and Sock provisionally standing ninth.TORONTO - Dwane Casey says his New Years resolution is to cut back on his use of profanity. Lately his team hasnt given him much to curse about. The Raptors have won four straight, nine of their last 12 games, and the NBA has taken notice, awarding Casey Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honours for December. Heading into the month, Casey - like everyone else on the teams payroll - was on the hot seat after a 6-12 start forced Masai Ujiris hand and prompted the first of what seemed to be a series of franchise-altering transactions, the trade of Rudy Gay. Since then and to the surprise of most observers, Caseys club has turned a corner, playing the best and most harmonious basketball of his three-year tenure. Still, the Raptors coach is a long ways from taking any credit for his or the teams recent accomplishments. "I dont give a crap," Casey exclaimed following Wednesdays upset win over Indiana, briefly disregarding his New Years promise after he was asked about the personal satisfaction that may come out of his team success. "I mean, its not about me. Its about that team in there, in that locker room. Im going to be in coaching for a long time so its not about me, its about those guys." No, hes not going to take any credit, but he deserves a whole lot of it. The 56-year-old head coach has held his team together during what could have been, and likely should have been, their most trying period of time. Forced to bid farewell to their (arguably) most talented player and welcome in four new teammates after a rare early-season trade, the Raptors found themselves in a place of uncertainty. They were a franchise in limbo. Many believed Ujiri would immediately clean house, beginning with starting point guard Kyle Lowry, and perhaps even Casey, both in the last year of expiring deals. In spite of the obvious and understandable off-court distractions that hovered over them, Casey kept his troops focused. They remained upbeat, maybe more so than ever before, and continued to fight the good fight. The results speak for themselves. "I know, to win in this league you have to be a physical, bad-behind team," Casey said, staying in line with his resolution after the Raptors closed out December with a comeback win in Chicago, finishing the month with an 8-6 record. "Im not going to let up, Im not going to relent from that because thats who we are, its who weve got to be." All 15 players have bought into what Casey has been selling. They have defeated the best team in each conference and engineered four comeback victories on the road in a span of six games. Still, they remain grounded, focused and hungry for more. "The two wins [are] great but it would have been nice to finish with one more," Amir Johnson had said after a hard-fought loss in San Antonio, coming off a pair of surprising road wins over Dalllas and Oklahoma City. Authentic LeBron James Jersey. "We cant settle." "Its a process," Casey says so often that the words have lost their meaning, but it has been and continues to be a process. DeMar DeRozan, the teams leading scorer, has never participated in a playoff game or been part of a winning team. Johnson hasnt won since he was a spectator on the contending Pistons teams. Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, both starters, are barely a third of the way into their second season as NBA pros. Somehow Casey has this group believing they can win, behaving like theyve been in this situation before and for the most part, they havent. From Caseys standpoint, nothing has changed. His approach remains the same, his work ethic is still unmatched but like anything else in professional sports and in life its about taking advantage of the right opportunity. Finally, the Raptors third-year head coach is getting the chance to show what he can do with a healthy, stable rotation. In his first season with the team, the lockout-shortened campaign of 2011-12, Casey overachieved despite using 20 different starting lineups and losing 124 man-games to injury. In many ways last season was three-in-one, as Casey has called it. The Raptors used 22 different starting units in 2012-13, losing 163 games to injury while navigating through the deal that brought Gay to Toronto midseason. Through 30 games this season, the team has had the benefit of good health, losing just five games to injury. As a result, Casey has started four different five-man units. In return for Gay, Ujiri was able to acquire four veteran players, three of which have been featured in Caseys nine-man rotation, the first consistent rotation he has felt comfortable using consistently over an extended period of time. "Guys are playing their role, guys are producing, that makes any rotation easier when guys produce," Casey said earlier this week, deflecting the credit once again. Since the trade, a vast majority of Caseys bold coaching decisions have paid off. Moving Ross to the starting lineup, cutting Tyler Hansbroughs minutes to include Patrick Patterson in the rotation, utilizing veteran forward John Salmons over Landry Fields and Steve Novak, rotating Ross and Salmons to close games, theyve all contributed to the teams recent surge. As they embark on another challenging road-trip - visiting the red-hot Wizards, defending champion Heat and conference-best Pacers - the Raptors sit atop the Atlantic Division for the first time (this late in the season) since 2007. That was also the last year a Raptors coach was named Coach of the Month. Casey becomes the third coach in franchise history to receive the honour, joining Lenny Wilkens (April 2002) and Sam Mitchell (January 2007), who went on to win the NBAs Coach of the Year award that season. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '