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At the morning skate, head coach Randy Carlyle insisted Tuesdays poor effort against the Florida Panthers would not be soon forgotten, calling for a bounce back performance on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a similarly dubious start – failing to register a shot until the 9:50 mark of the first period – the Leafs turned things around, controlling much of the final 50 minutes en route to a 4-1 victory. "Huge, big," said Jonathan Bernier on the importance of the win. "I thought we started slow a little bit but when we got that power play we got our legs and momentum back." While the Leafs did not score on the power play late in the first period, it did shift the play into the Lightning end consistently for the first time after Toronto was on their heels in their own zone for much of the first ten minutes. "Definitely," said Carlyle, agreeing that that was when the momentum turned. "We didnt have anything going for ourselves but then we hemmed them in their zone, we had the puck in their zone for probably a minute and a half. Didnt score on it but we created some momentum for ourselves and thats when we started to play." The win brought the Leafs to within one point of the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with one game remaining for each team prior to the Olympic break. "Well outside of the first ten minutes, I thought we played a pretty solid game," said Carlyle. "We gave up some chances but we created some chances with our forecheck and we were opportunistic in the hockey game. We needed a response from our effort the other night and we got it tonight." Five Points 1) Shifting The Lines For the second straight game, Carlyle experimented with his line combinations, this time right from the start. Dressing eleven forwards (only three centres) and seven defencemen, Carlyle found a recipe that yielded three dangerous lines throughout the game. van Riemsdyk - Bozak - KesselLupul - Kadri - ClarksonRaymond - Kulemin - BodieMcLaren - McClement Gunnarsson - PhaneufGardiner - FransonRielly - GleasonRanger Carlyle employed Jay McClement on the second and third lines in key defensive zone faceoff situations and cycled Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson through as the extra wingers on the fourth line. "We tried to create a little more balance," said Carlyle. "With Clarkson coming back into the line up, we felt we could move him up. Kulemin going to the middle allowed him to use his strength and ability to get on pucks. Bodies been playing very well and we felt that we owed him more minutes and when you have Mason Raymond on that line, they can create things." The experiment, which Carlyle indicated had been considered for a couple of days, paid off for the Leafs with each of the top three lines contributing a goal. 2) Gleason, Bernier Take Umbrage To JT Brown With less than two minutes left, JT Brown drove to the net with the puck, running over Jonathan Bernier, creating a scrum behind the net after Bernier and then Gleason took offence. "Its a 4-1 game and theres a minute and a half left and you can see hes doing it on purpose to run into me," said Bernier. "I just didnt like that move." "I guess he could pull up a little bit, didnt look like he was stopping anytime soon," added Gleason, who drew praise from Bernier for stepping in to defend him. The ruckus even drew Lightning netminder Cedrick Desjardins from his net but Bernier admitted he never had a notion to engage him. "Yeah I saw him, but at this point in the season, you dont want to get hurt," said the Leafs goalie. "You have to make the right decision." 3) Paul Ranger Returns To Tampa Paul Ranger had not played since January 7 against the New York Islanders – a span of 14 games – but drew back in against the Lightning when Randy Carlyle opted to dress seven defencemen. Making the return even more significant was the fact that it came in the building Ranger spent the first five years and 270 games of his NHL career before taking a three year sabbatical from the NHL. "Heck yeah it does, a lot," Ranger said on TSN 1050 Radio at the first intermission when asked if his return to Tampa meant anything extra to him. Ranger said he got the news that he would play just before the warm up, a gesture from Randy Carlyle that he sincerely appreciated. "I thanked (Carlyle) for letting me play in this game and giving me an opportunity to contribute," Ranger said after the game. 4) Gleason Gives His Dad a Show Eleven years in the NHL has afforded Tim Gleason the opportunity to bring his dad Kevin on several team road trips. But they hadnt been fruitful trips until tonight. "Long story short, my Dads been on about seven or eight of these ("Dads trips") and we have yet to win one until tonight," said Gleason. "So Im going to have a beer with my dad on the plane." 5) Gone Fishing The Maple Leafs took advantage of their afternoon between games in the Sunshine State on Wednesday to embark on a fishing trip with their fathers organized by Paul Ranger, who became familiar with the sights in Tampa Bay during his five season spent with the Lightning. "I havent done much fishing in my lifetime; I was kind of a newbie," said Nazem Kadri, who caught a small shark. "But it was fun, especially being out with the guys, pretty much the whole team went so it was good just to be surrounded with that environment and have some fun with it." Accompanied on the trip by expert guides, Cody Franson explained that he enjoyed learning about some of the strategy behind successful fishing. "Fishing with guides, it was pretty interesting to see the sport behind fishing," he said. "We go fishing back home and sometimes you go out for three or four hours and dont catch anything but these guys, its a game for them and they know what theyre doing out there." Jake Gardiner, who grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, said his father John is far more of an experienced fisherman than he is, though he had some success of his own, with a couple of different bites. Holding onto them proved harder than catching them though. "I was surprised about how slimy those things were," Jake explained. "I dropped it once and could barely hold onto it the second time. Its not like fishing in Minnesota, theyre a lot slimier here, I think they need that to survive." Stats Pack: 9:50: Leafs register their first shot; made it 6-1 Lightning at the time12-9: Shots after first period in favour of Leafs36-34: Total shots in favour of Leafs44-22: Faceoff wins in favour of the Lightning3/14: Kulemins night in the face off circle, centering Raymond and Bodie12:52: Ice time for Ranger in his first action in 14 games12:21: Ice time for Bodie1: Power play opportunity for each team14: Penalty minutes incurred by Tim Gleason, stepping in to defend Jonathan Bernier after the netminder was run over by JT Miller late in the third period Quote of the Night: "Id rather a guy pull me out of the pile and do something instead of fill me knowing that Ive got no hands. It is what it is; hes frustrated but at least pull me out of the pile and do it than throwing them from nowhere. We got two points so I could care less really." – Tim Gleason on Radko Gudas jumping into the scrum that developed after JT Brown ran over Jonathan Bernier Up Next: The Maple Leafs return home to Air Canada Centre to face the Vancouver Canucks at 6pm on Saturday night. The Canucks beat the Leafs 4-0 on November 2 in their previous meeting, the same game David Bolland went down with a severed tendon. Vita Vea Jersey .Y. - Terry and Kim Pegula have no immediate plans to tinker with their new NFL team. Jameis Winston Jersey . - Pete Rose didnt want it to be about him, not on a day when four new members were elected to baseballs most exclusive club. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Mike-alstott-buccaneers-jersey/ ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. Lee Roy Selmon Jersey . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China.DUNEDIN, Florida - Melky Cabrera envisioned the worst-case scenario when he was diagnosed with having a benign tumour in his back. "I thought he was going to pass away, I was going to die, I was going to leave his kids behind and his family," said Cabrera through third base coach Luis Rivera, translating Spanish to English. "I know one day hes going to die but I wasnt ready to do that yet." It was a harsh dose of reality for Cabrera not long after turning 29 last August 11. It was a strange time. Finally, Cabrera had a proper diagnosis for the knee tendinitis and quadriceps inflammation that had sent him to the disabled list earlier in the season. But to that point, Cabrera couldnt understand why hed been rendered relatively immobile on the field. The tumour, which if left untreated would have continued to grow and could have ended up wrapping itself around Cabreras spinal cord causing paralysis, even death, was about the size of a walnut at the time it was surgically removed. The scar on Cabreras back is about five inches long and runs straight down the spinal column. "I was worried because of the way I was playing and the pain I was feeling in my legs and his back," Cabrera said through Rivera. "I didnt know what was wrong with me until I they decided to check. I found out, my family and myself, it was a tumour. They didnt know if it was benign or cancer and we were real worried." Once the stiches came out ten days after the surgery, Cabrera immediately began working out. He started slowly, capped at curls with 15 and 20-pound dumbbells. By December, Cabrera had moved his offseason home to Tampa. Teammate Jose Bautista lives in the area and the two began two-a-day workouts immediately, including cardio and weight training in the mornings and baseball related activities, namely hitting, in the afternoon. Cabrera is plenty motivated to have a bounce back season. Limited to 88 games last year, he posted a .279/.322/.360 slash line. He was coming off a 50-game suspension in 2012 for performance enhancing drug use. Now in the final year of the $16 million, two-year contract, Cabrera is playing for his next deal while trying to shake a shady past. In solid physical shape and moving better than he has in more than a year, Cabrera is reunited with his hitting coach from three seasons ago in Kansas City, Kevin Seitzer. "Im real happy that hes here," said Cabrera through Rivera. "Hes a real good hitting coach. He knows what kind of swing I have and he can work with me better." NAVARRO CATCHES BUEHRLE Asked before Fridays game if he could remember catching a pitcher who works as quickly as Mark Buehrle, Dioner Navarro didnt waste any time responding. "Nobody," he said. Navarro wouldnt offer a prediction of how things would go, which necessitated a follow up when he left the game after six innings. "On the positive side I dont have to do conditioning now," joked Navarro. "It was fun. I think hes still trying to build in as spring training goes along. I dont think he was throwing as hard as he can.dddddddddddd His mechanics looked fine. The ball was coming out fine. He likes to work fast, thats for sure." Buehrle threw two innings, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out one and walked one. "First thing I told him when we met, I said, Listen, I dont shake off, so I like the sign down and hope youve got a game plan back there, because I dont really go over one, I dont follow one, so I just kind of go off [the catchers signs]," said Buehrle. "Thats big for them to know the hitters and know what I like to throw in certain situations. So far, were just working on some stuff right now and getting his feedback on certain pitches that Im throwing, so its good." Buehrle sat in on a handful of advanced scouting meetings two years ago in Miami, at the request of then-Marlins pitching coach Randy St. Claire, but felt he wasnt benefitting from the information. Hed prefer if Navarro and pitching coach Pete Walker worked out the plan. Hell just throw the pitches, joking that if things go wrong it leaves the blame on the catcher. "We take the blame," said Navarro. "Hey, its been like that for 100 years. When somebody does good, good job. When something goes bad its the catchers fault. Ive got no shame on that. I take the blame. Its okay with me." IZTURIS ACCEPTING OF BACK UP ROLE As long as the regulars stay healthy, Maicer Izturis will find himself back in the role he had with the Angels. Hell play some second base, some shortstop and some third base and be a late-game option off the bench for manager John Gibbons. "Ive been in that situation before in Anaheim with Aybar and Howie Kendrick," said Izturis. "For me, Im coming in ready to help the team win. I just want to make the playoffs and win that thing. I think weve got everything here. We need to just compete." A 10-year veteran, Izturis also is serving as a mentor to Ryan Goins, who ended last season as the Jays second baseman and is expected to have the starting job when camp breaks. "Just be consistent, play good defense," said Izturis of his advice to Goins. "Hes got the same game that I do. Just play defense, move the runner, take some pitches, play for the team. Weve got a lot of players with power and speed. Thats what I try to tell him to help him understand his game." Izturis is fully healed following a season-ending ankle sprain late last August. He began running the bases and taking ground balls in November. LINDS BEARD GETTING ATTENTION Adam Linds goatee is being compared to the beard worn by former professional wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Shown a photo of Neidhart, Lind laughed and said, "Hes got a better tan." KRATZ DOES COMMERCIALS Check out these three commercials featuring new Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz, done last year in Philadelphia for Godshalls Quality Meats. 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