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. Replica Air Max . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Cheap Air Max . This weeks Raptors Report puts a bow on Gays brief, 10-month tenure in Toronto and ponders how his absence will affect the teams offence. Are they a better team without him? In addition to acquiring some valuable cap flexibility, what impact will the four incoming players have this season and beyond? Click here for the Dec. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Cheap Real Air Max . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. Air Max From China . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again.FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS 1. STEVE NASH and STEVE BLAKE (Lakers): Both players are back in the lineup Tuesday against the Timberwolves. Blake had played quite well before he went down and, fingers crossed, Nash (who turns 40 on Friday - Happy Birthday!) tries to see if he can play through Back pain and finish the season. This Lakers season has not gone well with the loss of Dwight Howard, the injury to Kobe Bryant, and of course injuries to Blake and Nash. At the end of the day, this is a franchise that doesnt deal well with losing seasons yet it might be a time to re-invent themselves for the long haul. How these two guys hold up will give them better insight into where things are headed, at least short term, in their backcourt. 2. PAUL GASOL (Lakers): Speaking of this franchise, I think this ship has sailed here. If you can get cap space, luxury tax relief and/or a draft pick, you move him. He still has value, yet I see it diminishing despite him averaging close to 20 points and 12 rebounds a game in January. There is a lot of chatter about the Phoenix Suns making a run at him. Itll be interesting to watch it unfold but bottom line, it would be best for Gasol and the Lakers for him to have a change of scenery. 3. GREG MONROE (Pistons): There are rumblings from the Motor City that they need to look long and hard at what to do with this guy. I really like his game. When given the proper system and supporting players, I feel he has the attributes to help you win. Is he a franchise guy? No, but a very good player? Yes. Hes a positive building piece. I dont see how he can co-exist long-term with Josh Smith and Andre Drummond. Im not a huge Smith fan, nor am I big on the Brandon Jennings bandwagon. These are guys that will get you numbers but Im not sure if they understand what it takes to win on a nightly basis. Monroe can score in the post and has a solid face up game, he can really pass it and his rebounding and lane presence is sound. The Pistons need to figure out what their identity is because right now I see a team with a lot of parts yet with no semblance of the whole in mind. This is a team sport and when I watch them they dont look like one. Monroe is one of the few guys that gets how to play the team game. 4. RAPTORS at KKINGS: Youll hear all the coach and player speak about it being ‘just another game.dddddddddddd I dont buy it for one minute. Any time someone trades you, to some degree theyve given up on you and think they can do better with someone else, thats the reality of sports. The Raptors have benefited greatly with the acquisition of the Sacramento Four while Rudy Gay has played quite well for the Kings. Good for both sides. I expect a very intense game here tomorrow night in Sac-town. Cant wait. More importantly for the Raptors, its a chance to clinch a winning west coast trip (currently 2-1) with a win here before heading to LA to play the very difficult Clippers on Friday. Take care of business. Wont be easy, a lot of emotion will be present. 5. CONGRATS SEATTLE: I have buddies from Buffalo that hit a Super Bowl city each year. Unfortunately, Ive never been able to attend before. This year it worked. I was in Portland on Saturday night and went over to Seattle on Sunday morning before heading over to Salt Lake City to work the Raptors/Jazz game on Monday. My Super Bowl Sunday in Seattle was a total blast. A few quick observations: First, for the Raptors game in Portland, it was a wonderful turnout of Raptor fans from Vancouver area who made the drive over. Awesome support! And secondly, what a joke that an amazing sports town like Seattle doesnt have an NBA team right now. Everywhere I went I saw not only 12th Man signs for the Seahawks but Bring Back our Sonics signs. I couldnt agree more. And finally, once again, I ran into a ton of folks from Vancouver, this time while I was in Seattle. Fun time watching the football game with them and their passion for hoops as well. Ive said it a thousand times before and Ill say it again, weve got to get a team back in Vancouver as well. I travel all around North America and I feel pretty confident saying this, I have a very good sense for what makes a town a good fit for the NBA and there is NO doubt that Seattle and Vancouver fit my profile a whole lot better than many of the current NBA cities. You can fill in your own blanks. Maybe with a new NBA Commissioner in Adam Silver, this topic can be revisited again. It makes too much sense to me. Likely wishful thinking on my part. ' ' '