ouve got to stimulate players and staff to try and improve

TORONTO – The punishment would seem to be worth the toll it takes on the body of 31-year-old Tim Gleason. "I shouldnt even say anything," said Gleason with a touch of good humour after the latest Leafs win, "but Ill knock on some wood because the pucks are hitting me. Id rather them hit me than go in the net or have (the goaltender) save 75 shots or whatever the case is." "I guess its being in the right spot or sometimes I think its the worst spot to be." Seemingly numb to the physical destruction his play seems to entail, Gleason blocked five more shots on Thursday night, also dolling out six hits in nearly 24 minutes – a team-high – en route to his teams eighth win in the past 10 games (8-1-1), a 6-3 topping of the Panthers at home. A hard and even nasty presence on a defence that lacked such an element previously, Gleason has been a welcome addition in Toronto, finding a new lease on life with the Maple Leafs. "Gleas has been a guy thats come in and been a heart and soul guy for us," said head coach Randy Carlyle after the win against Florida. "Blocking shots, physical, hard to play against – thats his game. And we dont expect him to do anything more." Just as hed hoped when waiving his no-trade clause to come to Toronto, Gleason has quickly re-energized his career with the Leafs. A member of the US Olympic team in 2010, he was averaging less than 16 minutes for the Hurricanes before being dealt for John-Michael Liles and a prospect earlier this month. Grappling hold of minutes that previously went to the struggling duo of Paul Ranger and Mark Fraser, Gleason, averaging more than 19 minutes, has offered precisely the type of defensive force the Leafs, and more specifically Carlyle, have been searching for. The physical toll hes absorbed in his brief tenure as a Leaf has, at times, been almost excruciating to watch. Notable were the two bruising shots he blocked to protect a one-goal lead and eventual victory in Boston earlier this month. Earlier this week, in a win over Tampa, he endured one painful puck to the nether regions, another to the face, later sustaining a thunderous check into the end-boards by Teddy Purcell, one that briefly injured his left shoulder, but apparently did little to affect his status for this most recent game against the Panthers. "Hes an animal that guy," Nazem Kadri said of the Clawson, Michigan native. "Hell stand in front of anything. Thats important for a team to have, those defencemen, those players who would do anything for the team and thats exactly what Timmy is." Five Points 1. Success at Home Thursday marked the fifth consecutive win at home for the Leafs and 19th in 30 games this season (19-10-1). Toronto owns the fourth-highest winning percentage on home ice (.633) in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Pittsburgh, Boston and Tampa. "I think that as a coach you think you should win every game at home," Carlyle said before the win over Florida. "I think if you look at teams that are winning championships and winning division titles and going deep into the playoffs that they have a little bit of an edge when the opposition comes in. They know that this is going to be a tough place to play. I think were still working towards that." Large in the teams success at home is the offence theyve been able to provide. The Leafs have scored three goals per game at the ACC, half-a-goal per game more than theyve managed on the road. A big part of that attack is the leagues no. 1 ranked home power-play (28.4%), which clicked for a pair against the Panthers, including the 22nd this year for James van Riemsdyk – a career-high – and the 16th of the season for Joffrey Lupul. "I played in the west for a lot of years and I know there were some rinks that you went into that were tough and definitely tough to go into," said Mason Raymond, who has 10 of his 14 goals and 23 of his 32 points this season in Toronto. "I think any team is going to tell you they want to make their home rink a tough one to come into and play hard in." 2. En Fuego – Still Tallying three assists in a night for the first time this season, Nazem Kadri had what Carlyle described as "probably the best game that hes played in a long time at both ends of the rink". Kadri dug pucks free in the Panthers zone on goals from Cody Franson and Nik Kulemin before dishing to Lupul for a late power-play blast. "Offensively, Nazzie was a difference-maker tonight," said Carlyle. The 23-year-old has amassed 12 points in the past eight games and is on pace for 57 points this season. He spent seven of those eight games alongside Kulemin and Lupul, the former joining the pair against Montreal on Jan. 19. With Kulemin – a left shot – playing the right wing and Lupul – a right shot – playing the left wing, the line has gradually come alive. "It seems like Kulie is a better right winger, Lupul is a better left winger, which is kind of mind-boggling at times – ones a right shot and ones a left shot – but thats where they fit," said Carlyle. 3. Bolland Edging Closer Not looking anything like a player who has endured three months of rehab, Dave Bolland continues to push toward a return for the Leafs. Bolland missed his 41st game of the season on Thursday night, but could make it back before the Olympic break – Toronto plays its final game on Feb. 8. "I would think that theres a 50-50 chance," said Carlyle of Bollands prospects on Thursday morning. "He looks like hes moving quite freely out there and for the better part of the skates he doesnt seem to be affected by it. But obviously theres things going on that are inside that are taking a little bit more time." "Youve got to learn how to work that tendon again and work with it," the 27-year-old said recently. Out since Nov. 2, Bolland still has yet to participate in a full practice with the team – an important first step – joining the group at various points for the first time this week. "Its a dramatic injury," Carlyle said. "Its a difficult place to heal. It takes time. And were asking a guy to do something and his body is telling him another and thats when the push and shove becomes where he can take it." 4. Steve Spott Despite losing a slew of veteran players – Mike Zigomanis, Ryan Hamilton, Greg Scott, Will Acton among them – and their head coach Dallas Eakins to the NHL, the Toronto Marlies have remained an AHL force, winning seven of their past 10 games and leading their division once more this season. The man charged with steering a young, mostly inexperienced and overachieving ship is first-year head coach Steve Spott, formerly of the Kitchener Rangers. "I think Steves really good at getting the most out of his players," Troy Bodie told the Leaf Report, the 29-year-old spending 17 games with the Marlies this season. "Hes really patient with them. He knows its a young group and he has the patience to deal with them properly. They have to learn the pro game so theres a lot of teaching involved. I think hes just good at handling them." The Marlies continue to be led in scoring by defenceman T.J. Brennan and boast only two forwards with 10 goals – Spencer Abbott and the now NHL-bound Carter Ashton. Busting with youth, their roster includes 20-year-olds Josh Leivo, Stuart Percy, and Tyler Biggs along with 21-year-olds Greg McKegg, Sam Carrick, Brad Ross, David Broll, and Petter Granberg. And yet they stand atop the North division with 25 wins in 42 games. 5. Hollands Quest for Consistency From a pure production standpoint Peter Hollands second tour of duty with the Leafs hasnt gone quite as well as the first go around. Dealt to Toronto in mid-November, Holland had a string of eight points in one 10-game span, but has just one point in nine games since being recalled from the Marlies earlier this month. Maintaining consistency at the games highest level is a challenge most young players, the Caledon native included, have to overcome. "In the American League you can kind of have nights off and still end up with a goal or two assists or whatever, you can still end up on the point-sheet," Holland told the Leaf Report earlier this week. "But I think the challenge with this level is doing things that may not show up on the score-sheet but that are effective." Holland spoke of the subtler elements of the game, winning one-on-one battles in the defensive zone, grasping the teams defensive system, wearing down the opposition defence with extended offensive zone time and winning faceoffs. "Just all little things that go into having the team overall feel better out there on the ice," he said. With Trevor Smith due back shortly and Bolland pushing the pace en route to recovery (see above), Hollands spot in the lineup would seem to be in impending jeopardy. Still quite young in his NHL career – 60 games – further seasoning with Spott and the Marlies would not be a bad thing. Stats-Pack 22 – Goals for James van Riemsdyk this season, a career-high. 20 – Points for Phil Kessel in January, the highest total for any one month in his NHL career. 7 – Times in the past eight games that Nazem Kadri has recorded at least a point. 4 – Goals in the past 28 games for Mason Raymond, who scored his 14th this season against the Panthers. 12 – Points for Kadri in the past eight games. 28.4% – Power-play success rate for the Leafs at home this season, tops in the NHL. 5 – Blocked shots for Tim Gleason against the Panthers. 8-1-1 – Leafs record in the past 10 games. 8-8 – Toronto penalty kill in the past two games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-3Season: 22.8% (3rd) PK: 5-5Season: 77.7% (28th) Quote of the Night "A few weeks ago it felt like the sky was falling in Toronto. We understood that it was nothing to panic about. We just rallied around each other."-Nazem Kadri, on the Leafs winning eight of the past 10 games. Up Next The Leafs host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Jackie Robinson Jersey . The Swiss won on the fastest run-time tiebreaker after the four-racer teams tied 2-2. Wendy Holdener and Reto Schmidiger won their final heats against Julia Mancuso and Tim Jitloff, respectively. Andre Ethier Jersey . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field. http://www.dodgersteamproshop.com/Dodgers-Ross-Stripling-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice tweeted an apparent goodbye after a report about his pending release. Yasiel Puig Jersey . As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy. The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. Julio Urias Jersey . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014.Englands rugby Grand Slam-winning coach Eddie Jones has given Crystal Palace a motivational talk as they build up to an FA Cup final season finale. Before facing Manchester United in the cup final at Wembley on May 21, Alan Pardews squad have three Premier League matches to get through.Although now unlikely, the Eagles still face the mathematical possibility of relegation and ahead of Saturdays trip to his former club Newcastle, Pardew invited Jones to give his current charges a pep talk on Thursday. If they cant take on board his comments, then were in trouble. Alan Pardew Were still not mathematically safe in the Premier League, so we still have work to do, which is why I asked Eddie Jones to come in, and he had a few words with the team about complacency and about what teams do, said Pardew.Jones was appointed England rugby head coach following the sides dismal early exit from the World Cup and inspired them a few months later to win the Six Nations tournament, clinching their first Grand Slam since 2003 in the process. Pardew, whose side beat Watford 2-1 in Sundays FA Cup semi-final, added: Hes been involved in World Cups with other nations, is a multi-cultural personality, someone who is engaging. If they cant take on board his comments then were in trouble.We share a couple of professional friends. Jeremy Snape [Palace sports psychologist] is one of those, and Eddie asked me about the England rugby team.Weve been quite close since hes been here, and a lot of the views he has on trying to get more from individual players and the group run parallel with my own. Trying to get the best out of his ideas is nice for me. It was nice to have him here: good timing, what with the result we had [defeating Watford]. Jones is happy to offer pointers to Palace The Palace boss revealed Jones visit stemmed from a belief his players would benefit from hearing a new voice, with the talk coming on the same day Teddy Sheringham spoke to the clubs academy coaches and Pardew believes the use of those speakers helps to stimulate his squad.Ive always encouraged other coaches and managers to be involved, with comments from them, Pardew said. The most important point [Jones made] was that great teams can get to finals, but great teams only win finals if theyre great all the time.dddddddddddd. We have to be great this Saturday. That was the main key point I took from him.We cant turn up at Newcastle and let our standards down from Sunday otherwise were doing a disservice to our fans and ourselves. Hes given a lot of examples of how communication between the team and the coaches is important. The players just absorbed it. Its nice to hear it from somebody from a different genre, a different field, carrying the weight he does. Its a position that only great coaches and managers have. Bakary Sako (l), Jason Puncheon and Mile Jedinak (r) of Crystal Palace celebrate victory over Watford I worked it out that [France international] Yohan Cabaye will get a two-week holiday this year. Thats a long time to stimulate a footballer. Same with [my] Wales [internationals at Euro 2016]. Youve got to stimulate players and staff to try and improve yourself.Victory for Palace at St James Park would edge Newcastle even closer to relegation, just 17 months after Pardew left to join Palace at a time when Newcastle appeared reasonably strong. For all that he was an unpopular figure in the north-east, the manager insists he is desperate to see Newcastle survive, and believes they are an improving team again under Rafael Benitez. Alan Pardew wants his players to be up for the Newcastle game Theyre a much stronger team, said Pardew, who will monitor Wilfried Zaha before selecting his starting XI because of a leg injury the winger is carrying.Rafa is a very experienced manager who has managed at the top of the game, and hes got them in a much better place to win this game, and that worries me because my job is to win this game.The club is a beast when its going well, but it can be equally as destructive when things arent going well. At the moment, things are going well, so its a big bear well have to fight. Also See: Pardew: I hope Newcastle survive Wickham: I need to be better Palace fixtures Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '