TORONTO – On the day he was introduced as the bombastic new president and general manager of the Maple Leafs in November of 2008, Brian Burke declared the Mats Sundin era over in Toronto. “He’s going to go somewhere where he thinks they have a chance to win based on my conversations with him,” Burke said almost six years ago to the day. “I don’t think we profile as a team that he’s going to sign with.” Sundin would ultimately land in Vancouver just a few short weeks later, and from the point of his exit, the city of Toronto has been obsessed with figuring out who would fill that void for the Leafs. Tyler Bozak has been the guy at the centre of the debate for the past five years. “If he’s not a no. 1 centre, who is?” Joffrey Lupul questioned. “We don’t have a Ryan Getzlaf so he’s the no. 1 centre. We don’t have Jamie Benn or Ryan Getzlaf or [Sidney] Crosby or [Evgeni] Malkin, but the majority of teams don’t so yeah, he’s our no. 1 centre and we certainly don’t undervalue any of the things he does.” Amongst the top-25 scorers in the league at this moment, and on pace for career-highs in most offensive categories, Bozak is in the midst of his finest season as a Leaf. His booming production though is directly tied to a surge on the power-play, one that’s unlikely to be sustainable for the remainder of the year. Bozak has scored more than half of his 11 goals on the power-play (adding another two shorthanded), quietly navigating into “soft spots” between attention-drawers, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. That was precisely the case over the weekend when he found an opening between Capital forwards, Joel Ward and Jason Chimera, confidently flipping a Kessel feed over an overmatched Braden Holtby. “Obviously when you’ve got guys out there like James, Phil, Naz, and Dion, a lot of attention is going to be on them so I just try and slip under the radar and get to spots where guys aren’t,” he said afterward. But this kind of production isn’t likely to last as triumphantly as it has. Consider that the 28-year-old, tied for second in the league at this point, is currently on pace for 21 power-play goals -- or more than he’s ever scored in a single season. Also remember that Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 24 power-play goals a year ago. Bozak has already matched (through 23 games mind you) a career-high with the six markers on the man advantage. He’s scored on 33 per cent of the 18 shots he’s fired with a 5-on-4 advantage, a trend that will likely right itself over time. Consider that last season he shot just 10 per cent in such situations. The 28-year-old is shooting the puck more often in all situations, though. He’s on pace for nearly 200 shots this year or nearly 80 more than his previous career-high. “I used to look at him as more of a passer when Phil and I played with him, but now you can see he’s a little more comfortable shooting the puck and has a little bit more confidence as far as goal-scoring goes,” Lupul said, citing that increase in confidence as the likely factor behind such a shift. “I think initially he would probably always look to get the puck to Phil and now he’s starting to realize that he can score goals and you can see him getting a little more comfortable going hard to the front of the net and getting some goals there.” “Obviously when you play with guys like Phil and James and when I was playing with Joffrey, you want to get them the puck as much as you can in scoring positions, but I think I’ve learned to take a few more shots,” Bozak added. “And I think I’ve also learned just to find the better areas on the ice where if the puck does come to me I’ll be in a better position to have a good chance of it going in.” Bozak is a historically efficient shooter – career 17.1 per cent – something he says is by design, a recognition of where he figures he’ll be most able to score. “I don’t really take too many shots from the outside in areas where I don’t think I’ll be able to score,” he explained. “I try and limit my shots to the grade-A scoring areas and give myself a good chance to score every time I shoot.” The Leafs are generating more shots with Bozak on the ice this year than a year ago. And they’re also giving up a bit less too. Part of that stems from an increase in offensive zone starts – less time subsequently in the defensive zone – and less time matching up with opposing top lines, but also from what the team believes is defensive improvement on Bozak’s part. “It’s the work he does away from the puck to defend,” Leafs assistant Steve Spott said glowingly. After the worst season his career in the faceoff circle last season – which he attributes to injury troubles – Bozak is also surging there again this year. He’s up to 57 per cent, good for sixth-best in the NHL. The power-play boom does inflate Bozak’s overall production though. Nazem Kadri, whom many are dubbing a disappointment this year, has the same number of even-strength points as Bozak – 11 each through 23 games. That’s outside the top-30 for NHL centremen. All of which reverts back to the argument against Bozak as a bona-fide first line centre, an argument which also hinges around his dependency on Kessel and on his smallish frame – generously listed at 6-foot-1 and nearly 200 pounds. Bozak would be in the lower echelon of top centres in the Eastern Conference alone, comparable with the likes of Derek Stepan and Kyle Turris. Albeit under mostly different management, the Leafs haven’t made it a secret that they’d love to improve in that spot, but as Lupul wisely pointed out, the Getzlafs of the world are found only in the draft (or in restricted free agency where few teams opts to stray). Given the dearth of high-end centres available both now and in the future, it’s likely that Bozak remains there with Toronto, inked for three more years at more than $4 million. “There’s been people saying that the whole time I’ve been here so I’m used to it now,” Bozak said of the no. 1 centre debate. “I don’t really look into too much. I’ve had a couple coaches and a couple GMs here that have had the opportunity to put me in a different role if they wanted to and I’ve stayed where I’ve been for the most part.” “He’s really emerging as a no. 1 centre in this league now, not only offensively as we’ve seen lately but defensively,” Spott said. “I think he’s a highly underrated centreman. He’s great on both sides of the puck and he’s finding that offensive touch now that you want from a no. 1 centre.” The debate continues. Air Jordan 1 España Baratas . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Air Jordan 1 España . The former central defender calmly nodded it down and quietly went about celebrating a win with his staff. For a man who has had a lot on his shoulders this season, it was an appropriate moment. http://www.airjordan1baratas.es/. The 20-year-old overager has appeared in 35 games for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Erie Otters this season, scoring 41 goals and adding 27 assists with a plus-28 rating. Air Jordan 1 Rebajas .ca. Mr. Fraser, I think everyone would like to hear your opinion on what sort of suspension Zac Rinaldo should get. His comment after the game of I changed the whole game, man. Air Jordan 1 Baratas . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground.Foxborough, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Columbus Crew and New England Revolution will renew their rivalry for a crucial Eastern Conference clash at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The contest should have sizable playoff implications as New England, on 45 points, occupies second place, while Columbus, on 43 points, follows closely in fourth place. The Crew are coming off of an important 2-0 home victory over the Montreal Impact, a result that looms large as the club embarks on a three-game road swing. It was incredibly important, said midfielder Ethan Finlay. We did not want to get too far ahead of this game, but we know we have a tough task ahead of us in October, and I think we are excited for it. We had a good road record at the start of the year, and we want to finish strong on the road. The next three games are going to be challenging, but I think we are up for it. New England also enters the contest in fine form, winning six of its last seven in league play. The lone defeat came at the hands of the Crew on Sept. 20, but the Revs managed to bounce back and collect an inspiring 3-2 win at Sporting Kansas City last time out after going two goals down. It was definitely an exciting game, said New England head coach Jay Heaps. For me it was the tale of two halves. I thought our first half was really good. We stuck to our game plan. But after halftime, 10 minutes in you really saww Kansas City put on the full court press and score two goals that we gave them a little bit, and they took it.dddddddddddd You have to give them credit there for taking advantage. I was really proud of how after those goals, we were able to bend and not break. We had the legs at the end and I thought Jermaine (Jones) scored a really great goal. Jermaine had to gut it out. He doesnt fully have the fitness, but I thought his performance was spot on and his goal was much deserved. The Crew went unbeaten in league play during the month of September, claiming 10 points from a possible 12. But three of those games came at home, and the Crew won each of them. I think teams have a difficult time beating us here, especially as of late, Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter said after the defeat of Montreal. We take pride in that, the fans have been great, theyve been behind us and we look to really impose our game on the opponent. You come into a club and you have the ideas that were going to make the home field a fortress and you say all of that but it just doesnt happen by words. You need to make it happen and I think if you look over the second half of the season weve made that happen. Weve been very strong at home these last seven games. Road form has been a different animal for Columbus, but the club can take confidence from its 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium earlier this season. ' ' '