e got a split in Pittsburgh and thats what we wanted,"

TORONTO – His teammates have said all the right things. Theyve defended him, branded the furious finger-pointing as unfair and claimed that they, not he alone, were responsible for the anxious beginnings of a slide that nearly and may still sweep them out of the playoff picture in the East. With Jonathan Bernier sidelined for the remainder of the regular season – he has an MCL strain in his left knee and will be out three weeks – the Maple Leafs will turn once more to the beleaguered, doubted and frequently dissected James Reimer in what may be his final days as a Leaf. But their goal of reviving playoff hopes that simmer tepidly with four games left dont rest solely on his 26-year-old shoulders. "Now its about time we have his back and step up to the plate," said Nazem Kadri defiantly after a much-needed overtime win against Boston on Thursday night. That wasnt the case the first time around. Reimer, who hasnt won a start in more than two and a half months, may have struggled badly in his first rescue attempt for Bernier last month – he posted an .871 save percentage in five starts (all losses) – but he was deserted on an island through much of the wreckage. Of the 18 goals he allowed in relief of his younger counterpart, four came via breakaway, two via odd-man rush and two more from the back-door with little to no opportunity for a save. "At that point when we were losing the team in front of him just couldnt bring it together and figure things out and obviously the goalies left out there to dry by himself," Kadri said. "We didnt play too good as a team," Carl Gunnarsson concurred. "We didnt help him out." That will have to change, starting Saturday when the Leafs host the Jets in the final regular season game at the ACC this spring. Trailing Detroit and Columbus for the final two wild card positions in the East, their hopes cannot rest on Reimer alone – especially at a point when his confidence has sunk to its lowest at the NHL level. Improvement isnt likely to magically appear in the teams defensive play – a struggle from start to finish – but the glut of glaring and often fatal mistakes needs to be kept to a minimum. Errors like two-time Rocket Richard winner Steven Stamkos being left alone to score three goals or Gustav Nyquist burning away for a pair of breakaway markers on the same night. Until recently, Bernier proved an acrobat at masking such deficiencies, piling up eight wins when he faced more than 40 shots in a game this season. Those theatrics, however, have evolved into expectation in Toronto, an unfair burden that became Reimers to shoulder when Bernier went down with a groin injury last month. The situation may have bubbled over in Detroit on Mar. 18. It was after that game against the Red Wings – a 3-2 loss for the Leafs – that head coach Randy Carlyle described his struggling goaltenders performance as "okay, just okay", comments that ignited a firestorm back home. While he later downplayed the remarks – addressing them with Reimer personally a day later – Carlyles blunt post-game observation seemed to ignore the manner in which Reimer was beat that night – two of the three goals came via the Nyquist breakaway, the third circa the odd-man rush – and thereby singled out the goaltender on a night when he was left alone on far too many occasions. It was the culmination of doubt which has surrounded Reimer upon his landing in Toronto for good in January 2011. "Its a non-issue as far as were concerned," Carlyle said Friday of the since quieted controversy. Reimer hasnt won a start since Jan. 21. Like his teammates, his level will need to rise substantially from where its been for the Leafs to have any hope of spicing up a late season race. For all the follies of those around him during the spiral last month, he could not deliver the one or two timely, game-changing saves needed most nights for success. That will have to change in the days ahead. A restricted free agent and almost certainly playing elsewhere next season, Reimer wondered before Thursdays surprise relief appearance if he had seen his last game as a Leaf. Now comes one final (in all likelihood) opportunity to exit on a positive and perhaps even uplifting note – if he and the Leafs can somehow defy the odds and get into the playoffs. "Honestly right now theres lots of thoughts swirling in your head about a lot of things," he said ahead of a clash with the Jets, "but now its just time to stop the puck. It doesnt really matter what transpires after the season or all that white noise per se. All Im trying to do is just play my best, get those two points (Saturday), and then go on to Florida. Try not to think about other stuff." "Ive had a lot of success in the past and had to carry the load in different scenarios and Ive been successful in that. I feel confident." Jrue Holiday Jersey . The traditional pre-Masters event was halted early due to inclement weather. Harrington, who tied for first in 2003 and won in 2004, became the first three-time champion of the event. Anthony Davis Pelicans Jersey . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Customized/. Even if he is shooting 38 per cent from the field overall this season, the Utah Jazz rookie always feels like his final shot is going in. Jahlil Okafor Jersey . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland. ETwaun Moore Pelicans Jersey . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career.PITTSBURGH -- Matt Calverts first career playoff goal gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a badly needed boost. His second ended 4,493 days of futility for a franchise that is quickly morphing from laughingstock to something considerably more potent. Calvert banged his own rebound past Marc-Andre Fleury 1:10 into the second overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets earned their first Stanley Cup playoff win with a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Fleury stuffed the initial shot by Cam Atkinson but Calvert stood all alone at the left post. His first shot went into the goaltenders right pad. He roofed his second into the top of the net to even the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at one game each. Game 3 is Monday in Columbus. "You always dream about being the hero in overtime," Calvert said. "We battled for it and it didnt come easy. We were down a couple goals at different times. The penalty kill was great when it had to be and its just a great feeling right now." The Blue Jackets trailed 3-1 after the first period, but Calverts short-handed goal 7:31 into the second changed the game completely. "It gave hope to our guys," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "It was 3-1 at the time and we scored to make it 3-2. You could feel it on the bench. After that I felt we played a very strong game." Looked like it. Jack Johnson eventually tied it with 6:01 left in regulation. Ryan Johansen also scored the first playoff goal of his career for Columbus. Sergei Bobrovsky overcame a shaky start to finish with 39 saves. Brian Gibbons scored twice and Matt Niskanen added his second goal of the playoffs, but Pittsburgh was outplayed for much of the final three-plus periods. Fleury made 41 stops but was helpless on the game-winner. "We have to be better," said Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby, who had two assists but was held without a goal for the second straight game. "Thats really, I think, the bottom line. Right on through, whether its special teams or 5-on-5 we have to be better." The Penguins have dropped four straight home overtime playoff games and blew a chance to take a 2-0 series lead when they failed to bury the Blue Jackets early on. Pittsburgh, the best power play team in the NHL during the regular season, went just 1 for 8 with the man advantage, including 0 for 2 in overtime. Even worse, Columbus has two short-handed goals in as many games. Both teams traded quality chances in the first overtime. Bobrovsky made an excellent blocker save on Crosby racing ddown the right wing and got a piece of Lee Stempniaks rebound.dddddddddddd. Fleury stuffed R.J. Umberger from point-blank range earlier in the period. There was no back-and-forth in the second extra session. Brandon Dubinsky started the winning play by finding Atkinson in front and Pittsburghs defence offered little resistance until the puck was on Calverts stick for the winner. "We stuck with it and we just kept playing and kept going and we got a split in Pittsburgh and thats what we wanted," Calvert said. The Penguins knew they couldnt afford a repeat of the first 21 minutes of Game 1, when the Blue Jackets knocked them around while streaking to a two-goal lead before Pittsburgh rallied to escape. This time, the start wasnt the problem for the Penguins. It was everything else. Gibbons scored the first two playoff goals of his career 54 seconds apart -- including a nifty short-handed breakaway in which he undressed Bobrovsky -- to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead before the game was 5 minutes old. The giddiness didnt last long, for the Penguins or Gibbons. Johansen scored before the power play expired and Gibbons, elevated to Pittsburghs top line midway through Game 1, did not return after colliding with Johansen midway through the first period. While a Niskanen shot from the point with 2:08 left in the first restored Pittsburghs two-goal edge, it only seemed to galvanize the Blue Jackets. The Penguins earned back-to-back power plays early in the second period and somehow lost momentum. Some lethargic Pittsburgh passing set up a 3-on-1 short-handed breakaway for the Blue Jackets, with Calvert beating Fleury to bring Columbus within one. The disjointed effort by the Penguins deflated the bench and the building. The wave carried over into the third, with Columbus eventually drawing even on Johnsons power-play goal with 6 minutes to go before Calverts winner gave Columbus a taste of playoff success after 13-plus years of waiting. "Its a big step for us as a group and an organization," Calvert said. "It felt great, and Im sure were going to enjoy it tonight, but its a long series." NOTES: The Blue Jackets scratched forward Nick Foligno once again with a lower body injury but Foligno is optimistic hell be able to return for Game 3. ... Crosbys two assists moved him into third on the teams career post-season scoring list. He now has 108 post-season points, trailing Jaromir Jagr (147) and Mario Lemieux (172). ... Columbus D Fedor Tyutin missed the third period and overtime due to an undisclosed injury. ' ' '