Three penalties kind of takes you right out of the

TORONTO -- Things looked bleak for the Maple Leafs, coming off a losing performance in St. Louis that coach Randy Carlyle termed "brain-dead" and with the league-leading Chicago Blackhawks in town. But the form sheet was thrown out the window Saturday as Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland each scored twice and combined with linemate Mason Raymond for 11 points to lift Toronto to a commanding 7-3 win over the Stanley Cup champions. Toronto lost 6-3 to the Blues on Thursday with the scoreline flattering the losers. Toronto had played a strong game the previous night but was still beaten 3-1 by the visiting Los Angeles Kings. A 5-2 home defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins started a three-game slide. "We really felt we needed a win," Lupul said of the Chicago contest. "Its a hard stretch for us, a lot of games in a short stretch of time so Saturday night at home with a day of rest, we came into the game feeling like it was pretty close to a must-win for us. Things were kind of starting to snowball the other way." Tied 1-1 after the first period, Toronto outscored Chicago 4-1 in the second to pull ahead for its first win in regulation time since Nov. 19, a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders. The victory also snapped an eight-game losing streak to Chicago that dated back to February 2003. Jerry DAmigo, Nikolai Kulemin and Phil Kessel also scored for Toronto (17-14-3) before a season-high announced attendance of 19,603 at the Air Canada Center despite a cold, snowy night. Toronto outshot the opposition for just the fifth time this season, holding a 32-28 edge on the night. It was a welcome sharing on offence for the Leafs, who have had to count on their top line of Kessel, Nazem Kadri and James Van Riemsdyk in recent weeks. Lupul finished with two goals and two assists while Raymond had four assists and Holland two goals and an assist on a breakout night for the newly assembled Leafs second line. Patrick Kane, with two, and Brandon Saad replied for Chicago (23-7-5), whose league-best offence sputtered on the night. The Blackhawks had arrived riding a three-game win streak during which they had outscored the opposition 19-6. The Hawks were also 9-0-2 against Eastern Conference opposition. "We were not very good," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. "They were much better than us. We got what we deserved tonight. We still got ourselves back in the game, 1-1 at the start of the second period and put ourselves in a decent spot.... But basically we got what we deserved because we werent ready to play." The Leafs came into the game in a nose dive, with just two regulation wins in their last 19 outings. It was water under the bridge as they welcomed the Hawks with a season-high seven-goal scoring spree. The lack of pushback in the St. Louis performance had been a particular low for the Leafs. "They werent very proud of our performance. They knew we didnt do a lot of things that we set out to do," Carlyle said of the Blues game. "I thought our hockey club responded the way they needed to respond. They took responsibility for our actions and thats a good sign. The most encouraging thing for us tonight was our work ethic and we stuck to out system and played it." The game was Carlyles 100th as Leafs coach, improving his record at the Toronto helm to 49-40-11. Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension for boarding Boston defenceman Kevan Miller. The Leafs revolving door kept turning, however, as forward David Clarkson was handed a two-game ban earlier in the day for an illegal hit to the head of St. Louis forward Vladimir Sobotka. Finnish rookie Antti Raanta got the start again for Chicago in the absence of the injured Corey Crawford and Nikolai Khabibulin. He was pulled from his eighth career NHL game with the score 5-2 after two periods in favour of Kent Simpson, a 21-year-old from Edmonton making his NHL debut. "I think you could say that Chicagos goalies had a rough night ... and you have to take advantage of that when it comes your way," said Carlyle. It was a horrific start for the Blackhawks, who drew three straight penalties in the first period. But some indiscipline by the home team later in the period evened the score. Toronto was on its second power-play before Chicago got its first shot on net, some seven minutes into the game. Holland made the Hawks pay for the Andrew Shaw tripping call, tapping in a Lupul feed across the crease after a nice pass by Raymond at 7:14. "Not the start we wanted, getting the penalties and getting down a goal, then probably thinking too much offence as the game went on," said Kane. "The start wasnt good, especially the first 10 minutes. Three penalties kind of takes you right out of the game. "We tried to fight back and get ourselves into it but it was too little too late." Toronto faced a 58-second five-on-three after Raymond was called for tripping behind the Chicago goal while killing off a penalty to Holland. The Blackhawks scored 29 seconds later when a sprawling Phaneuf redirected Kanes pass from the side of the net past Jonathan Bernier into the goal at 16:14. It was his 18th goal of the season and marked the eighth straight game Chicago has scored on the power play. Kane, the leagues first star in the month of November, has collected points in eight straight games and 20 of his last 21. Van Riemsdyk could have made it 2-1 near the end of the period but, with a good portion of the Chicago goal empty after a pretty passing sequence, he couldnt connect on a Kessel feed that took a nasty bounce. Toronto had the first five shots of the game but the shot count was tied at 11-11 after 20 minutes. DAmigo made it 2-1 on the Leafs 13th shot just 42 seconds into the second period when he tucked in a Kulemin rebound that dropped out of Raantas glove. It was the first goal of his six-game NHL career. Both the puck and DAmigos stick will be displayed in a frame soon. "You guys cant see it but Im just going crazy inside here now," said DAmigo. A Chicago goal minutes later was called off for being directed into the goal by a Hawks hand (and then Phaneufs stick). Holland scored his second at 12:09 of the second period, left to finish all alone after taking a nice pass from Raymond. Kane replied at 13:30, snapping a wrist shot past Bernier after a Toronto turnover in the neutral zone. But Kulemin restored the Leafs two-goal advantage at 14:36, on a low shot from a Jay McClement feed. Lupul increased the lead to 5-2 on the power play, tipping in a Jake Gardiner shot from the point for his ninth of the season at 17:08. Simpson gave up a goal on his first shot when Lupul, just 28 seconds in, beat him from the faceoff dot after doing some good digging behind the goal. Holland had a chance at his hat trick but shot wide on a breakaway. Seconds later, Saad pulled one back for Chicago with a tip-in at 7:38 for his 12th of the season. Kessel made it 7-3 at 8:35 with a quick shot from the slot for his 17th of the season. Toronto heads to Pittsburgh next for a game Monday. The Hawks return home to host Los Angeles on Sunday. Andrew Ladd Islanders Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. John Tavares Jersey .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-cal-clutterbuck-islanders-jersey/ .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons. Custom New York Islanders Jerseys . If there is one club built to handle an off-field controversy, its the Bill Belichick era Patriots. Even if New Englands offence stumbles a bit out of the gate, their defence can help them stay in games, especially in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the first two weeks. Nick Leddy Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre.Hallandale Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Juan and Bina along with Brother Bobo, both second in their last starts, are among nine 3-year-olds entered in Saturdays $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Formerly the Gulfstream Park Derby, the Mucho Macho Man is a mile stakes that begins Gulfstreams stakes series for 3-year-olds leading to the $1 million Florida Derby on March 28. Juan and Bina is the 5-2 second choice in the morning line behind 2-1 favorite Mawthooq with Brother Bobo the 9-2 third pick. The three favorites will break from outside posts 7, 9 and 8, repsectively. Juan and Bina, who will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado, is coming off a second in the one-mile Smooth Air Stakes on Nov. 29 at Gulfstream Park West, formerly Calder Race Course. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, the colt won his debut effort on Sept. 26 at a mile. Brother Bobo, trained by Jason Servis, was second by a neck at Gulfstream Park West in the six-furlong Buffalo Man Stakes on Nov. 29, just over a month after scoring in his debut start over 5 1/2 furlongs. Gabriel Saez has the mount for the second straight time aboard the chestnut colt. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin will saddle Mawthooq with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez riding. The chestnut colt, making his third lifetime start, is owned by Shadwell Stable.dddddddddddd Hes had a couple of nice works. Hes a nice colt and ready to go, said McLaughlin. Well see how we stand. Mawthooq got his career underway at Belmont Park on Oct. 11 with a distant second going six furlongs. On Nov. 26 at Aqueduct the colt ran away to win a mile race by 10 1/2 lengths with Cornelio Velasquez riding for the second time. We hooked a very nice colt the first time out who we finished second to, McLaughlin said. The next out he won easy on a wet track, so you never know, but hes a really nice horse. He always trained good. Hes straightforward. He was a little keen early in his last race, but Cornelio (Velasquez) did a nice job trying to slow him down early. Hes done everything right since that race. Ask me April 15th how we like him, but right now we like him a lot. Here is the field for the Mucho Macho Man in post position order: Dekabrist, Oriel Chavez, 30-1; Amis Flatter, Luis Contreras, 15-1; Bluegrass Singer, Javier Castellano, 5-1; A. Rod Again, Julien Leparoux, 6-1; Twotwentyfive A, Jesus Rios, 20-1; Honest, Paco Lopez, 10-1; Juan and Bina, Edgar Prado, 5-2; Brother Bobo, Gabriel Saez, 9-2 and Mawthooq, John Velazquez, 2-1. Post time for the Mucho Macho Man Stakes will be approximately 5:01 p.m. ET. ' ' '