rd, the Jets gave up two-on-ones and breakaways, he noted. "Its emu

TORONTO -- James Reimer thinks about a lot of things. The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender had a premonition and told his wife hed play in Thursday nights game against the Boston Bruins. And he did, replacing the injured Jonathan Bernier. Before that, Reimer considered the possibility that he had played his final game with the Leafs after being in goal for five straight losses before Berniers return from a groin problem. Now that Bernier is lost for the rest of the regular season -- a minimum of three weeks -- with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, Reimer doesnt have to think about riding out the rest of his time in Toronto on the bench. His new challenge is trying to rebound from one of the worst stretches in his career lead the Leafs to the playoffs. "Ive had a lot of success in the past and had to carry the load in different scenarios, and Ive been successful in that," Reimer said Friday. "Youre a competitor and you love the challenges, especially maybe sometimes when the odds are against you. You just go out there and play your heart out and kind of hope that its going to be enough." Even with his best efforts, it might not be enough. With four games left, Reimer and the Leafs have 84 points, one back of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Columbus has one extra game left, meaning Toronto likely has to win out and hope to get some help, too. The first task at hand comes Saturday night at Air Canada Centre against the Winnipeg Jets. Thats all Reimer, a native of Morweena, Man., is worried about. "The main thing is its not four games in a row," Reimer said. "As a goalie, you cant see it like that. You cant even win 60 minutes. Its about the first five minutes, the first minute, the first shot." Reimer did give up a goal on the first shot he faced Jan. 20 against Tampa Bay, and one within the games first six minutes twice more during a run of five straight regulation losses. The 26-year-old, who allowed 18 goals on 139 shots in that time, was made a scapegoat for the Leafs struggles. That did not sit well with centre Nazem Kadri. "It seems like when the team does not do well, hes the first guy that everyone hops all over, which really that shouldnt be the case," Kadri said Thursday night. "At that point when we were losing, the team in front of him just couldnt bring it together and just couldnt figure things out, and obviously the goalies left out there to dry by himself. We felt bad, and now its about time we have his back and step up to the plate." Itll take more than just Reimer to roll off four more wins, against the Jets in the home finale and then at the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators. But hes undoubtedly at the forefront now and said hell try to do his part. Reimer pointed to Thursday nights 4-3 overtime victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins as evidence of his belief in why the Leafs can do the improbable and make the playoffs. "Maybe sometimes its not the prettiest, but we find ways to win," he said. "We pull together and we lean on each other and thats what it takes. With four games to go, no ones going to ask how we get points, just as long as we get them. I believe fully in this team that weve got what it takes." If Reimer can recapture past form that made him the Leafs starter -- and a good one at that -- hed have a chance to redeem himself and his team for last months losing. Hed also likely make a good case to another NHL team that hes capable of being a No. 1 goaltender somewhere. Saturday, against a Winnipeg team that has had its share of troubles in goal, could be the start of that audition. Reimer cant help but think about the future and what it holds for his career, but thats not at the forefront of his mind. "Honestly right now theres lots of thoughts swirling in your head about a lot of things," he said. "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 and get those two points tomorrow and then go on to Florida. I try not to think about all this other stuff." From a team perspective, Berniers injury -- which happened in the third period when defenceman Paul Ranger pushed Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron into the goalie -- just adds to the adversity. "All the time in the NHL youre always provided with challenges through the course of the season, and this is just another one," coach Randy Carlyle said. "Our group has to continue to play to a higher level than we did in the last one. Thats what were going to ask of ourselves." In the process, the Leafs are asking Reimer to be stable and dependable. Beyond that, he doesnt want to put excess pressure on himself with the season on the line. "Obviously its a big game and some people might say its a must-win game and stuff, but when you start putting too much pressure on yourself, you cant perform," Reimer said. "Its a big game and we know whats at stake, but you cant really think about that. Youre just thinking about your own game and what you need to do to be successful." NOTES -- Joffrey Lupul is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to Carlyle, who said Thursday night the winger was doubtful to play against Winnipeg. ... Forwards Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Dave Bolland did not practise Friday because they were given so-called "maintenance" days off. Gregory Polanco Jersey . As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened their main training camp Sunday, Kuale is one of the newcomers brought in to bolster a sagging defence that ranked overall where the Bombers finished 2013, in the CFL cellar with a league high 585 points against. David Freese Jersey . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Felipe-Vazquez-Kids-Jersey/ .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career. Corey Dickerson Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys WINNIPEG -- Tyler Seguin was relieved he and Dallas Stars teammate Jamie Benn finally had something good in common on Saturday afternoon. The pair ended pointless droughts when they each scored two goals in a 6-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets that halted a two-game losing skid for the Stars (15-11-5). "I feel like I got my monkey off my back with him getting a couple," said Seguin, who also had a pair of assists. "Its nice to see. Sometimes things just arent going in, but he made some great shots tonight and stepped out at the right time." Seguin and Benn had been held pointless in their two previous games -- losses to Nashville and Chicago -- but Benn hadnt scored a goal since Nov. 14. Benn pretended to throw a monkey off his back after he finally scored his eighth goal of the season at 13:46 of the second period to give the Stars a 3-2 lead. Sergei Gonchar was a big help, tallying a career-high four assists. Rookie Valeri Nichushkin scored a goal. Centre Colton Sceviour netted his first NHL goal in his first game this season for the Stars, who only have four wins in their last 10 games. Kari Lehtonen, playing his 200th game for the Stars and 404th career NHL game, stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced. Blake Wheeler had a pair of goals, Matt Halischuk also scored and Olli Jokinen added a goal and assist for Winnipeg (14-15-5), which is now winless in its last six home games. Their last victory at MTS Centre was Nov. 15 in a 3-2 shootout against Philadelphia. Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec was replaced by Al Montoya to start the third period. Pavelec stopped 19 of the 24 shots he faced. Montoya made seven saves on eight shots. Going into the game, Winnipeg, Dallas and Nashville were tied with 33 points at the bottom of the Central Division. However, Winnipeg has played three more games than Dallas and one more than the Predators, who host San Jose Saturday night. Winnipeg is now 3-11-3 against division opponents, while Dallass mark is 3-6-3. The Stars led 2-1 after the first period and 5-3 after the second on late power-play goals by Benn and Seguin one minute and three seconds apart. The goals were scored while Jets winger Anthony Peluso was off for a boarding major and a game misconduct. Peluso had hit defenceman Alex Goligoski into the boards. Goligoski left the ice with a towel against his right eye,, but returned to the game.dddddddddddd Dallas coach Lindy Ruff was far from impressed with the hit. "I thought the Peluso hit was a joke," Ruff said. "For a guy that plays that amount of time and runs a guy like Goligoski from behind. What does he play, three, four minutes a game? And hes going to run Goligoski from behind? Go run one of our bigger guys. "It was gutsy (of Goligoski) to come back. I mean, (he) cut him open. These are the hits we want to get rid of. I mean, lets get serious." Jets coach Claude Noel didnt have much to say about Pelusos hit. "Anytime you take a five-minute major, its never a good situation," Noel said. "It put us in a tough situation, especially (when) they scored two goals in there." He also pointed to two bad lines changes his team made that led to Seguin and Nichushkin being able to go in alone and score on Pavelec. Basically, his team didnt play "intelligent," Noel said. Wheelers goals tied the game 2-2 and 3-3, but his frustration spilled out after the loss. "What I say doesnt matter. Its what you do out on the ice," Wheeler said. "You can blow smoke as much as you want in the media. Weve been blowing smoke for three years, everyone, myself. "Everyone thats stood in front of the microphone the last three years, theyve said the same (stuff). What do you want me to say? Thats about it. I dont know what else to say." But he did elaborate when asked where the game turned. "In the first period, we were terrible and thats inexcusable," Wheeler said. And even though they fought back and were down 5-3 heading into the third, the Jets gave up two-on-ones and breakaways, he noted. "Its embarrassing," Wheeler said. "Its just no respect for each other. (Montoya) goes in there, hes cold, and thats what we do? "Its like, you just cant believe it." Jokinen finished the scoring at 18:19 when he got a stick on a rebound in traffic in front of the net. Notes: Wheeler now has six goals in his past six games a Winnipeg forward Evander Kane missed his sixth straight game with an undisclosed lower-body injury, although he practised with the team for the first time on Friday a Winnipeg heads out for a two-game road trip against Columbus on Monday and Buffalo on Tuesday a Dallas ends its three-game road trip against Colorado on Monday. ' ' '