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TORONTO -- Already exhausted following a long road trip and playing the second half of back-to-back games, the last thing the Toronto Maple Leafs was another emotional pitfall. Coach Randy Carlyle had already caused a stir in Detroit a night earlier by calling James Reimers play in a loss "just OK," and then the goaltender gave up a goal on the first shot he faced Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately for the Leafs, that was just the beginning of a long game as defenceman Paul Ranger was injured and Steven Stamkos rang up a hat trick to hand them a 5-3 loss at Air Canada Centre, their third in a row. Even after the club released an update saying Ranger was "stable, conscious and alert" after his head hit the glass on a hit from Alex Killorn and he was taken to a local hospital, there were plenty of worried teammates in the home locker-room after a defeat that dropped the Leafs three points behind the Lightning in the Atlantic Division. With that came a notion of missing an opportunity to make something out of the impossibly difficult situation of seeing Ranger go down. "You try to use that as motivation to go out there and give yourself the best opportunity to get a chance and try to use the player, Range, get it for him," Carlyle said. "And we fell short, for sure." Against the Lightning (38-24-7), falling short meant starting terribly with a goal against 59 seconds in, taking too many penalties and giving Stamkos far too much room to operate. But Killorns hit on Ranger understandably took the lions share of the attention. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper called it "probably the turning point in the game" as his team killed off the five-minute major, while the Leafs (36-27-8) just struggled to pick their game up after watching him get wheeled off the ice on a stretcher. "We say our jobs to get ready and prepare for the next period, but thats scary," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "He obviously didnt look great when he was leaving the ice. So youre trying to clear your head and focus on the next period. But you cant lie -- obviously part of you is wondering whats going on with him." When Ranger went down, the Leafs were trailing 3-2 after Radko Gudas beat Reimer in the games first minute with a seemingly innocent shot from just inside the blue-line. Reimer didnt see the shot, and long after his Leafs came back to take the lead on goals by Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin, Carlyle didnt blame his goalie for that one. "The first goals kind of (a) fluke," Carlyle said. "What do you do? Its a seeing-eye shot, theres a screen, it hits a post and goes in. So you cant get too unravelled by that." Reimer, who gave up five goals on 30 shots, didnt unravel, but a lack of discipline and the Leafs defence was to blame for Stamkos scoring twice in the first period and then completing the hat trick early in the second. An interference penalty on David Clarkson led to the first goal, and there were missed assignments on all three. For Stamkos, who was playing in just his seventh game since returning from a four-month absence after breaking his right leg, called getting the natural hat trick in front of family and friends the highlight of his season. "I was a little disappointed there was no hats on the ice," the Markham, Ont., native said. "I guess Ill take it anyway." Though he couldnt be blamed for any of the three goals Stamkos scored, Reimer couldnt take many positives out of his performance. Because Jonathan Bernier remains out with a groin injury, Reimer became the first Toronto goalie to start on back-to-back days this season, and this wasnt the result he wanted when thrust into that situation. "I just want to come out and play well and kind of be a difference-maker, and unfortunately it wasnt the case," Reimer said. "I thought I made some good saves, but it definitely wasnt the performance I was looking for. I wanted to come out and be big and keep your team in it, and that didnt happen tonight." Reimers failings, notably on the first goal, paled in comparison to the other drama and blunders that tormented the Leafs against the Lightning. Six minor penalties led to two power-play goals by the Lightning -- the first by Stamkos and the second one in the third from linemate Tyler Johnson -- which wound up being enough to make the difference. "A lot of things come down to special teams," Cooper said. "Weve had our ups and downs all year. For us to kill off all those penalties, especially the five minutes and then get two power-play goals. Thats how youre going to win. Thats how youre going to win down the stretch and get into the playoffs." With the victory, the Lightning, who got 36 saves on 39 shots from Vezina Trophy candidate Ben Bishop, moved ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs, who at 71 games have played the most of any team in the Eastern Conference, held onto the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but lost a major opportunity to pick up points. Reimer lamented not doing that more than being unable to cover up the fire storm that surrounded him. "It doesnt really matter how you play or how people talk about how you play as long as you get points," he said. "As tough as things go or as good as things go, you can play a great game and still lose. The big thing is points, so as far as statement games or whatnot, I think really at this time of year its just about your team and about getting your team points, not necessarily about you making a statement." Stamkos, who scored his three goals on his only three shots of the night, made a statement that hes back and capable of carrying the Lightning. Cooper was looking forward to seeing how the 24-year-old would fare in his "backyard," and he didnt disappoint. "Theres special players out there that find a way, they have that innate ability to rise to the occasion," Cooper said. "For Stammer to come back in here to his hometown and do what he did tonight, basically put the team on his shoulders, I cant say enough about (him)." And the Leafs couldnt say enough about how things went wrong, especially when it came to not containing one of the leagues best in Stamkos. "We were getting exposed," Lupul said. "There were times today where we were good, other times we made some errors getting the puck out of our zone, once by me and then a couple times we let their best player get the puck in an area where we cant do that." And then there was a lack of desperation early on that only came in the second half of the game and showed up when Jake Gardiner cut the deficit to one with 12:40 left. Giving half of what was necessary was not enough. "I felt that our desperation level went up for the last 30 minutes of the game," Carlyle said. "Weve got to do a better job than that." NOTES -- Kessels goal was his 35th of the season, two short of his career high. ... Gardiners goal was his fifth in the past seven games and 10th of the season. ... Killorn was given a game misconduct along with the five-minute major for boarding Ranger, whom the Leafs said was taken to a hospital for a "precautionary assessment." ... Toronto goaltender Jonathan Bernier skated Wednesday morning for the first time since suffering a groin injury almost a week earlier in Los Angeles. Carlyle said Bernier was "coming along" and he expected the injured netminder to take shots during practice Friday. Vans Shoes Australia Sale . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. Vans Shoes Cheap Australia . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. http://www.cheapvansaustralia.com/. Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. Vans Shoes Discount . 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. Cheap Vans Shoes Australia . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season.It didnt look like a dangerous play. Back on July 12th, in a game against the Calgary Stampeders, Chad Owens was returning a punt. As he cut across the field he was tackled by a pair of Stamps, who fell on Owens. The weight of the two players bent back his foot, causing the discomfort. Despite the injury, Owens still finished the game. Remarkably he finished with nine catches for 102 yards. On Saturday afternoon, Owens, who led the league in receptions a year ago, returns to the field in Edmonton as the Argos take on the Eskimos. Its not a moment too soon for the player known league wide as The Flyin Hawaiian. "Im excited," said Owens. "This is what Ive dedicated my life to do. This is what I love to do. I love to compete. I love to go out there and play football and to be back out there feels really good." Despite the frustration of not being able to play, Owens tried to make the most of his down time. "Any time you get to watch, you get to learn as well," said the receiver. "Thats what I did, I became a student. I became a fan. I got to watch some young guys step up, make plays. I got to familiarize myself with the new guys and how theyre running routes and how theyre doing things, because I knew eventually when I got back some of those guys may be around me and Id have to get a feel for how theyre doing things." Despite missing five of the Argos eight games, Owens still leads the team with 28 catches for 339 yards. Those marks still lead the team by six catches and 116 yards. To say that head coach Scott Milanovich is happy to see Owens back is an understatement. "It means a ton to Ricky (QB Ray)," said the coach. "Hes a guy that knows the offence that Ricky can count on to be in the right spot at the right time." Also happy to see Owens back is aforementioned QB. Ray says Owens return is big for the Argos offence. "Hes a special player," Ray told media before the game. "He does a lot of things out there. Hes a guy that you just want to get the ball into his hands and let him do his thing. Alll quarterbacks love the guys who can RAC, run after the catch.dddddddddddd He makes me look good quite a bit." In any other circumstance the focus would be on Ray. Hes back in the city in which he starred for nine seasons, and hes 367 yards shy of the 50,000-yard mark for his career, something only Anthony Calvillo, Damon Allen, Danny McManus, Henry Burris and Ron Lancaster have accomplished. Elite company to be sure, something Ray is aware of. "Its going to be pretty special, obviously," said Ray. "The other guys that are in that club, some of whom Ive played against throughout my career, some of whom you hear about when you first come here, the legends that they are. Just to be in that group would be pretty special." "Its not something thats really on my mind," continued the QB. "Youre trying to win the football game. I think its more of when the seasons over, when youre done playing to kind of reflect back on and say it was pretty cool, Im pretty lucky." When pressed on the career milestone, and whether it would be important to hit the mark at Commonwealth Stadium, Ray quickly put that to bed. "No, no," said the 12-year veteran. "Trying to do it here or anywhere else, just doing it is pretty special regardless of where its at. Im just looking forward to come out here and playing (the Eskimos) and whoever it is the next week and when it happens it will be a great moment, but its not something Im going to take two weeks vacation to celebrate, its something more of when Im done playing to be happy about." Owens return comes at a good time for the Argos. The injury-plagued receiving corps is starting to get healthy. Jason Barnes returned last week, Owens is ready to go Saturday, which leaves only Andre Durie and Jason Chiles on the shelf, among those who were starters at the beginning of the season. Milanovich says Durie is getting close to being ready and the Argos are hoping to get him back for the Labour Day Classic against the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Chiles will be another three weeks or so. ' ' '