12-27-2019, 02:34 AM
TORONTO – It was late March and the Maple Leafs captain was just about out of gas. Air Max 270 React Pas Cher . Torontos season had spiraled out of control with eight straight regulation losses and Dion Phaneuf was feeling the effects of some of the most difficult minutes any NHL defender had played that season. "Id be lying to say that it did not wear you down," said Phaneuf, in jovial spirits at the start of training camp this week. "When youre playing those big minutes, by the time Game 70 comes around, you might be feeling it a little more." One of the more interesting subplots to the coming season will be the 29-year-old and his usage with the club under returning head coach, Randy Carlyle. No defender in the league played against more difficult competition than Phaneuf last season – according to the advanced statistics website, Behind the Net – and only one defender, teammate and now former defence partner Carl Gunnarsson, started fewer shifts in the offensive zone (38.8 per cent). Phaneuf struggled under the weight of that burden, posting poor possession numbers and the worst offensive output (on a per-game basis) of his Leafs career, just 31 points in 80 games. He was noticeably worn down as winter turned to spring; that subtlety never more apparent than on Mar. 25 when he made three glaring errors in a 5-3 defeat against St. Louis, too heated afterward to speak with the media. "The bottom line is that I had to be better," Phaneuf said. "I take full responsibility for that. Whether its worn down or too many minutes early, thats excuses; the bottom line is, I didnt play well enough in the last 20 games. I was disappointed in that." Lacking other trusted options, Carlyle leaned hardest on Phaneuf in the most challenging of situations – many of which started in the defensive zone opposite the games top stars. That treatment was markedly more difficult than how Phaneuf was employed under the previous head coach, Ron Wilson. Under Wilson, Phaneufs quality of competition was not nearly as high, his defensive zone starts hovering close to 50 per cent. So what can or will the Leafs do to ensure that their top defenceman isnt worn down by the stretch drive this season? Adding more experience was designed to help. Offseason additions Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak could stand to absorb some of the more challenging competition and defensive zone starts from Phaneuf. That would free him up to play more in the offensive zone while also not grinding him to the ground with shift after shift against the oppositions best. "I think it will help me personally but I think it will help our whole defensive core," Phaneuf said of the two offseason additions, both coming from the West. "Theyre guys that can eat minutes. And I think that benefits everyone." Growth from Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly would also aid in that process. Phaneuf, who will move back to his natural left side, projects to play with one of Robidas or Polak at the start of the regular season, intent on using the exhibition schedule to develop some familiarity with whomever it might be. That may be difficult in the case of Robidas – the better fit based on past experience and skill-set – who may not be ready to play until the final days of the preseason (knee), if at all before the regular season kicks off on Oct. 8. Phaneuf was pushing an average of 25 minutes per night through January last season; that number cut some in the second half. There were nights, nonetheless, when the ice-time mushroomed, like Mar. 1 when he logged nearly 31 minutes against Montreal. Optimal ice-time for Phaneuf, he believes, lies in the range of 23-24 minutes nightly, but that simplifies how different the quality of ice (more challenging) he logs is from that of his teammates. His minutes were actually slightly more difficult (by the numbers, at least) from those played by Shea Weber, Zdeno Chara, and Ryan Suter. Phaneuf is not Weber, Chara or Suter and putting him in situations even more difficult than a trio of that caliber is not putting him in the best possible position to succeed. Carlyle – who was unavailable for comment Friday – can lighten the load on his captain (all the more important as Phaneuf digs deeper into a seven-year deal). Will he do so? "My job is to go out and play when Im tapped to go and play," Phaneuf said. "Whatever my role is, Im going to play it to the best of my ability. 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That Ginette Reno can sing.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Danny Duffy walked briskly to the mound to start the seventh inning Saturday night, ready to throw his first warm-up pitch before anybody else on his team had even taken the field. The Royals left-hander was in that kind of rhythm. Duffy went on to retire the next two batters he faced before Baltimores Adam Jones finally ended his bid for a perfect game with a single up the middle. Still, it was the best outing of his career, and came on a night when the Kansas Citys scuffling offence needed it. Billy Butler drove in the only run in the first inning in the 1-0 win over the Orioles. "I started to feel it in the seventh a little bit," Duffy said of his tantalizing perfect bid, "but I didnt think about it because my job is to get outs." Others started to think about it, though. "You keep thinking, Boy, hes got really good stuff," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who was ejected during a tense ninth inning. "He gets through the fourth and the fifth and into the sixth and you think, Boy, hes got really, really good stuff." Duffy gave up a single to Nelson Cruz to start the eighth, but Wade Davis retired the next three batters. All-Star close Greg Holland allow a hit and two walks to load the bases with two outs in the ninth, then calmly struck out Cruz for his 11th save of the season. "We found a way to get back in it in the ninth and had the right guys at the plate," said Orioles bench coach John Russell, who was acting manager as Buck Showalter attended his daughters graduation. "We scraped and scrapped. We still found a way to make it interesting." Bud Norris (2-4) was the hard-luck loser, allowing four hits and a walk in 7 1-3 innings. The lone run he allowed came in the first, when Nori Aoki led off with a single, stole second and then scored on Butlers single to centre. The hit ended a 0-for-10 slump, and gave Kansas City only its second run in the first three games of the four-game set. "The story of the day is about Duffy. That was unbelievable," Butler said. "That gives yyou a glimpse of what he could be like every time out. Air Max 270 Femme Pas Cher. " Duffy missed most of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he began this season in the bullpen after losing the competition for a rotation spot in spring training. But he was forced back into the rotation a few weeks ago, when Bruce Chen landed on the disabled list with a back injury, and has pitched so well that he may have claimed the spot for good. After struggling with control most of his first three seasons, Duffy has finally started to harness his stuff. He allowed one run on two hits in four innings in his first start May 3 against Detroit, and one run on two hits in six innings last week in Seattle. He wound up losing both games when the Royals failed to score a run for him. Perhaps with that in mind, Duffy kept the Orioles off the scoreboard entirely. He never got close to allowing a hit until Caleb Joseph hit a liner at third baseman Mike Moustakas to end the sixth inning, and Alex Gordon made a spectacular diving catch on Nick Markakiss flyball to lead off the seventh. Duffy then struck out Manny Machado before Jones delivered his single. "I heard somebody say this is the type for, like, a perfect game," said the Orioles Caleb Joseph. "Right after that, somebody said, Jonesy is about to rip one right here." The crowd gave Duffy a standing ovation after the hit, and then another when he exited the game. Duffy sheepishly waved his cap in appreciation as he entered the dugout. "I was just trying to stay calm," Duuffy said. "Mechanics will come through on their own if you trust your stuff, you dont overdo anything. And we were on the attack all day." NOTES: Jones has a 12-game hitting streak. ... The Royals have had four no-hitters in their history, the last by Brett Saberhagen against the White Sox on Aug. 26, 1991. The Orioles have not been no-hit since Sept. 1, 2007, when Clay Buchholz accomplished the feat for Boston. ... Royals RHP James Shields and Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez start Sundays series finale. ' ' '