TORONTO – When he lines up at centre ice, James van Riemsdy

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TORONTO – When he lines up at centre ice, James van Riemsdyk has an idea of what he might attempt, but doesnt quite know for sure. . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. He and the Leafs continue to find good fortune in the individual reality that is the shootout, now up to a league-leading nine victories following a 4-3 edging of the Sabres at the ACC on Wednesday night. "The shootout is a game in itself obviously," said head coach Randy Carlyle afterward, his team boasting a 9-4 record in such situations. "When you win them its a positive. When you lose them its a negative. Thats the bottom line. "Were fortunate this year that our record in the shootout is a real strong positive for our hockey club and its earned I dont know how many extra points." Still trying to establish who and what they are, the Leafs have needed each and every one of the nine additional points theyve gained from their success in the shootout. On a whole lot of nights, including Wednesdays against the league-worst Sabres, theyve struggled to find a complete performance only to emerge with a victory of sorts in the shootout. Carlyle assigns shootout selection duties to assistant coach Greg Cronin. His choices have narrowed recently around three shooters – van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, and Tyler Bozak – each of whom has been better than 60 per cent on the season. Leaf shooters have actually been among the most accurate in the league this season after posting the worst mark in 2013. Led by Lupul, who has scored on six of seven attempts, including the winner against Buffalo, Toronto owns a 48.6 per cent success mark in the shootout – good for second-best in the NHL. Last season, a year in which they dropped every one of their five shootouts, the Leafs had the most futile shooters in the league – just 12.5 per cent on 24 attempts. Bozak, in fact, was the lone shooter to even score. Toronto boasts eight shootout victories since the start of November, owning just five in regulation in that same span. Now streaking with wins in three consecutive games, they sit seventh in the East with 53 points. "Theres been a lot of extra points gained by it," said Carlyle of the shootout, which sealed the season series with Buffalo. "If we can continue to find a way to get points, thats what our job is [to] get ourselves back [on track] and climbing into a playoff position." Five Points 1. Balance Rare is the night in which the Leafs have received offence from many different sources, but against the Sabres that was just the case. Each of the top three units accounted for a goal in victory, including Phil Kessels 22nd of the year, Nik Kulemins sixth and the second in the NHL career of Morgan Rielly, set up by generally quiet second unit (more on that below). "Its always an advantage if you can get three lines providing certain levels of offence," said Carlyle, who moved Peter Holland onto a third unit recently in hopes of spurring more of an attack. Toronto had scored eight goals in the previous three games, all of which came from a scorching top line of Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Bozak. "We need everybody contributing," Carlyle continued. "If you look at the teams that are having success theyve spread that offence around and theyve been able to get quality minutes from everyone in their lineup." Often over-dependent on that top unit – each member played more than 22 minutes vs. Buffalo – Wednesday marked just the 13th time in the past 35 games that the Leafs have managed three goals or more. 2. Second Line Slumber Aside from an occasional burst or odd contribution – the line had a hand in the third goal from Rielly – Torontos second line of Nazem Kadri, Mason Raymond and Joffrey Lupul has remained an infrequent source of offence. Kadri has just one goal in the past 16 games, Raymond has two goals in the past 21, and Lupul, the most effective of the group recently, has still gone pointless in 12 of the past 18 outings. A source of production for the trio earlier in the year, some of the trouble stems from lacking success on the power-play. Kadri has just one power-play point in the past 19 games, Raymond owns three in the past 21 and Lupul, just four in the previous 28 outings. 3. Reimers Night Making just his second start since Dec. 21, James Reimer showing some rust in yielding three goals on 30 shots to the Sabres, including an unlikely game-tying goal from Cody Hodgson. The first marker from Matt Ellis snuck through short side. The second goal, a Matt Moulson snipe from an odd-man Sabres rush, went post to post and under the bar, a slick shot from the former Islander. The final strike, a power-play marker from Hodgson, found an unlikely hole between Reimer and the post – one that still puzzled the 25-year-old afterward. "I still dont really know how it went in," said Reimer, who earned his first win since Dec. 19. "My foot was against the post. Thats my play. Thats what I do. Ill look at the video and see if it squeaked in somewhere where I can close it. I do that every play, every time and its never gone in." 4. Stacked Deck Jonathan Bernier has unquestionably grabbed hold of the Toronto crease in recent weeks, but theres also no doubting that Reimer has been handed a bad deck of cards. A look at the 25-year-olds five starts prior to Wednesday night and the poor performances which surrounded them: • Dec. 12 at St. Louis: 6-3 LReimers Night: 3 goals/15 shots*Post-Game Quote: "Tonight it looked like we were totally brain-dead in a lot of areas." – Randy Carlyle • Dec. 17 vs. Florida: 3-1 LReimers Night: 3 goals/23 shotsPost-Game Quote: "We simply got embarrassed." – Mason Raymond • Dec. 19 vs. Phoenix: 2-1 SOWReimers Night: 1 goal/35 shots.Post-Game Quote: "Thats the one thing we know we can count on Reims for is compete level and battle." – Joffrey Lupul • Dec. 21 vs. Detroit: 5-4 SOLReimers Night: 3 goals/12 shots* Post-Game Quote: "Obviously we didnt have a very good first period." – Randy Carlyle • Jan. 9 at Carolina: 6-1 LReimers Night: 6 goals/36 shotsPost-Game Quote: "We stood around for most of the hockey game tonight." – Randy Carlyle *Pulled after the first period 5. Riellys Progress Morgan Rielly is now 40 games into his NHL career, adding his 13th point against the Sabres. The 19-year-old has, according to Carlyle, "taken some steps and then has taken a few sideways", evaluated with a similar lens as his 23-year-old defence partner Jake Gardiner. "Our expectations for Morgan arent as high as they are for Jake at this point just being where he is in his career," said Carlyle. "Theyre both talented young players. We think that theres a future for those two guys to be a big part of our defence. We want to make sure were handling them the right way." Unlike Gardiner, who was pulled from the lineup last week, Rielly has played in every game since early December, when he sat for three consecutive games with World Junior speculation swirling. Stats-Pack 9 – Shootout victories this season, most in the NHL. 48.6 per cent - Effectiveness of Toronto shooters in the shootout this season. 1 – Goals in the past 16 games for Nazem Kadri. 5-6-0 – Record in the second end of back-to-back sets this season. 2 – Goals in the past 21 games for Mason Raymond. 3-1-1 – Record versus Buffalo this season. 4 – Consecutive games with a point for Phil Kessel. Kessel has two goals and eight points in that span. 23:33 – Ice-time for Kessel against the Sabres, most among forwards. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2Season: 22.1 per cent (5th) PK: 1-2Season: 77.5 per cent (27th) Quote of the Night "Youre in the same locker room then youre in the same bus, the same plane, the same hotel. The hardest part is trying to stop it from going through the entire team. Those guys have kind of been quarantined off and the rest of us have been just washing our hands and trying to stay away from it." -Joffrey Lupul, on stopping the spread of the flu bug through the Leafs dressing room. Up Next The Leafs host Montreal at the ACC on Saturday. . -- Derek Jeter spoke for 25 minutes, 44 seconds and answered 26 questions about his decision to retire at the end of this season. . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Julius Thomas figures only friends and family drafted him in their fantasy football leagues this season. One catch in two pro seasons didnt exactly make him a tantalizing target. He certainly was a bulls-eye for Peyton Manning in the NFLs kickoff. He caught the first two of the Denver quarterbacks record-tying seven touchdown throws in the Broncos 49-27 rout of the Ravens. His five-catch, 110-yard breakout performance showed fantasy fans and real opponents alike that Thomas can be just as big a part of the Broncos plans this season as their trio of wide receivers. Not that Thomas was ever doubted in Denver, mind you. The Broncos brass stuck with the former college basketball power forward who got hurt in his second game as a rookie in 2011, and Thomas returned the favour with a dogged work ethic even as an afterthought. Finally healthy after spending the bulk of his first two seasons in the pros dealing with a bum right ankle, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Thomas treated every practice this summer like it was game day. Not only was he a late bloomer -- he only played one year of college football after exhausting his basketball eligibility at Portland State -- but he got hurt on his one and only NFL catch after the Broncos selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft, hoping theyd landed the next Antonio Gates. After flashing enormous potential in overpowering safeties and eluding linebackers, Thomas injured his right ankle when Bengals linebacker Manny Lawson tackled him after a 5-yard catch in his second NFL game. His career was stuck in neutral after that. He needed an operation last year and played in just four games while tight ends Joel Dreessen and Jacob Tamme combined for 93 catches, 911 yards and seven touchdown catches in 2012. No matter: playing against the NFLs second-best defence last season while running with the scout team helped Thomas hone his skills, calm his nerves and build his confidence. Thomas took advantage of injuries to Tamme and Dreessen this summer to earn Mannings trust and a prominent role in Adam Gases turbocharged offence. When Broncos Executive Vice-President John Elway remarked recently that he was "truly jealous of the weapons that Peyton gets to throw to," hhe made sure to mention he was including Thomas in that equation. . "He obviously knows a lot more about football than I do and to have his confidence, that means a lot," Thomas said. "This is my third year, but really Im pretty inexperienced and when times get tough, Im sure thats going to be something I have in my back pocket." Thomas had TD catches of 24 and 23 yards before the Broncos roared back from a 17-14 halftime deficit Thursday night with their biggest onslaught in nearly a half-century -- the only time they ever scored more points came in a 50-34 win over San Diego on Oct. 6, 1963. "Someone said it was 718 days since I last caught a pass," Thomas said. "Its tough to stay focused and keep remembering what youre working for, but I made it through and it feels good to have all that behind me." Fantasy players arent the only ones who took notice of Thomas in Week 1. New York Giants defensive co-ordinator Perry Fewell surely did, too. When the Broncos visit the Giants next weekend for the latest Manning Brothers matchup, Fewell will have to devise a plan to slow down not only Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, but also Julius Thomas, who in many ways can be the most menacing of them all. Thats because of the matchup problems he creates, the nifty moves he honed on the hardwood and the growing rapport with his quarterback. "Im not sure how they will answer it, or if they will, but it will be interesting to see how teams play Julius all season," Manning said. "He is a big guy, he definitely will make teams have a conversation, and that is what you want. You want guys that make teams have a discussion. How are we going to handle this guy? Hes a big guy." Thomas knows his number can be called one week, somebody elses the next. After standing on the sideline for so long, sharing the spotlight isnt a bother. "We have so many weapons on offence. I wouldnt want to be a defensive co-ordinator trying to figure out what its going to take to slow us down," Thomas said. NOTES: Missing Mondays practice were CB Champ Bailey (foot), KR Trindon Holliday (leg), MLB Wesley Woodyard (ankle) and CB Omar Bolden (shoulder). ' ' '

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