PHILADELPHIA – Like the rest of his teammates, Carl Gunnarsson was doing what he could to remain positive after yet another loss, the seventh straight for the sinking Leafs, but it wasnt easy. Authentic Lonnie Walker Jersey . The 27-year-old wants to believe that a turnaround is still possible, that his team can salvage the season, dig out from a deepening slide and claim a second straight playoff berth. But as time ticks down and the results continue to linger in the wrong direction, that belief is tested. "Its a struggle," he said in a near-empty visitors dressing room at Wells Fargo Center. "Ill tell you that. We thought we had something going here tonight." Whatever fight they mustered in a 4-2 loss to the Flyers didt matter by the time the night was through. It was just another empty loss, another opportunity to regain ground for not. "Overall, I didnt think that we had that bad of a night," said coach Randy Carlyle afterward, but we were on the wrong side of the score and thats what counts the most." Never more evident than at this late stage in the season, the difference between winning and losing remained painfully thin. And for the Leafs it was just enough for defeat. Two power-play goals against, a few too many odd-man rushes, a bad break or two and a key mistake at the wrong time. Claude Giroux was the benefactor of one such mistake that sealed defeat for the visitors. The Flyers captain picked off former teammate James van Riemsdyks neutral ice pass attempt - the puck ricocheted off the skate of Scott Hartnell - and zipped a bullet beyond the glove of Jonathan Bernier. "Right now every big scoring chance they get, I think it feels like its going in," said Bernier afterward. "When its not going your way, thats usually what happens." "I thought we played pretty good," he continued. "A few mistakes that end up being goals. From the last game, obviously, I think we played a lot better." But like their harrowing loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, one that saw them manhandled for half the game by the top team in the West, Fridays defeat in Philly counted all the same. It was just another loss at a critical point in the season. "We worked hard," Carlyle said. "Did we work smart enough in some areas? No." Any chance the Leafs have at resuscitation starts Saturday night in a massive showdown with the Detroit Red Wings. A victory reignites whatever belief and hope still lingers. They may have no hope of catching either the Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning, but sitting on near-equal ground with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Washington Capitals - all have 80 points, but with games in hand - a wild card position is still in play. "Obviously, this one, its going to be a tough one to swallow," Bernier said. "But, at the same time, we cant feel sorry for ourselves. [Saturday] is a big game and we all know that." Five Points 1. Carlyles Approach Carlyle has tried to push a few different buttons in midst of his teams recent slide. "Some days, it is a little bit more harsh. Some days, its a pat in the back. Some days its a hug," Carlyle said on Friday morning. "Whatever it is, whatever you feel is necessary. Nobody in life feels like coming to work and being ground into the dirt everyday and thats part of the process. Youve got to pick and choose when to apply pressure and when not to." As to his preferred approach of late, Carlyle said, "Its been more reality of the situation. Just showing and trying to get an understanding that were not that far away. But there are some areas that need to be addressed. Thats as simple as I can put it. Our compete level has to go up. We havent won enough one-on-one battles. Weve given up too many odd-man rushes and breakaways. Weve got to play better on the defensive side of the game." 2. Penalty Kill The Flyers scored twice on the power play, marking the 12th time this season that the Leaf penalty kill has given up two goals in a game this season. Vincent Lecavalier fired a laser for the first of two, a five-on-three goal that was not without some controversy. Jay McClement, taking the draw as Torontos lone forward, was thrown out of the face-off circle, charged with knocking the puck from the hand of linesman Michel Cormier. Dion Phaneuf promptly stepped in and lost the first (and likely last) face-off of his career, Lecavalier blowing the one-timer by Bernier just three seconds later. "Thats not something that you want to happen," McClement said of the face-off incident. "I dont think [Cormier] wanted to do it either. But he explained to me that its black and white when I knocked it out of his hand." Scott Hartnell would add the second power-play marker, redirecting a Kimmo Timonen point shot just beyond the grasp of Bernier. The Toronto penalty kill remains third-worst in the NHL this season. 3. Bollands Comeback Dave Bolland scored for the third time this season in Philadelphia and the first time since his left ankle was sliced by the skate of Zack Kassian on November 2. The 27-year-old hasnt played more than 13 minutes since he returned from the injury and he was kept right in that region against the Flyers. "I just see that in some of the situations, hes struggled with the mobility," Carlyle said of Bolland before the 4-2 loss. "Its not sore, [but] it just doesnt have the strength there. Wre going to try to find a way to get him some more minutes. We know what kind of player he is." 4. The 18-Wheeler Luke Schenn was there in 2012 when the Leafs collapsed and knows all too well how quickly the pressure rises in Toronto. "Lose a couple in a row and everything magnifies that much more," he said. "You lose three in a row and people tend to get on you a little bit. All the fans and the media think that everythings falling apart. Thats just the way it is over there. "Its obviously a tough market to play in when things arent going the way you want them to, but its a great market when things are going well. Theres always adversity in Toronto. Its never going to change. Im sure those guys are going to get through it." Reflecting back to the infamous 18-wheeler skid two years earlier, Schenn couldnt put his finger on just what wrong. "There is no exact reason why. Its probably a combination of different things. Id have to go back and look. Obviously, youre probably getting off to some tough starts in games. Special teams probably werent as good as they need to be. At the end of the day - when I was there - it probably just came down to being outcompeted some nights. Obviously, you lose a couple in a row, confidence isnt always there. Thats just the way it goes. Youve got to find ways to get out of it." 5. Gardiner Offence Just ahead of a clash with the Flyers three weeks ago, Jake Gardiner revealed his disappointment with the offence hed put together to that point. "I dont think my point production has been that great this year,"he said. "Id like to improve on that." The 23-year-old scored a goal the next night in a 4-3 overtime win, rounding up nine points in the past 11 games, including a helper on Bollands seventh goal this season. "Ive tried to jump in the play a lot more and be an offensive threat from the blue line," he explained of his recent surge prior to the game. Gardiner has 26 points on the year. Stats-Pack 1-8-0 – Leafs record in the past nine games. 9 – Points in the last 11 games for Jake Gardiner. 3 – Goals by Dave Bolland in Philadelphia this season. 24:31 – Ice-time for James van Riemsdyk opposite his former team Friday, tied for the team-lead. 15 – Consecutive games without a point for David Clarkson, who has just 10 this season. 8 – Number of times the Leafs have allowed the first goal in the past nine games.4 – Seconds elapsed in the second period before van Riemsdyk scored the first Leafs goal. It was the fastest goal to start a period for the team this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 20.6% (4th) PK: 2-4Season: 78.1% (28th) Quote of the Night "Overall, I didnt think that we had that bad of a night, but we were on the wrong side of the score and thats what counts the most." -Randy Carlyle, following a seventh straight loss in Philadelphia. Up Next The Leafs return home to host to the Red Wings on Saturday night. Authentic Pau Gasol Jersey . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener. Cheap Nike Spurs Jerseys . The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. http://www.cheapspursjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-sean-elliott-jersey .3 seconds remaining, and No. 7 North Carolina held off a resilient No. 25 Virginia team, 54-51, on Saturday. John Henson contributed a double-double with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won five straight and 10 of 11.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- DeMarcus Cousins did something Sunday hes not usually known for: lots of smiling. The often-scowling Cousins had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and Isaiah Thomas had 30 points and eight assists in the Kings 124-107 victory that sent the Milwaukee Bucks to their seventh straight loss. Cousins has shown increasing maturity over the last 13 games since he was called for technical fouls Nos. 14 and 15 of the season and ejected in a Feb. 25 loss at home to Houston. That left Cousins one technical from a mandatory one-game suspension. But the emotional Cousins has put a halt to complaining to referees and hasnt drawn another technical. Against the Bucks, he was clearly enjoying a big margin of victory, a rarity this season for the Kings. "Its always fun to win," said Cousins, who dodged a question about any new-found approach to the game. "My focus is going out and winning." Different approach or not, Cousins clearly had his way with the Bucks. Scoring in a variety of ways, he had 14 points in the first quarter and 21 by halftime. The Bucks were never able to contain the talented Kings centre. Cousins made 14 of 19 shots, four of six free throws and added four assists and two steals. "Now I see where he is bringing it more (upcourt) on the dribble after the rebound," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "I was mad at my guys for not getting in his way, but you can see he looks comfortable doing it. Its just the matter of him being under control and it looks like he is and making the right plays out of it." The Kings demonstrated early they would not be overlooking the struggling Bucks. Sacramento led by 23 points after one quarter, took a 70-44 lead into halftime, and were ahead by 34 points after three quarters. "We cant go out there and lay down. Im not saying we did that tonight," Drew said. "This is one of the few games we came out and laid an egg at the very beginning. Weve actually been playing some pretty good basketball." Rudy Gay had 24 points and eight rebounds and Ben McLemore scored 15 points for the Kings, who had dropped four of their past five home games against the Bucks. Wholesale Spurs Jerseys Authentic. O.J. Mayo scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for Milwaukee. Mayo consistently connected from the outside and the Bucks shot 75 per cent in the fourth quarter in outscoring the Kings 37-20. "I told our guys that any win in the NBA is something to be happy about, but I just didnt like how we played in the second half," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "We gave up 63 points, they shot 64 per cent from the field in the second half. We had no discipline." Ersan Ilyasova had 14 points and Jeff Adrien and Ramon Sessions each added 13 for Milwaukee. Brandon Knight came in averaging 20.1 points in March, but the Milwaukee guard missed his first seven shots and finished 2-of-12 and had six points and seven assists. Milwaukee (13-57) has dropped 10 of 11 games overall. The Bucks have won only eight home games and have lost eight straight and 18 of 19 on the road, dating to Jan. 2. Their lone road win in that stretch was Feb. 24 against Philadelphia, another struggling team. Milwaukee will need to reverse the losing trend quickly if it hopes to avoid a franchise-worst season. The 1993-94 Bucks had a 20-62 record. Thomas scored 14 points and Cousins had 11 in the third quarter. Sacramento went over the 100-point mark on Thomas 3-pointer at the 2:35 mark and was in front 104-70 after three quarters. The Kings came out a little sluggish in the third quarter, but seemed to get inspired after Cousins grabbed a rebound and dribbled the length of the court and finished with a resounding dunk. The basket ignited a 16-3 run that put the Kings ahead 90-57. NOTES: Bucks rookie guard Nate Wolters fractured his left hand Thursday against Golden State and will miss the final 13 games. ... Royce White played his second straight game for the Kings, getting in for the final 48 seconds. ... The Bucks shot 27 per cent in the opening quarter and 35 per cent in the first half. ... 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