as a player, you’ve got time to evaluate

The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins each lug a three-game losing streak into their Metropolitan Division matchup Monday at PPG Paints Arena Petr Mrazek Jersey Womens , but the demeanor of each club is vastly different.The Devils (5-5-1) felt as if they turned a corner in a good way Saturday despite a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders, while Pittsburgh (6-3-3) was left reeling after a 5-0 loss the same night against Toronto.New Jersey coach John Hynes talked about there being steps to getting out of a funk, and he thinks his team has taken a big one.Article continues below ...“Lots of times when you come out of it your play has to be better first,” he said. “Lots of times you don’t come out of these with a win; you come out of it by playing better and playing better and playing better.“If we can build on our work ethic and how we played (Saturday), then we’re going to put ourselves in situations to win games.”Before the Islanders game, the Devils lost two games by a combined 12-6. New Jersey goaltender Keith Kinkaid noticed a difference Saturday, describing that game as “a little setback” when the team “ran into a hot goalie.”“There’s plenty of season left,” Kinkaid said. “We’re just going through a little spell. Everything’s a learning curve. We have a young team. We’ve just got to keep sticking with it.”Winger Taylor Hall, the defending Hart Trophy winner, thought the Devils were more competitive and better defensively.“It seems like for the most part we have a grasp for how we need to play in our own end right now,” Hall said. “Comparing our game (Saturday) to the last couple, there was a lot of improvement in a lot of areas. It’s a good building-block game for how we need to play going forward.”The Penguins, meanwhile, spent Sunday trying to simply remind themselves of what those building blocks are.“We’ve got to try to reinforce the details and the work ethic associated with winning, and that was part of the practice (Sunday), was trying to make sure that we get back to basics and that we focus on the process and the details associated with winning — and with our team it starts with skating,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.The Penguins were riding high after a 4-0 road trip through Canada, but the three-game losing streak (0-2-1) has immediately followed.“Right now we’re down Jordan Schroeder Jersey Womens , and we have to … find ourselves a little bit,” winger Patric Hornqvist said.After being outskated and outworked Saturday by the Maple Leafs, there was plenty of soul-searching.Defenseman Kris Letang said the Penguins were “flat” and that “there was no emotion.”Sullivan, rarely critical of his club, said the past week has taken a toll.“This league has a funny way of humbling you. Right now I think we’ve been humbled,” he said.Pittsburgh winger Matt Cullen, the oldest player in the NHL, has been around plenty long enough to know that even just a month into the season, a lull without a correction can lead to things going sideways.“We have to dig down and find a way to turn things around,” he said. “I don’t have any question that we will, but we don’t have any time to waste.” TORONTO (AP) Facing an opponent missing arguably its best player in front of a raucous home crowd, the Toronto Maple Leafs felt pretty good heading into their Game 4 matchup with the Boston Bruins.Less than three hours later, they had been pushed to the brink of playoff elimination.Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Bruins defeated the Leafs 3-1 to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series. Boston was minus No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, who was a late scratch with an upper-body injury, but it didn’t matter as the Bruins ground out a victory on a night where some of Toronto’s young stars failed to produce on the big stage.”We were set up pretty good,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock lamented. ”We didn’t take advantage. That’s on us.”Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk had the other goals for the Bruins, who can clinch the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at home in Game 5 on Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. David Pastrnak added two assists.Tomas Plekanec scored the lone goal for the Leafs, who got 18 saves from Frederik Andersen.”We gave them opportunities and they didn’t miss Matt Calvert Jersey Womens ,” Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. ”Now it’s do or die.”Bergeron, part of a top line that combined for 20 points in the Bruins’ two home victories to open the series, was a surprise late scratch. Riley Nash took his spot between Marchand and Pastrnak, and played well in the four-time Selke Trophy winner’s absence earlier this season.”It doesn’t matter (if Bergeron’s out),” Marchand said. ”You play the same way.”Marchand snapped a 1-1 tie for Boston with 3:05 left in the second after the Bruins were called for icing. Leafs coach Mike Babcock put his top line, centered by Auston Matthews, out hoping to pounce on a tired group, but Nash won the draw to Adam McQuaid, whose clearing attempt up the boards skipped past Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner. Pastrnak moved in on a 2-on-1 with Marchand, faking a shot to draw the overaggressive Nikita Zaitsev to him before feeding his linemate with a slick pass for a wide-open net.The Leafs had a number of chances earlier in the period to go ahead, including Mitch Marner’s breakaway off a stretch pass from Morgan Rielly that Rask turned aside with the blocker, but were unable to get one by Rask.Boston then made it 3-1 at 4:17 of the third. David Krejci blocked Travis Dermott’s shot and raced the other way on a 2-on-1 before finding DeBrusk, who beat a helpless Andersen after Roman Polak failed to block the pass across.”We had a breakaway and a good 2-on-1, and we got nothing out of it,” Babcock said. ”Both their 2-on-1s … they buried and we didn’t make good plays on them to help our goalie out. In the end, that’s the game.”The Bruins stunned the Maple Leafs just 28 second into the game to quiet an electric Air Canada Centre when Krug’s snapshot from the sideboards found its way past Nash and Plekanec in front before glancing in off Andersen’s shoulder.”It’s one I’ve got to fight to see,” Anderson said.Toronto eventually got going and tied it at 7:43 when Marner fed a pass from his knees that was helped on by Patrick Marleau to Plekanec, who scored his first goal since being acquired from Montreal before the trade deadline.The Leafs kept coming and nearly grabbed the lead later in the period Cale Makar Jersey Womens , but Rask shot out his pad to deny Zach Hyman from in close as Toronto outshot Boston 12-7 through the opening 20 minutes.Asked how concerned he is that Matthews, who scored the winner Monday, has been mostly quiet, Babcock said some of his youngsters are learning hard playoff lessons.”I’m assuming he thought he would come tonight and dominate the game – that’s what I thought,” the coach said. ”I thought the same with (William Nylander). That didn’t happen, but the other people you’re playing against are pros and they’re trying, too, and they’re competitive. There’s regular-season competitiveness and there’s Stanley Cup playoff competitiveness, and it keeps amping up.”When you leave here tonight as an individual, as a coach, as a player, you’ve got time to evaluate … and most guys are pretty honest.”NOTES: Pastrnak has 11 points in the series (four goals, seven assists), while Marchand has seven (two goals, five assists) despite Boston’s top line getting shut out in Game 3. … Plekanec had three assists in 20 combined regular-season and playoff games with Toronto before Thursday. … Leafs winger Leo Komarov sat out a second straight game with a lower-body injury. … Toronto center Nazem Kadri served the final game of his suspension for taking a run Boston forward Tommy Wingels in the series opener. Wingels suited up for the first time since the hit. … Game 7, if necessary, goes Wednesday in Boston.UP NEXTGame 5 on Saturday at Boston.