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TORONTO – Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. St. Louis was all that and more for most of a cold March night. They dealt the sliding Leafs their sixth straight loss – seven in the past eight games – and a very loud exit from the current playoff picture. Once on firm ground toward a second straight trip to the postseason, Toronto now sits 10th in the East, trailing Columbus and Detroit for the final two wild card spots with only eight games left to play. Skidding for nearly two weeks without even a single point they are in danger of fumbling away what seemed like a sure thing. Fear of that reality, it seems, is slowly infecting the group. "Well, certainly were afraid of letting it slip away," Joffrey Lupul conceded after a 5-3 loss to the Blues, the Leafs winless since Mar. 13. "The whole year we thought we were a playoff team and we still believe that now." At this moment, however, they are not. And what once seemed unthinkable as recently as two weeks prior when they stormed through California has now become a very real reality. The Leafs may not make the playoffs and they know it. And that fear of fumbling it away is driving the nerves of a flailing group. Head coach Randy Carlyle observed "tenseness" during the first half of Wednesdays game, one that saw St. Louis completely manhandle their sinking opponents, especially so in a dominant first frame. Big, hard, fast and strong, the best team in the West controlled possession of the puck almost without exception, peppering Jonathan Bernier with 23 shots while scoring the first two of four unanswered. "Its like we were frozen for 30 minutes of the hockey game," Carlyle said. "We didnt pick up the puck and skate with it at all. And thats showing signs of being nervous, tense, [lacking] confidence, not wanting to make a mistake which led to more offensive zone time [for the Blues]." Only when the score tilted at 4-1 did they start to push back and in a well-repeated theme, muster the kind of tenaciousness and enthusiasm required for winning at this time of year. Carl Gunnarsson and James van Riemsdyk scored to slice the deficit to one, but like those rallies in each of the previous five losses, the Leafs ultimately ran out of time. Desperation was just a little too late. "Right now it seems like when we get down then were playing with no fear," Lupul said. "Theres something to be said about being down and not having that fear anymore, but realistically weve got to play like that right from the start. Its more of a psychological thing than it is a physical thing for sure." Whether they can overcome that imposing mental hurdle and recover in time to make the playoffs remains an increasingly uncertain question. With stumbling starts, glaring defensive breakdowns, inconsistent offence and poor goaltending, theyve found ways to lose hockey games in rapid order and are feeling the pressure from it. Losing six straight for the first time since the infamous 18-wheeler collapse in 2012, the Leafs now they sit on the outside of the playoff picture with a daunting weekend set ahead against the Flyers and Red Wings. Their fate could be determined in a matter of days. "Theres reason for concern, but its not completely time to panic," Lupul said. "Were still right there. Weve got a game Friday, we play Detroit [on] Saturday, you win those two games and all of a sudden things look a lot different." Five Points: 1. Berniers Back Even Bernier – making his first start since Mar. 13 – couldnt rescue the Leafs from the Blues. And he tried. The 25-year-old was spectacular early on, turning away the first 20 St. Louis shots in a one-sided opening frame. He eventually ceded four goals on 48 shots. It was just his third loss in regulation when facing 40 shots or more (8-3-2). Bernier had missed the previous five games with a groin injury, rushing back to stabilize the Leafs wobbling crease. "Lot of work, but felt okay," he said afterward. Stretching constantly, in between whistles and during TV timeouts, Bernier was seemingly shy of 100 per cent, but surely felt the need to return with his teams chances of reaching the postseason flailing. Asked if he rushed back from the injury, Bernier said, "You always want to be back as soon as possible." "It was a little sore obviously, but I was just trying to get it loose a little bit in between whistles and timeouts." 2/3. Ready to Start? Scoring first didnt help the Leafs much on this night. They scored the first goal for the first time in eight games with Lupul tucking a Nazem Kadri pass beyond Ryan Miller on a power-play, but it was down-hill from there. Already owning possession for much of the period to that point, the Blues tied the proceedings at one when T.J. Oshie squeezed a rebound through the pads of Bernier. They went in front for good on the first of three from David Backes on a power-play, Dion Phaneuf failing to clear the puck adequately. St. Louis had 23 shots for the period, the most Toronto has allowed in any one period this season. "Thats a heck of a hockey team over there," van Riemsdyk said. "The way they play, lines 1-4, [defence] pairings 1-3, theres not much of a falloff. They kept coming. Thats no excuse for us. We have to find a way to get off to a better start." Strong and sturdy, the Blues cycled and cycled and cycled without giving the Leafs even a taste of the puck. "We couldnt break their cycle," Lupul said. "We couldnt get the puck." It was the kind of grinding performance Carlyle would like to see more from his team in Toronto. "They did a lot of things that were trying to convince our hockey club to do as far as hanging onto the puck a little bit more," he said. "We understand were not as big and strong and as physical as some of those teams that are able to do that, but thats more of the style this time of year – if you watch the games – thats whats being played." The Leafs are now 8-20-4 when they trail after the opening period. "Again we played 30 minutes of hockey tonight and showed that we can play, but wheres the 60 minutes?" Carlyle said. "We cannot afford to not start the way weve been starting. We have to have more of an effort or consistent, confident start than weve had in these games." 4. Phaneuf Phaneuf played fewer than 21 minutes and had what may have been his worst game of the season. The Toronto captain was on the ice and largely responsible for three of the first four St. Louis goals, having what Carlyle described as a "rough night". The 28-year-old made his first error late in the first, fumbling away an opportunity to clear the puck on a penalty kill, the Blues regrouping to score the first of three from Backes. Then early in the middle frame Phaneuf lost a puck battle with Alex Steen in the offensive zone. Lagging to get back defensively, he was beaten down the ice by Backes, the Blues captain eluding Bernier for the third St. Louis marker. About 10 minutes after that it was Steen muscling Phaneuf to the ice just outside Berniers crease, shaking free to whistle a backhand just under the bar for a 4-1 lead. Phaneuf was unavailable to media after the game. 5. Six-Game Skid Losing a bunch of close games, prior to Wednesday night, Lupul believed the Leafs had actually played better at points in their slide than in many victories this season. "Absolutely," said Lupul before the loss to St. Louis. "We track scoring chances – our team does – and were out-chancing teams every night. You can look at that and say were doing some things right, but its the time of the year that that doesnt really matter anymore, its all about wins. Youve got to translate that into getting more wins." The 30-year-old observed that the margin for winning and losing at this time of year is "really close". "Its been a topic of discussion in here," he said. "Were generating chances. Were not giving up near as many as we have, but were coming out on the wrong side of the game so that doesnt really matter. "And on the flip side when we were winning games and getting out-chanced we were saying the same thing in here, like come on, what are we doing? But now its the time of the year that it doesnt really matter how you get the job done it just needs to get done." Stats-Pack 1-7-0 – Leafs record in the past eight games. 23 – Shots allowed by the Leafs in the opening period Wednesday, the most of any period this season. 8 – Fights for David Clarkson this season. Pointless now in 23 of the past 25 games, Clarkson fought Brendan Morrow in the second period. 7-23 – Tyler Bozak in the faceoff circle against the Blues, hammered by the combination of Steen and Vladimir Sobotka. 1 – Six-game losing streak for the Leafs this season. 2 – Goals for James van Riemsdyk in the past 12 games, van Riemsdyk notching his 28th this season in defeat. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3Season: 21% (3rd) PK: 2-3Season: 78.5% (28th) Quote of the Night "Theres reason for concern, but its not completely time to panic." -Joffrey Lupul, following the Leafs sixth consecutive loss. Up Next The Leafs travel to Philadelphia on Friday to meet the Flyers before hosting the Red Wings at home on Saturday. Lewis Thorpe Jersey . -- A 25-year-old freelance journalist from British Columbia was formally charged on Thursday with a felony, five days after she was arrested in the United States over allegations she threatened to kill her hockey player boyfriend. Ryne Harper Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. https://www.cheaptwins.com/1312t-trevor-may-jersey-twins.html . -- Max Domi scored twice and set up two more as the London Knights toppled the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 6-4 on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Lewis Thorpe Twins Jersey . In a matter of days, he went from unwanted to wanted, from fired to hired, from discarded by the Philadelphia Eagles with reputation tarnished to rock star treatment and a new fat contract from the Washington Redskins. Kohl Stewart Twins Jersey . Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped. FRISCO, Texas -- Call it a case of being in the right place at the right time. Chicago striker Mike Magee tied for the MLS goal-scoring lead Saturday night by scoring his 19th goal when Alexs shot deflected off Magees ribs and into the goal in the Fires 3-2 win over FC Dallas on Saturday night. Magee, who also had an assist, called it the "the strangest goal Ive ever scored." A loose ball went to Alex about 20 yards in front. His left-footed shot struck Magee, redirecting the ball on a bounce past goalkeeper Chris Seitz to give Magee his 13th goal in 19 matches for Chicago since being traded from the Los Angeles Galaxy. "I wasnt even surprised because I didnt see anything," Magee said. "I was trying to protect myself. And then it hit me in the rib cage." Magee is tied with Montreals Marco Di Vaio for the scoring lead. The victory moved the Fire (13-12-7) into a three-way tie with Montreal and Philadelphia for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with two matches remaining. The top five teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. New England is one point behind the three teams tied for the last two spots. "Theres still hope," Fire head coach Frank Klopas said. "We want to be playing for something." Dallas (10-11-11) rallied from a 3-0 deficit on Kenny Coopers two second-half goals, but was eliminated from playoff contention. Head coach Schellas Hyndmans team can reach no more than 47 points. Five Western Conference teams have 48 or more. Hyndman said, "We had a couple of good chances to tie the game, but in reality, its a disappointing ending for us." Chicago opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Magee sent a corner kick from the left side to about 10 yards in front of the goal and Juan Luis Anangono headed it in.dddddddddddd The Fire took what looked like an insurmountable lead at 3-0 in the 52nd minute when defender Jalil Anibaba scored his first goal since May of 2012. His shot from 25 yards out hooked just inside the right post as Seitz tried to move over for a save. "Were after our defenders all the time about shooting," Klopas said. "But he takes a touch and puts it in the corner where its almost impossible for the goalie to make a save. When that happens, its OK for him to shoot." In the 63rd minute, FC Dallas David Ferreira sent the ball in front of the net, where Cooper battled a defender and shot off the side of his right foot into the right corner. Cooper, who entered in the 12th minute when Mauro Diaz left with a leg injury, added his second goal on a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Fire goalie Sean Johnson went right, and Cooper shot to his left. Johnson made three saves, all on shots by Fabian Castillo. "We just shot ourselves in the foot again, just having to dig ourselves out of a hole," Dallas midfielder Andrew Jacobson said. "They came out and they pressed us. We couldnt deal with the pressure." NOTES: Dallas played without defender George John, inactive because of a knee injury. He had started the 11 previous matches. ... FC Dallas is 2-9-6 when the opponent scores first. ... By winning, Chicago retained the Brimstone Cup -- which dates to 2001, when Dallas team was called the Burn. The trophy goes to the team winning the season series from the other. The teams met only once this year. ... FC Dallas Castillo and Jackson each received a yellow card. ' ' '