DENVER – Fear consumed the Maple Leafs bench as they stood nervously by with Daniel Winnik lying motionless on the Pepsi Center ice. Wholesale China Jerseys . One of the most scary things that Ive been a part of and watched live, said Dion Phaneuf afterward. Though requiring a fine performance in goal and one unlikely hero, Toronto managed to rally in their fallen teammates absence. They scored a single point during a wild night in Denver, one that saw the Avalanche eventually emerge behind their young guns in a shootout. It was only 45 seconds into the action when Winnik was stood up at the Colorado blue-line by Jan Hejda. He fell backwards uncontrollably from the thunderous collision, his head and neck crunching violently against the ice. Laying there motionless and seemingly knocked out for an entirely uncomfortable stretch, Winnik was eventually carted off the ice on a stretcher, his eyes open and fingers moving. The bad part about it was he was out of it, said head coach, Randy Carlyle of Winnik, who played two seasons in Colorado. After reviewing it, yeah he did twist his neck, but the weight of his body seemed to roll on his shoulder more and into his back. He was lucky in that situation. Amazingly (and almost unbelievably so) Winnik is apparently okay. Hes 100 per cent fine, said Carlyle. He says theres nothing wrong with him. That may be hard to believe, but encouragingly given how devastating the injury appeared, Winnik was even up and walking around the dressing room during the first intermission. He offered his team a rallying cry in the process. Finish the game hard, he said. That was a relief because we were pretty bothered as a team when you have a teammate like that get hurt, Phaneuf said. That was a boost for us when we came in and saw him after the first. They rallied around his presence. Even on the scoreboard after that nervous opening period, the Leafs traded goals with the Avalanche in the middle frame, tying it up one more time in the final moments of regulation on an unlikely marker from the previously little-used, Richard Panik. They needed more than a few heroics from Jonathan Bernier to even get to that point, the 26-year-old making his first start in nearly a week. Carlyle called it a reckless game, one that saw chances galore from a pair of shaky defensive squads. Im sure it was exciting for the fans, but its never exciting for coaches, he said. Given the circumstance – Jake Gardiner was also lost to injury early leaving the visitors with 16 skaters – the Leafs were happy to snatch a point, though its clear they have much to improve upon after dropping both games of a brief stint on the road. We definitely deserved that point, Bernier said, and probably more. Five Points 1. Statement in Goal Bernier wasnt too thrilled not to get the start Tuesday in Phoenix – that was the original plan – and he responded with another fine effort. If not for him the Leafs likely get nothing in Denver. There were the back-to-back stops on Matt Duchene during a wave of Avs domination in the first. There was the glove snatch of Jamie McGinns point-blank attempt in the middle frame. There was the two-pad stack on Tanguay all alone in front early in the third. I think Im seeing the puck well, he said. Im fighting to see it as well. Obviously you want to make at least one save in the shootout, you had a chance to get more [points], but thats the way it goes sometimes. Bernier owns a .925 save percentage in his last five starts. 2. First Periods Much like a year ago, first periods have been a dud for the Leafs this fall. Outscoring opponents in both the second and third, Toronto has managed eight first period goals to 14 for the opposition. The trend continued Thursday night. Colorado struck on the very shift of the game on a goal from Nick Holden – ending the period with 19 shots. Carlyle has taken measures to fix the wobbly starts, intent on easing the tension before puck-drop. Those measures even include the odd hula-hoop contest, yes, hula-hoop. Ive found that it always works, Carlyle said of playing games and contests before puck-drop. It lightens your group up and it eases the pressure that comes with it. Despite another troubled start that saw Colorado outshooting them 12-4 at one point, the Leafs did rebound in the back half of the first, evening the score on the seventh this season for Phil Kessel. (Kessel missed the first six minutes of the third with an undisclosed ailment, but managed to return for the remainder of the game.) Toronto was one of the worst starters in the league last season, outscored 76-56 in first periods – those 76 goals against the fifth-most of any team. 3. Scoring First Inextricably linked to those first periods has been the matter of scoring first. Like most teams, the Leafs arent faring well at all when they fail to score the first goal. And they gave up the first one for the eighth time in 13 games against the Avalanche. I guess you could say that everybody would love to score the first goal, Carlyle said before the game. If you look at the statistics and the league historically…the team that scores the first goal I think their winning percentage is over 70 per cent. I guess everybody would want to score the first goal. The Leafs are now 1-5-2 when theyre forced to come from behind, 5-0-0 when they score first. 4. Young D Jake Gardiner was sporting a mean limp in the Toronto dressing room after the shootout loss. Gardiner was stung on the left knee by a Jarome Iginla shot early in the first, wobbling around for the remainder of what was a troubled 50-second shift. He tested the knee during a TV timeout, but clearly felt some discomfort. X-rays revealed no break, but a deep bone bruise. Hit him in a spot where no equipment was, Carlyle said. Morgan Rielly, meanwhile, sat as a healthy scratch for the first time all season – replaced by Stuart Percy. He and Carlyle had a brief exchange at the morning skate. We felt that Morgan needed to improve in some areas of his game, Carlyle said. We think theres more for Morgan to give. Morgans got to use his skating ability to play the game to a higher level. 5. Suspended Carter Ashtons NHL career was dealt a harsh blow Thursday. The 23-year-old, still searching for his first goal in the league, was suspended 20 games, without pay, for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ashton claims the detection came from an inhaler (not his own) he used during a pair of asthma attacks before the start of the regular season. Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed that there were no problems associated with the use of this inhaler and I used it without checking to see whether its contents were permissible under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, Ashton said in a statement, recognizing Clenbuterol as the offending substance. However, at no time was I seeking to gain an athletic advantage or to knowingly violate the terms of the program. Ashton will forfeit $169,185 as a result of the suspension. Already on the fringes of the Leafs roster and just starting to play recently – he was a healthy scratch in the first nine games – this was not what Ashton needed, a mistake that could trouble his chances of getting back in the lineup. A lot can change in the more than six weeks hell miss and given his limited track record he is by no means guaranteed a spot when he becomes eligible to return on Dec. 20 when the Leafs host the Flyers. Stats-Pack 5 games – Point streak for Phil Kessel, who has three goals and 10 points in that span. 1-5-2 – Leafs record when failing to score first this season. 14-8 – Mark by which Toronto has been outscored in first periods this season. 2 – Points for Richard Panik on Thursday, his first multi-point effort as a Leaf. 31:07 – Ice-time for Dion Phaneuf against the Avalanche, his highest of the season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 20.4% PK: 3-3 Season: 83.7% Quote of the Night One of the most scary things that Ive been a part of and watched live. -Dion Phaneuf, on the Daniel Winnik incident. Up Next The Leafs return home to host the Rangers on Saturday. Fake Jerseys For Sale . -- Scottie Wilbekin sat on the bench for the final minute, holding a bag of ice against his left knee. Cheap Jerseys . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.com/ .com) - Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was named the National League Player of the Month for April. NORFOLK, Va. -- Plans were for a leisurely trip back to St. Johns, and then to spend the remainder of the week resting and watching from a distance while Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton settle the issue of which team would be the opponent in the American Hockey League Eastern Conference final. But Andre Petersson scored a power-play goal from near the blue line at 13:10 of overtime Tuesday to give the Norfolk Admirals a 3-2 win over the IceCaps in Game 5 of their semifinal, and those plans-- beyond the trip home-- were scuttled for St. Johns. The IceCaps still lead the series 3-2, but Norfolk will be on the same plane and will play at St. Johns in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series on Friday. Game 7, if necessary, would be on Saturday. "We wanted to end it tonight," said St. Johns centre Eric ODell, who scored both of the IceCaps goals after scoring twice on Monday as well. His goal at 17:02 of the third period tied the game 2-2 to force the overtime. "It happens in playoff hockey," said ODell, who is with St. Johns because its affiliate Winnipeg did not make the NHL playoffs. He spent two months with the Jets, who sent him back when their season ended. "It will be nice to get the (fourth) win in front of the home crowd." Norfolk took a 2-1 lead in the opening seconds of the third period when 18-year-old Shea Theodore skated in on the St. Johns net, then put on enough speed to find a clear path and backhand a shot past goalie Michael Hutchinson. Theodore, a defenseman who played junior hockey for Seattle of the Western Hockey League after being Anaheims No. 1 choice in the 2013 draft, took a puck off the left-wing wall and skated in slowly. Theodore turned IceCaps defendeer Will ONeill around in the faceoff circle, accelerated and beat the defense to the right side of the crease before shooting. Fake Jerseys From China. "I think I had one or two similar goals to that in junior," said Theodore. "I think instincts maybe sneaked in a little bit and I just got one past his blocker side. I think when I first got here, I would have panicked and shot the puck. I finally held it this time and a lane opened up." His goal broke a 1-1 tie fashioned in the opening period. After ODells first goal gave St. Johns an early 1-0 lead, Norfolk seemed to tie things with an apparent goal by Petersson at 16:01 of the opening period. But the goal was waved off because the Admirals were caught with an extra player on the ice and assessed a penalty. It was served by Zach Stortini, and Norfolk was taxed by a St. Johns power play, which was killed. The final blow to that man advantage came when Admiral winger Max Friberg tipped away a shot by Josh Morrissey, like Theodore, a high-scoring 18-year-old defenseman in the WHL, for Prince Albert. The loose puck slipped back toward centre ice, where Stortini left the penalty box in time to take it in and send it to Friberg, dashing down the ice. Fribergs shot from the right wing faceoff circle was stopped by Hutchinson but bounced high into the air and came down behind the goalie and skittered into the net to tie things 1-1 at 18:11. Thiessen made 36 saves while Hutchinson turned away 34-of-37 shots in defeat. So work remains for St. Johns. "Were real happy with two wins here," ODell said of victories in Games 3 and 4 in Norfolk after splitting two games in St. Johns. "Now well go back home and finish it there." ' ' '