Already exhausted following a long road trip and playing the second half of back-to-back games, the last thing the Toronto Maple Leafs was another emotional pitfall.

TORONTO -- Already exhausted following a long road trip and playing the second half of back-to-back games, the last thing the Toronto Maple Leafs was another emotional pitfall. Cheap Cowboys Jerseys . Coach Randy Carlyle had already caused a stir in Detroit a night earlier by calling James Reimers play in a loss "just OK," and then the goaltender gave up a goal on the first shot he faced Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately for the Leafs, that was just the beginning of a long game as defenceman Paul Ranger was injured and Steven Stamkos rang up a hat trick to hand them a 5-3 loss at Air Canada Centre, their third in a row. Even after the club released an update saying Ranger was "stable, conscious and alert" after his head hit the glass on a hit from Alex Killorn and he was taken to a local hospital, there were plenty of worried teammates in the home locker-room after a defeat that dropped the Leafs three points behind the Lightning in the Atlantic Division. With that came a notion of missing an opportunity to make something out of the impossibly difficult situation of seeing Ranger go down. "You try to use that as motivation to go out there and give yourself the best opportunity to get a chance and try to use the player, Range, get it for him," Carlyle said. "And we fell short, for sure." Against the Lightning (38-24-7), falling short meant starting terribly with a goal against 59 seconds in, taking too many penalties and giving Stamkos far too much room to operate. But Killorns hit on Ranger understandably took the lions share of the attention. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper called it "probably the turning point in the game" as his team killed off the five-minute major, while the Leafs (36-27-8) just struggled to pick their game up after watching him get wheeled off the ice on a stretcher. "We say our jobs to get ready and prepare for the next period, but thats scary," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "He obviously didnt look great when he was leaving the ice. So youre trying to clear your head and focus on the next period. But you cant lie -- obviously part of you is wondering whats going on with him." When Ranger went down, the Leafs were trailing 3-2 after Radko Gudas beat Reimer in the games first minute with a seemingly innocent shot from just inside the blue-line. Reimer didnt see the shot, and long after his Leafs came back to take the lead on goals by Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin, Carlyle didnt blame his goalie for that one. "The first goals kind of (a) fluke," Carlyle said. "What do you do? Its a seeing-eye shot, theres a screen, it hits a post and goes in. So you cant get too unravelled by that." Reimer, who gave up five goals on 30 shots, didnt unravel, but a lack of discipline and the Leafs defence was to blame for Stamkos scoring twice in the first period and then completing the hat trick early in the second. An interference penalty on David Clarkson led to the first goal, and there were missed assignments on all three. For Stamkos, who was playing in just his seventh game since returning from a four-month absence after breaking his right leg, called getting the natural hat trick in front of family and friends the highlight of his season. "I was a little disappointed there was no hats on the ice," the Markham, Ont., native said. "I guess Ill take it anyway." Though he couldnt be blamed for any of the three goals Stamkos scored, Reimer couldnt take many positives out of his performance. Because Jonathan Bernier remains out with a groin injury, Reimer became the first Toronto goalie to start on back-to-back days this season, and this wasnt the result he wanted when thrust into that situation. "I just want to come out and play well and kind of be a difference-maker, and unfortunately it wasnt the case," Reimer said. "I thought I made some good saves, but it definitely wasnt the performance I was looking for. I wanted to come out and be big and keep your team in it, and that didnt happen tonight." Reimers failings, notably on the first goal, paled in comparison to the other drama and blunders that tormented the Leafs against the Lightning. Six minor penalties led to two power-play goals by the Lightning -- the first by Stamkos and the second one in the third from linemate Tyler Johnson -- which wound up being enough to make the difference. "A lot of things come down to special teams," Cooper said. "Weve had our ups and downs all year. For us to kill off all those penalties, especially the five minutes and then get two power-play goals. Thats how youre going to win. Thats how youre going to win down the stretch and get into the playoffs." With the victory, the Lightning, who got 36 saves on 39 shots from Vezina Trophy candidate Ben Bishop, moved ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs, who at 71 games have played the most of any team in the Eastern Conference, held onto the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but lost a major opportunity to pick up points. Reimer lamented not doing that more than being unable to cover up the fire storm that surrounded him. "It doesnt really matter how you play or how people talk about how you play as long as you get points," he said. "As tough as things go or as good as things go, you can play a great game and still lose. The big thing is points, so as far as statement games or whatnot, I think really at this time of year its just about your team and about getting your team points, not necessarily about you making a statement." Stamkos, who scored his three goals on his only three shots of the night, made a statement that hes back and capable of carrying the Lightning. Cooper was looking forward to seeing how the 24-year-old would fare in his "backyard," and he didnt disappoint. "Theres special players out there that find a way, they have that innate ability to rise to the occasion," Cooper said. "For Stammer to come back in here to his hometown and do what he did tonight, basically put the team on his shoulders, I cant say enough about (him)." And the Leafs couldnt say enough about how things went wrong, especially when it came to not containing one of the leagues best in Stamkos. "We were getting exposed," Lupul said. "There were times today where we were good, other times we made some errors getting the puck out of our zone, once by me and then a couple times we let their best player get the puck in an area where we cant do that." And then there was a lack of desperation early on that only came in the second half of the game and showed up when Jake Gardiner cut the deficit to one with 12:40 left. Giving half of what was necessary was not enough. "I felt that our desperation level went up for the last 30 minutes of the game," Carlyle said. "Weve got to do a better job than that." NOTES -- Kessels goal was his 35th of the season, two short of his career high. ... Gardiners goal was his fifth in the past seven games and 10th of the season. ... Killorn was given a game misconduct along with the five-minute major for boarding Ranger, whom the Leafs said was taken to a hospital for a "precautionary assessment." ... Toronto goaltender Jonathan Bernier skated Wednesday morning for the first time since suffering a groin injury almost a week earlier in Los Angeles. Carlyle said Bernier was "coming along" and he expected the injured netminder to take shots during practice Friday. Cedrick Wilson Jr. Jersey . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Throwback Cowboys Jerseys . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. http://www.cheapcowboysjerseyselite.com/ ." Also, defencemen "were found to be at a higher risk of suffering a concussion than other players, perhaps due to turning their back to retrieve pucks along the boards, which leaves them vulnerable. CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona heard the boos from the home crowd, and the Cleveland Indians manager didnt mind one bit. Francona pulled Corey Kluber two outs short of a complete game in Clevelands 4-1 win over Kansas City on Sunday. The crowd of 16,991 wanted to see Kluber, who allowed four hits and struck out 10 in 8 1-3 innings, finish the game, and the fans let Francona know they didnt agree with his decision. "I dont blame them," Francona said. "If I was managing with my heart, Id have left him in there, too." Kluber (8-6) took a three-hitter into the ninth before Eric Hosmer started the inning with a double. The right-hander, who gave up a solo homer to Mike Moustakas in the fifth, was removed after striking out Salvador Perez. Kluber also heard the boos and used the opportunity to take a good-natured jab at his manager. "Kip (second baseman Jason Kipnis) was giving him a hard time, too," he said. "It was pretty funny, I guess." Cody Allen recorded the final two outs for his ninth save, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes homered in a three-run second inning. Kluber, who walked one, retired the first seven hitters before Jarrod Dysons infield single with one out in the third. Lorenzo Cain also had an infield hit in the sixth. Kluber has been Clevelands ace all season. He has four double-figure strikeout games. "It sure is nice, man, to write his name in there," Francona said. "He has weapons, he has poise, and he competes." Francona said. Kluber is working to stay on an even keel throughout the season. "Im trying to be as consistent as I can from start to start," Kluber said. "I try to avoid the downs as much as possible and keep the good stuff rolling." Kluber rarely shows any emotion on the mound, but Francona thinks appearances can be misleading. "Hes very locked in," Francona said. "Maybe his demeanour belies the real fire thats in there. He gets after it." Even Moustakas, who walked in the seventh and is 7 for 18 against Kluber, was impressed. "Everything he was throwing was nasty," he said. A lack of run support has kept Kluber from having a better record. He allowed three runs over 20 2-3 innings in his last three sstarts, but lost twice. Elite Cowboys Jerseys. Kluber held the Dodgers to one run in 6 2-3 innings on Monday, but was the losing pitcher in a 1-0 defeat. Both of Clevelands home runs came off Danny Duffy (5-8). Santana led off the inning with a line drive that barely cleared the fence in right. Gomes followed with a two-run homer to centre. Michael Brantley, who went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .321, had an RBI single in the fifth. Santanas homer came on a 1-1 pitch and was his 13th of the season, tying him with Brantley for the team lead. Ryan Raburn followed with a single, and Gomes hit his 10th home run on a 1-0 pitch. Cleveland has won four of five and moved within two games of second-place Kansas City in the AL Central. The Royals, who trail first-place Detroit by 4 1-2 games, dropped their first road series since losing two of three against the Los Angeles Angels from May 23-25. Duffy allowed 10 hits and struck out six in six innings. The left-hander had a 1.69 ERA in six June starts and was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA in his last four road starts. The Indians placed leadoff hitter and centre fielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Bourn has been battling the injury all season and hurt it again running the bases on Saturday. Left fielder Alex Gordon and designated hitter Billy Butler, who are both in lengthy slumps, were out of Sundays lineup. Gordon is mired in a 3 for 40 skid, and Butler has just three hits in 26 at-bats. NOTES: The Royals signed LHP Scott Downs, who was released by the White Sox on Thursday. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning. RHP Casey Coleman was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. ... The Indians called up OF Tyler Holt from Triple-A Columbus to take Bourns roster spot. Holtz made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the ninth and caught Danny Valencias fly ball to end the game. ... Royals OF Nori Aoki (strained left groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas this week. ... RHP Justin Masterson (4-5), who lasted three innings in his last start, will open Clevelands four-game series against the Yankees on Monday. ... The Royals continue their nine-game road trip Monday at Tampa Bay with RHP James Shields (8-4) facing his former team. Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '