Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen stood outside the visitors locker room at Sporting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Maurice Hurst Jersey . - Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen stood outside the visitors locker room at Sporting Park and promptly rattled off a list of the reasons his club is in position for its first playoff appearance in franchise history. He raced through the areas of improvement in only a matter of seconds. But that index eventually led him to a realization that his club learned the hard way Saturday. Theres still work to be done. Sporting Kansas City put a stamp on its Eastern Conference lead by routing Toronto FC 4-1 in front of 20,730 fans at Sporting Park. Toronto FC fell to 0-2-1 this season against the Eastern Conference leaders. "We needed to harden as a team, but you have to do that through experience, through playing and through the plays, year after year of grinding it out," Nelsen said. "I think we still got a wee bit to go, but the positives on our day, we can beat anybody in this league, and I think everybody knows that." Toronto FC, 9-8-5, performed better than the scoreline indicated. The visitors recorded only one less shot than Sporting KC and held 47 percent of the possession - a hard number to reach at Sporting Park, where only one visiting team has claimed victory this season. But Sporting KC striker Dom Dwyer broke a five-game scoreless slump when he converted a pair of first-half penalty kicks. He has 16 goals this season. Toronto FC forward Gilberto Oliveira Souza executed a nifty flick to beat goalkeeper Jon Kempin in extra time of the first half to cut the deficit to 2-1, but Soony Saad and C.J. Sapong finished off corner-kick plays for the 4-1 final. "I dont think well be giving away goals on corner kicks like that. We dont normally," Nelsen said. "And then its just two penalties. If you take all that away, they dont create much against us and dont break us down very often. "We had very many opportunities to score a lot of goals in open play. Were dangerous. We look good now. Well be a different animal when we have a few guys (back)." The club played without its captain, defender Steven Caldwell, as well as Jermain Defoe, Mark Bloom and Warren Creavalle. Nelsen said all four players could return when Toronto FC returns home Aug. 23 to host the Chicago Fire. Their absences loomed large - particularly on the back line. "We looked young at the back today - some indecision," Nelsen said. "But we learned from it. All those guys learned from it. Theyll grow from it. The experience will be good for them. The exciting thing about it is if were lucky enough to come back and play these guys again, Im very confident in our team." Gilberto provided reason for optimism in the first half when he finished off a crossing pass from Dominic Oduro, but he missed his chance to knot the score later in the game. Gilberto found himself in a one-on-one with Kempin - who was making the first start of his Major League Soccer career - only six minutes after halftime, but Kempin deflected the shot wide. Toronto defender Jackson Goncalves - responsible for the first penalty kick when he tripped midfielder Benny Feilhaber - had an opportunity to atone for his mistake in the second half when he found himself one-on-one with Kempin. But he took too long to make his move, and Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin hustled back to clear the ball from danger. That was the end of chances for Toronto FC, which still managed to secure six points over its four-game road swing. "I think youd take six points from four away games. I think if someone offered me that, Id probably take it," Nelsen said. Kolton Miller Jersey . Its a blessing and a burden for nine sons of former NHL players who are all expected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft this weekend. Johnny Townsend Jersey .S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon. http://www.cheapraidersjerseyschina.com/marcell-ateman-jersey/ . Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole.Thomas Vanek broke out of his scoring slump with the Montreal Canadiens in a big way. The Habs hope their recently-acquired winger can stay hot on Thursday night in a home matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Catch the action on TSN Habs starting at 7:30pm et/ 4:30pm pt. The Canadiens acquired Vanek from the New York Islanders prior to the trade deadline in an effort to upgrade their offense for a playoff push. However, Vanek failed to score a goal in his first five games with Montreal, held to just a single assist. The two-time 40-goal scorer finally broke out in Tuesdays big 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, netting a hat trick to spoil Patrick Roys return to Montreal. Roy made his first appearance in Montreal as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and received a warm reception early in the game before Vanek stole the show. "It was unbelievable," Vanek said of his three-goal night. "This place is electric." Brandon Prust had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row. Travis Moen and Dale Weise also lit the lamp, while Carey Price made 25 saves. Prust will sit out tonights contest with an upper-body injury after skating for only 10 minutes at Thursdays morning skate. Ryan White draws into the lineup in his place. Montreals current win streak has it tied for second place with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. That is three ahead of the fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Columbus is also pushing for a plaayoff bid as it sits two points behind the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Discount Raiders Jerseys. The Blue Jackets are also even with the Washington Capitals with 76 points, but have two games in hand to hold the current tiebreaker for the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets were riding a seven-game point streak going into Tuesdays home matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes and fell in defeat 3-1. Columbus was nearly shut out before Boone Jenner lit the lamp with 50 seconds to go, deflecting Ryan Johansens shot past Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin. Still, the Blue Jackets fell to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up three goals on 20 shots through two periods, while Curtis McElhinney did not face a shot in the third period during his relief appearance. Columbus outshot Carolina 19-0 in the third period. "We attempted 79 (shots) -- 47 were on net," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It seemed like we had some quality chances. We hit a couple posts. We had our opportunities." The Blue Jackets activated forward Jared Boll from injured reserve on Wednesday. He had missed the past 45 games due to a torn ankle tendon suffered in late November. The 27-year-old scored one goal and racked up 38 penalty minutes in 21 games before suffering the injury. The Blue Jackets have lost both of their previous meetings with the Canadiens this season, including a 5-3 loss in Montreal on Oct. 17. 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 ' ' '