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TORONTO -- Tyler Bozak and the Toronto Maple Leafs spent a lot of time chasing the puck. It was exactly the kind of possession game the Minnesota Wild want to play: one that frustrates an opponent. "They got the puck a lot of the time, so its kind of hard for you to get shots when theyre cycling on you," Bozak said. In the end, it didnt matter. The Leafs were outshot 37-14 but generated some opportunistic offence in a 4-1 victory at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. "Minnesotas a team that eliminates chances and shots big-time," said Toronto goaltender James Reimer, who made 36 saves. "You watch any game they play, and youre lucky if you get 20 shots on them. I wasnt expecting us to get 40 on net tonight, but what we do so well is even though we dont get the most amount of shots, we capitalize on our chances and that was the case." The Leafs improved to 6-1-0, continuing their best start since 1993 when they opened 10-0. But the way theyve managed to overcome some weak play and keep winning is somewhat masterful. Coach Randy Carlyle conceded that this one was again not a work of art and knows his team cant continue this level of play and expect the same positive results that have been there so far. "Some nights were going to get our butt kicked playing like this," he said. The way the Wild (3-2-2) put on a clinic in maintaining and protecting the puck, especially in the offensive zone, couldve spelled disaster for Toronto. Sparked by four early power plays, they carried the momentum everywhere except the scoreboard. Thats because the Leafs scored on their first shot, a tap-in from the crease by Bozak after a tic-tac-toe passing play with Dave Bolland and Cody Franson 4:24 into the game, and on their third shot, a five-hole goal by Trevor Smith 13:51 in. Reimer expressed empathy for Minnesota goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who was chased from the game after allowing Mason Raymond to score Torontos third goal on its seventh shot. Josh Harding faced just seven shots the rest of the way. "Honestly I kind of feel sorry for Kuemper," Reimer said. "Thats a tough first start of the year to come into where youre not getting much chances and then all of a sudden theres a tic-tac-toe in front and then a breakaway. You cant get into a rhythm. For him, his game was by far the hardest out of any of us three." Reimers job wasnt easy, by any means. Making his first appearance since being pulled Oct. 5 against Ottawa, Reimer was tested plenty early because of a barrage of penalties. Being on the receiving end of a shooting gallery while shorthanded wasnt what Reimer would have liked, but it helped get him into the game after so much time off. "I think as a team youd rather face less because every shot is a chance for the puck to go in," he said. "But as a goalie, you like to feel the puck and get those shots. You dont want necessarily scoring chances but shots. Its nice to get in the game but at the same time a couple less power plays wouldve been good, too." The Wild took four penalties, but two of the Torontos three power plays turned into goals. The Leafs were happy to win the special-teams battle on a night they didnt have their best game. But the heavy shot disparity provided the Wild with no moral victories. "Theres no consolation in us coming here and saying, Oh we outshot them, we outplayed them," forward Zach Parise said. "We didnt win." Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said he has been part of 4-1 losses, "but not many of them felt like that." The same could be said in the home locker-room, where the Leafs followed a familiar script of being outshot and still celebrating at the end of the night. They put just 13 shots on net twice last season and won both games. The Leafs franchise record for fewest shots in a victory is nine, set March 4, 1999 when they beat the St. Louis Blues 4-0. They could chalk up Tuesdays victory to some timely goals and more timely saves from Reimer, who on one occasion stopped Mikael Granlund after the puck hopped over Phil Kessels stick and on another made a save on Torrey Mitchell following a neutral-zone turnover by Dion Phaneuf. "By no means was that our identity, what we want to play like out there," said Raymond, who scored an empty netter when Kessel let the puck go in without touching it in front. "We werent real good in a lot of areas, but we also found a way to win. As we keep saying, we arent going to take away from our wins, but theres definitely lots of room for improvement." Thats the conundrum for Carlyle, who is seeking improvement as the wins keep coming. "Again, were in a situation that its hard to be critical when youre getting points," he said. "Were not going to continue to accept whats happening but we have to find a way to mould this from a different angle that our level of play has to increase." Notes -- James van Riemsdyk was scratched from the Leafs lineup because of an upper-body injury that forced him to leave the morning skate early. Smith, who was recalled from the AHLs Toronto Marlies, replaced him in the lineup while Troy Bodie was a healthy scratch. ... Defencemen Mathew Dumba (healthy) and Keith Ballard (injured) were scratched by the Wild in favour of Marco Scandella and Nate Prosser. Minnesota can play Dumba up to five more games before deciding whether to keep him around or send him back to the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. Salomon Outlet Online . But unfortunately for the Niagara Falls, Ont., native, a pulled muscle wouldnt allow him to go past the second set. Japan sealed its victory over Canada in the first-round Davis Cup tie after Nishikori downed an ailing Dancevic 6-2, 1-0. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. http://www.cheapsalomon.net/ . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. Cheap Salomon Shoes Online .com) - Devin Booker scored 19 points and top-ranked Kentucky put on a defensive clinic in an 83-44 obliteration of UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. Salomon Shoes From China . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift.6) Im not sure how good it makes them, but after the Chicago White Sox answered their four biggest needs by signing closer David Robertson, designated-hitter Adam LaRoche and left fielder Melky Cabrera, and by trading for starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija, has any major league baseball team done better in rebuilding for 2015?7) Wasnt it good of Aaron Rodgers to take the blame for the Green Bay Packers loss in Buffalo? I thought he might complain about the weather--too warm.8) Heres a storyline to follow, and a juicy question if it comes to this--if the Buffalo Bills are alive with a playoff chance when they close the regular season at New England, and if the Patriots have clinched home-field advantage in the AFC, is it likely or unlikely that Bill Belichick would give Tom Brady the day off?9) Do you wish to delve deeper into the formula for a playoff appearance by the Bills? Heres their road map to the AFCs second wild-card spot--Buffalo closes with wins at Houston and Brady-less New England to finish at 10-6, Pittsburgh and Baltimore claim two of three remaining playoff berths and the Bills, at 10-6, wind up ahead of Cincinnati, Kansas City and San Diego. The Bengals are in tough against Denver and the Steelers, and since the Chiefs and Chargers play each other, just one of them can get to 10 wins. If neither does, and the Bills do, Buffalo is in.10) With the Toronto Maple Leafs now contending for the lead in the NHL East, this question comes to mind: How long has it been since the Leafs opened a playoff series at home? It is more than a bit interesting to note that it has been long enough to see five of the Toronto players in that April 8, 2004 playoff opener against Ottawa gain induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Those five are Mats Sundin, Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Ron Francis and Brian Leetch.11) Can you tell me how Mike Santorelli can play so well for the Leafs and be tied for 2nd in NHL plus-minus ratings after being traded for a fourth-round draft pick by Nashville, waived by Florida and left unsigned by Winnipeg and Vancouver?12) When the NFL season began with a crackdown on illegal contact by defensive backs, did you think they would adjust and learn to avoid penalties? You were wrong.13) Are you loyal to your pre-season picks, or do you change your mind according to the latest evidence? Last season, I picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl and never saw a reason to change.dddddddddddd This season, I picked Denver and, while Im tempted to change, I will remain loyal, however stubborn that makes me. (I am, or was tempted to switch back to Seattle.)14) I guess you cant think like this when youre an NHL executive, but what must those in charge of the Columbus Blue Jackets say to themselves when they see Jakub Voracek and Rick Nash sitting 3rd and 9th respectively in NHL scoring?15) Do you want proof that times do change? In the NBA, during a 32-year period from 1959 to 1990, 27 NBA titles were won by the Boston Celtics (15), Los Angeles Lakers (6), Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons (2 each). In the current NBA standings, none of those teams holds a playoff spot.16) It still boggles the mind that Wayne Gretzky scored almost 1,000 more points than any other NHL player, but isnt it just as amazing that, after moving past Michael Jordan into third place on the NBAs all-time scoring list, Kobe Bryant was still more than 6,000 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?17) Did the San Francisco 49ers play in three straight NFC championship games because of coach Jim Harbaugh, or did they fail to win a Super Bowl because of coach Jim Harbaugh?18) I suppose I could have been making a mistake, but I didnt watch a minute of Johnny Manziels first NFL start. Did you? Because that would have been a mistake.19) Can you win in the NHL without a good power play? Well, for the first 18 games of this season, you could easily explain the futility of the Buffalo Sabres by pointing to the worst power play in the league. It produced only three goals. The Sabres, suddenly and inexplicably, have caught fire by winning 10 of their last 13 games. During that time, they have scored four power play goals. So thats not it.20) And finally, Sunday night was a good night to be Dallas, with the lone exception having something to do with a sport other than football and a team other than the Cowboys. Are you old enough to take this a step further, with still another "Dallas" reference? J.R. didnt last forever, either. ' ' '