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TORONTO - There are many questions surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, namely: How did this happen? How, in less than two weeks, did a team that was sitting pretty in second place in the Atlantic Division fritter away a three-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens and nine-point advantage over the Detroit Red Wings? As the players come to grips with the roots of their six-game losing streak, Tuesdays almost-comeback against the St. Louis Blues highlighted a big issue: Why cant the Leafs play with the desperation they show when down two or three goals at the start of games? "Thats the million-dollar question right now," winger James van Riemsdyk said. "It seems like every time we get down we start to ramp it up, and then its always just a little too little, too late at the end." It may be too little, too late for the Leafs if they cant figure out how to solve that problem. Theyre tied at 80 points with the Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals but are fourth among those teams for the Eastern Conferences two wild-card spots because theyve played the most games (74). Of course that also means their eight remaining are the fewest among those in the race and theres not much time to figure out slow starts, a central problem during this losing skid. Against the Blues, the Leafs scored first for the first time since March 10, but they also gave up a season-high 23 shots in the opening period and were hemmed in their zone often. "We just couldnt get out of our zone," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "They put a lot of pressure on us, and we couldnt handle it." Coach Randy Carlyle noticed some of the pressure that has been building on his team early on Tuesday night. "Theres a lot of tenseness in our players," he said after the 5-3 loss. "The first three puck recoveries, we just slapped the puck away. We didnt pick up the puck and skate with it at all. Thats showing signs of being nervous, tense, (a lack of) confidence not wanting to make a mistake, which led to more offensive-zone time (for St. Louis)." The listless Leafs led for less than five minutes, then trailed from the time David Backes scored with 32.3 seconds left in the first period until the end of the game. It was only after ex-Toronto forward Alex Steen scored to make it 4-1 that the Leafs showed some fire and launched a comeback bid that fell short. At this point, players are even self-aware that the transformation is happening once they fall behind. "It seems like when we get down, then were playing with no fear, were letting some of our skill take over, our defencemen are rushing the puck out of the zone and making plays," 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." If its a mental problem, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson doesnt have the answer. "Weve been talking about it," he said. "I dont know whats going on there, but weve got to figure out a way here to change it." Changing it and managing to play as well as they did in the bulk of the third period against the Blues would give the Leafs a good chance of coming out of this tailspin and making the playoffs. Gunnarsson and goaltender Jonathan Bernier agreed that, although thats a challenge, the end result could be scary for opponents. "If we play like we did in the third period for 60 minutes, I dont think theres a lot of teams that can beat us," Gunnarsson said. Of course if the Leafs make mistakes like they did in the first half of the game and throughout this losing streak, they can lose to any team left on the schedule. They visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday before returning home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and also have games against the Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators to close out the season. We have a lot of fight left in us," van Riemsdyk said. "Theres eight games left, and well have to leave it all out there in every game." NBA Jerseys China . Kansas City became the first team in baseball history to win four extra-inning games in a single postseason on Friday, as Alex Gordon crushed a leadoff homer in the 10th and Mike Moustakas added the deciding two-run blast in the Royals 8-6 win. Discount NBA Jerseys . -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three holes and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. http://www.cheapnbajerseysusa.com/ . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. Cheap NBA Jerseys From China .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys . "I knew it was gone. I mean, I felt it," the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year said. "I havent felt like that in a while. I havent got extension on a ball in a pretty long time.BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres began a four-game homestand with their first win in front of their home fans.Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons scored shootout goals, and the Sabres edged the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves and stopped Henrik Zetterberg in the third round of the shootout to help the Sabres (3-9-1) win in Buffalo after five straight home losses in which they were outscored 16-4.You hate losing more than you love winning, said Girgensons, who scored the winning goal. Winning is awesome. Its a different feeling. It feels good. I just hope we can keep it going and improve.Brian Flynn and Chris Stewart both scored their first goals of the season, and Tyson Strachan had two assists for Buffalo, which beat Detroit for the first time since Oct. 13, 2009.We had a rough October and we weathered the storm, Stewart said. Were going to learn a lot more about what this team is about in November.The Sabres were coming off a 5-0 loss Saturday night in Pittsburgh.When a team plays the night before, you should jump all over them from start to finish, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. We had the puck all night. We had lots of opportunities, just didnt finish.Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist, Tomas Tatar also scored, and Jimmy Howard made 19 saves for Detroit (6-3-2), which had won two in a row before starting a stretch of three games in four nights in four cities.The Red Wings outshot the Sabres 17-8 in the third period and 4-0 in overtime. Detroit went 0-for-4 on the power play, including one in overtime.It was a sloppy game, Tatar said. But we have to find our way to win these kinds of games. We had a power play in overtime. We have to score one of those.The Red Wings appeared to net the winning goal at 2:28 of overtime on Henrik Zetterbergs slap shoot but the goal was disallowed when officials ruled Johan Franzen had established position in the crease.dddddddddddd.I was talking to the ref a couple times during the game, Neuvirth said. He told me, I know hes standing in the crease, so whenever theyre going to score a goal, Im going to disallow it. I was glad he actually did it.Babcock didnt dispute the call.We were in the crease, he said.Stewart tied it 2-2 with 6:52 remaining in the third period, bouncing the puck in off Red Wings defenceman Brendan Smith off a rebound. Ennis and Strachan earned assists.Datsyuk put Detroit ahead 2-1 early in the third period, finishing a 3-on-2 rush with Justin Abdelkader and Smith with a short wrist shot tucked inside the left post.Datsyuk has earned a point in all six games since returning from a separated shoulder. He has five goals and five assists this season.Detroit held the puck for nearly two minutes before Tatars wrist shot from the left circle went through the legs of Sabres defenceman Josh Gorges and past Neuvirth to make it 1-1 with 7:05 remaining in the second period. Riley Sheahan and Datsyuk assisted on Tartars third goal.The Sabres scored first for just the fourth time in 13 games. Flynn gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead 6:55 into the second when he backhanded a loose puck in off the crossbar.NOTES: Franzen returned to the lineup after missing six games with a groin injury. ... The Sabres recalled F Johan Larsson from AHL Rochester to replace the injured Marcus Foligno. Foligno got hurt in Saturday nights loss at Pittsburgh. ... Buffalo signed F Justin Bailey to a three-year, entry-level contract. Bailey, currently playing with the OHLs Kitchener Rangers, was a second-round pick in 2013. ... Detroit will play at Ottawa on Tuesday and at the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Buffalo will host Montreal on Wednesday. ' ' '