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TORONTO -- Randy Carlyle knows all about the "Nashville Predator way," and he figured his Toronto Maple Leafs would have to outwork their opponent Thursday night. That didnt happen. The Predators were zoned in on their workmanlike style, the Leafs played a mistake-prone game and the result was a 4-2 loss at Air Canada Centre. "We just didnt play well enough," captain Dion Phaneuf said. "I dont think you can say much more than that. We didnt do enough of the little things against a team that always comes hard. They play very disciplined to their system, they have for a long time, and we just werent good enough." Not good enough to the tune of blowing an early lead with a couple of ill-timed penalties and some spotty defence around the net. After Peter Holland scored his first goal with the Leafs 5:48 in, it seemed like the whole team went into cruise control. Carlyle saw things change at the first intermission. "We were flat after the first period. We didnt seem to have any energy, we didnt seem to have any enthusiasm," he said. "It just seemed like the game turned, and then we couldnt get it back." Thats because the Predators (11-9-2) pounced on mistakes. When Toronto winger Mason Raymond high-sticked David Legwand, rookie defenceman Seth Jones scored on the power play off Jay McClements stick. Sleepy defence put the Leafs behind at 11:14 of the second. Matt Cullen, who finished with a game-high four points, whiffed on his original attempt but had no trouble recovering the puck and scoring while Paul Ranger and the Leafs stood around watching. It got worse before it got better for Toronto when Craig Smith scored the first of his two goals with James van Riemsdyk in the penalty box for boarding. Add it up and it was a 4-1 lead for the Predators. "Second period I thought we locked down our structure, got on to our game plan a little bit better," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "I think we were watching Toronto a little bit. ... We created some penalties and our power play was real huge for us today and I thought we locked down the game pretty good." It was a period the Leafs (13-8-1) would love to forget. "I think we just got away from our game plan a little bit, got off the forecheck," Holland said. "We werent going in on them as hard, we were letting their skilled guys make plays and they capitalized on the power play as well. Unfortunately theres breaks in the game and they seemed to capitalize on them." The breaks kept going against the Leafs, but most of that was self-inflicted. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who was dominant in nine previous starts against the Predators, gave up a soft goal in the third to Smith when the puck nicked his glove and bounced over him and into the net. Bernier finished with 24 saves on 28 shots. Nazem Kadri scored late in the third in his return from a three-game suspension for elbowing Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom in the head to provide a brief burst of energy and bring the crowd of 19,256 to life. The Leafs were buzzing with an extra attacker, Holland even hit the cross bar and the post, but it wasnt enough to beat Marek Mazanec, who finished with 24 saves. "We had some chances, so youre never out of it," Carlyle said. "We had some enthusiasm going, but we hit a cross bar, post, and that was it." The Leafs looked out of it for much of the night because the Predators were living up to their reputation as a hard-working, difficult team to play against. Once they built a lead, the task of skating against that tide became even tougher. "They make you earn what you get," Leafs defenceman Cody Franson said. "They dont take a lot of chances, they pick their spots and if they get one, they play very tight." Trotz said just getting the first goal was enough to create some momentum. Nashville had killed off two penalties in the first period and got a spark when Jones scored his third of the season 2:01 into the second. "It was a good play on the power play," Jones said. "We worked around pretty well all night. I kind of got it started there. It wasnt a very hard shot but it found a way to get in." At the core, Franson said the Predators scoring twice on the power play and the Leafs coming up empty on their two chances was the difference. Of course there was more to it. "Its not like our power play wasnt generating anything. We just couldnt put it in the back of the net," Franson said. "They play a tight defensive game and its tough to create stuff against a team that plays that tight." When the Leafs struggled to create a lot, they turned the puck over and stunted their own efforts. "When we were pressing, it seemed like we started to play like individuals in the third period," Carlyle said. "Thats a natural state that athletes go to is theyre trying to take the responsibility and say, Well, Im going to be the guy that makes the difference, and then it just compounds, compounds and it gets worse versus getting better." Leafs star Phil Kessel is often counted on to be the difference-maker, but he took only five shifts in the second and six in the third for a total ice time of 15:27. Carlyle juggled his lines in the third period, promoting Colton Orr to play alongside Kadri and Raymond, while Kessel was a non-factor. Carlyle deflected when asked if Kessel was playing banged-up. "I dont know. I think all our players have bumps and bruises," he said. "They all have their ailments. Thats why we have maintenance days, thats why we have physiotherapists, thats why we have massage therapists, thats why they have all that stuff to try and keep these guys at the peak of their physical (condition) and feeling well, and its difficult when some situations the bumps and bruises do pile up." NOTES -- Leafs centre Tyler Bozak missed his 11th straight game with a hamstring injury. He could return as soon as Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. ... Ten of the Predators 12 points came from U.S.-born players. General manager David Poile is the general manager of the U.S. Olympic team. Golden State Warriors Jerseys . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game. Stephen Curry Jersey . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. http://www.cheapwarriorsjerseysauthentic...vans-jersey.ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects. Shaun Livingston Jersey . The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday. Nate Thurmond Jersey . -- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation due to minor complications from cancer treatments, his family said.LOS ANGELES -- The short-handed San Antonio Spurs have been playing slightly better than .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. They got one from Patty Mills, who scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs charged out of the All-Star break with a 113-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. San Antonio is a league-best 21-7 away from home, poised to extend its NBA record for consecutive winning seasons on the road to 17. "Down a couple of guys, not being able to practice yesterday, and to be able to come in here and put together a 48-minute performance like this was great for us," said Tim Duncan, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds during a foul-plagued 38 minutes. "It was a big win for us, especially on the road against a very good ballclub." The Spurs played without six-time All-Star Tony Parker, who will be sidelined "for the foreseeable future" because of numerous aches and pains (including a bruised shin, groin strain and lower back spasms), coach Gregg Popovich said. The 13-year veteran point guard, who played 11 minutes in Sundays All-Star game, is the Spurs leading scorer and their only player averaging at least 30 minutes. "Were just trying to get him healthy," Duncan said. "I mean, players being healthy is so underrated. When people play through things and they arent 100 per cent, the season becomes a grind. So we want to be 100 per cent so that down the stretch and in the playoffs, when we ask him to do all that we need him to do, hes ready to go and carry that load on his shoulders." Blake Griffin had 35 points and 12 rebounds, Jamal Crawford scored 25 and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 18 rebounds for the Clippers, who ended a run of five consecutive home games that began with a four-point loss to two-time defending champion Miami. "Weve got a lot of work to do to get where the Spurs are and accomplish what theyve accomplished," Griffin said. "They kind of have the model of the NBA and how you want to run things. Guys can be sitting out with injuries, and it doesnt matter. Other guys are going to come in and do exactly what theyre supposed to. Its impressive." Corey Joseph started for the 13th time this season and had seven points in Parkers place. Backup shootinng guard Manu Ginobili returned to the lineup and scored nine points in 14 minutes after missing eight games since Jan.dddddddddddd 28 because of tightness in his left hamstring. But centre Tiago Splitter was sidelined for the fourth straight game with a bruised right shin, and forward Kawhi Leonard missed his 12th in a row due to a broken bone in his right hand. All those injuries have presented a stiff challenge for the Southwest Division leaders, who are 8-7 since a five-game winning streak last month. They lead the Clippers by three games for the second-best record in the Western Conference and have two games left on their nine-game rodeo road trip. The Spurs, who came in leading the NBA in 3-point shooting at 39.1 per cent, took a 73-69 lead when Marco Belinelli drained one from in front of the San Antonio bench with 3:18 left in the third quarter. Duncan picked up his fourth foul less than 2 minutes later, but the Clippers never could regain the lead as Mills scored 11 consecutive Spurs points during a 2:26 span to help San Antonio build a 93-81 cushion with 8:46 to play. "He was great for us," Duncan said. "That fourth quarter, he really took over for that 5 minutes and gave us the lead that we needed. We were struggling trying to find points and keep the pressure on them, and he just completely took the ballgame over." Duncan got his fifth foul with 7:03 left, but Popovich kept him in there and the two-time MVP responded with a short hook shot and a 15-footer before Mills added a 3-pointer for a 102-92 lead with 4:35 remaining. "I think my fourth and fifth ones were not very smart. I didnt realize where I was, foul-wise, and I kind of got myself in trouble there," Duncan said. "But they werent able to take advantage of it, luckily, and we all played through it after Pop left me in there." NOTES: Griffin is averaging 35.3 points over his last six games and has scored at least 25 in each of the past nine. ... The Clippers have dropped their first game following the All-Star break in each of the last six years, including a 26-point loss to the Spurs last season. ... The Spurs are 29-1 when leading after three quarters. Their only loss came on Jan. 17, when Portland turned a one-point deficit into a 109-100 victory. ... Clippers F J.J. Redick missed his fifth straight game with a sore right hip. ' ' '