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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. Eric Gordon Rockets Jersey . 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." Hakeem Olajuwon Rockets Jersey . The 2014 edition will be the ninth meeting between the Caps and Vikes in a tradition that dates back to 2005. "Since the original Whitecaps, the club has enjoyed fantastic support from fans in Victoria and all across Vancouver Island," said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. Custom Houston Rockets Jerseys . -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authentic-Clyde-Drexler-Rockets-Jersey/ .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign.BARCELONA, Spain -- Pedro Rodriguez scored three goals and Victor Valdes saved another penalty in Barcelonas 4-0 win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, keeping the defending Spanish league champions perfect through five rounds. Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. The Spain forward has five goals this season, making him the leagues second-leading scorer along with Atletico Madrids Diego Costa behind Messi with six. Cesc Fabregas capped the rout in the 80th with Rayo searching for a consolation goal. "We knew the difficulties Vallecas Stadium presents, its a tough ground to win at," Pedro said after his first career hat trick for Barcelona. "They have a competitive team, but we were able to find the spaces we needed to score." Atletico also got its fifth win in as many rounds to lie level on points with Barcelona after a no-nonsense 2-0 victory at Valladolid. Atleticos defence limited Valladolid to one shot on goal while midfielder Raul Garcia and forward Diego Costa both scored goals set up by Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion in the second half. Moments after goalkeeper Diego Marino saved his header, Garcia scored in the 56th with a no-look header from Kokes cross that Marino could only watch float over him and into the net. Koke then lobbed a delicate through ball down the middle of the pitch for Diego Costa to seal the result in the 72nd. "It was a question of waiting for our moment," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. "Valladolid played well in the first half. It didnt generate scoring chances, but nor did it let us play like we wanted. But we talked about it at halftime and my players had a great response." Barcelona and Atletico opened up an overnight five-point advantage over Real Madrid before it hosts Getafe on Sunday. Atletico visits Madrid next round in their first meeting since Atletico beat Madrid in the Copa del Rey final last season. Encouraged by its raucous fans, Rayo set a brutal pace from the start, and Valdes was called into action in the third minute to turn back Alberto Pereas header.. Austin Rivers Jersey. . "Valdes is having an exceptional run," said Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino. "Hes among the three best goalkeepers in Spain. Its my turn to enjoy having him as my player, even though you dont always want to see your goalkeeper having to make three or four decisive saves." Barcelona matched Rayos intense pressure and a ball stolen by Alex Song led to Barcelonas opener. Messi took the ball, drew in the hosts defence, and laid off for Pedro arriving down the right side to drive a low shot into the net. It was then Valdes turn to shine again this season, his last with the Catalan club which he seems determined to make his best. Rayo was poised to level in the 35th when Barcelona defender Adriano fouled midfielder Roberto Trashorras in the area, but Valdes stood firm and had little trouble parrying Trashorras spot kick. "In the first half our team was able to cause Barcelona problems," said Trashorras. "If I had scored that penalty, they would have had even more trouble. Having studied him I thought that Valdes was going to dive to one side, and I tried to shoot down the middle since he had gone to one side the other day. But he did well to wait." Pedro scored his second goal when he raced in to stab Fabregas cross home after the former Arsenal midfielder forced Rayo into losing the ball deep in its own half. As Rayos players tired while its fans continued to urge them forward, Neymar started and extended a flowing move by squaring for Pedro to tap in his third goal before Fabregas took the fourth. Also, Real Sociedads scoring drought reached three games when Malaga held the Basque club to 0-0 at home, while Levante rallied to 2-2 at 10-man Almeria. Sociedad, which lost its Champions League group opener on Tuesday, increased its winless run in the domestic competition to four rounds. Despite selling several players this summer, first-year coach Bernd Schuster has Malaga on a three-game unbeaten streak. The promoted Almeria remained winless through five rounds after squandering a second-half lead for the fourth time this season. Also on Sunday, its: Real Betis vs. Granada, Celta Vigo vs. Villarreal, and Valencia vs. Sevilla. Espanyol hosts Athletic Bilbao on Monday. ' ' '