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TORONTO – James van Riemsdyk wouldnt quite go so far as to admit relief at returning to his natural left wing position on Saturday, but it was evident in his actions. The 24-year-olds four-game experiment at centre came to an end with the early morning trade for Peter Holland. Back on the wing alongside Holland and Phil Kessel, van Riemsdyk scored twice in the opening 14 minutes of an eventual 4-2 Leafs win. “Im probably a little more comfortable playing there,” said van Riemsdyk of returning to the wing, his team hanging on to beat the Sabres at the Air Canada Centre, losing just a night earlier in Buffalo. “Maybe allows me to do some different things as far as being in front of the net a little more often. Thats a big part of my game obviously.” The two goals he scored – his eighth and ninth this season – were almost carbon copies. Instinctively traveling to the front of the net off a pair of faceoff wins – one at even-strength and one on the power-play – van Riemsdyk redirected a pair of Cody Franson point shots behind Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth. He had been pointless in the previous five games, four of those during an unlikely return to centre. Dinged badly by injuries to Tyler Bozak (hamstring) and Dave Bolland (ankle) in the past couple weeks – and then without a suspended Nazem Kadri – the Leafs had little choice but to try the former New Hampshire Wildcat down the middle. Though he accepted the role under dire circumstances – he hadnt played there in the NHL – it was evident that he rarely felt comfortable in the position, especially in the offensive end. Following a 3-1 loss in Buffalo on Friday evening, van Riemsdyk was asked if his struggles to produce offence had anything to do with the shift to centre. “Thats not for me to decide,” he said sharply. Questioned himself, Randy Carlyle said he had no other choice but to position van Riemsdyk down the middle with his top three centres all out. “I dont have anybody else,” said Carlyle with some frustration. Early on Saturday morning another option arrived. A Toronto native – Caledon more specifically – Holland joined the Leafs from Anaheim, flipped alongside Brad Staubitz in exchange for Jesse Blacker and a pair of draft picks. Acquired in the summer of 2012 from Philadelphia, van Riemsdyk had 18 goals in his first season with the Leafs, emerging as a dynamic partner for Kessel. Off to another fine start this winter, he posted seven goals and 13 points in his first 12 games. Thrust into the middle when Bolland went down with injury in Vancouver, van Riemsdyk failed to muster a point in the next four games. “I wasnt exactly disappointed in how I played at centre,” he said, noting proficiency in the defensive end. “I thought I definitely gave it my all there.” And, though he refused to rule his brief stopover at centre a failure, it was quite clear on Saturday that he was right back where he belonged. Five Points 1. Holland trade Looking to stem the void at centre and add depth additionally to their organizational ranks, the Leafs acquired the 22-year-old Holland from Anaheim on Saturday morning. He raced to join the club in time for an evening affair against the Sabres. Holland had been in Providence, Rhode Island on Friday evening, where he scored a goal and had two assists for Norfolk in a 4-3 win. On to Manchester, New Hampshire, he received word of the trade from Ducks general manager Bob Murray the next morning at around 10 a.m. A phone call followed from his new boss Dave Nonis shortly thereafter; Nonis offered a welcome and all the pertinent flight information for the trip home. Holland then drove from Manchester to Boston, landing in Toronto at 3 p.m. He then checked into a local hotel and arrived at the ACC shortly after 4 p.m. Suffice to say it was a hectic day. “Thats one word that could describe it,” he said, “but at the same time its also really exciting. Coming back to my hometown I was fortunate enough to get a lot of my friends and family to the game tonight, my first one ever in Toronto.” Returning home, Holland predictably received an avalanche of text messages. “My phone was on the two-hour battery life,” he said. “I had to plug it in as soon as I got to the Boston airport. It was exploding pretty much all day.” A first round pick of the Ducks in 2009, Holland had 29 games of NHL experience before joining the Leafs, totaling five goals and seven points. Skilled offensively, he had yet to establish himself as a consistent force in Anaheim, playing for their AHL affiliate at the time of the trade. 2. Hollands debut Placed in a prominent position alongside van Riemsdyk and Kessel, Holland played just under 12 minutes against the Sabres, winning 7 of 11 faceoffs. “I thought he did okay,” said Carlyle, slightly familiar with Holland from the Ducks organization. “Its hard when a young guy comes in. And its not like we hid him in the lineup. We put him in a position to play with Kessel and van Riemsdyk. Thats what we believe in. We believe that if you acquire players or have young players it wouldnt be right to put them in a non-offensive situation.” “I was impressed with him,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think hes definitely a very heady player, thinks the game well, really responsible player.” Holland will get at least one more prominent opportunity. Nazem Kadris three-game suspension will conclude when the Islanders come to town on Tuesday. Bozak meanwhile, is expected to join his teammates at practice early next week and could be in line to return early the following week. The 27-year-old has been out since Oct. 25. 3. The mysterious case of Kulemins disappearing offence Over the course of his first three seasons in the NHL, a stretch of 233 games, Nik Kulemin scored 61 goals – a formidable rate of one goal every 3.82 games. Since that point, the offence has slowed considerably for the now 27-year-old winger. Though he remains an effective defensive player – employed mostly in a defensive role – and reliable penalty killer for the Leafs, his gradual disappearance as an offensive threat is rather mysterious. “Its hard to say,” Kulemin told the Leaf Report. “Sometimes it happens, sometimes that the puck didnt go in. Some years, you get so many opportunities that you just didnt score. Sometimes you just dont have a chance to shoot or [get] scoring chances.” Kulemin finally scored his first goal of the season against the Sabres on Saturday, what proved to be the game-winner. He has totaled a mild 15 goals over the past two-plus seasons (126 games) – slowing to a rate of one goal every 8.4 games or more than double his earlier pace. Games Goals Goals Per Game Shots Per Game 2008-2011 233 61 0.26 1.92 2011-Present 126 15 0.12 1.44 Never a high volume shooter – his 30 goals in 2010-2011 came on 173 shots – Kulemin is hardly shooting the puck at all these days. His lone shot of the game Saturday, one that beat Enroth on a feed from Mason Raymond, was just third all season. “Its not enough for me,” said Kulemin, who played 18 minutes. “I [need to] keep looking for more shot opportunities and more shots on goal every game.” 4. Hanging on for victory On the ropes until the very end, the Leafs were outshot 17-5 in the final 20 minutes. Buffalo scored twice in the opening six minutes of the third frame to cut a 3-0 Toronto lead down to one. “Its tough to keep any team stifled for the whole game,” van Riemsdyk said. “They made some plays and then, that being said, I think we also got away from the way we want to play too.” A source of success in the opening period, the Leafs aggressive forecheck diminished as Saturdays action wore on. The Sabres forcefully asserted their presence in the second – they outshot the Leafs 12-7 – and right on into the third. Only a power-play marker from Mason Raymond that increased the lead back to two seemed to stem their momentum. “This one wasnt high on artistic value, but its two points and well move on,” Carlyle said. Having dropped four of the previous five games with an increasingly stagnant offence, a victory was certainly needed. 5. Fraser injury Yet to dress a full lineup this season, the Leafs lost Mark Fraser to a lower-body injury against the Sabres. The 27-year-old, who had recently returned from a lengthy stint on injured reserve, was forced to remove himself after just five shifts in the opening period. “We thought that it would be something that would go away, subside through the course of the second period,” said Carlyle. “Just didnt feel right.” Carlyle didnt think the injury was serious. “I hope not,” he said. “When you take yourself out of a game its serious enough. I dont think its something thats going to be weeks. I hope its day-to-day right now.” Fraser missed 13 games earlier this season with an MCL tear in his left knee. Stat-Pack 3 – Shots on goal for Nik Kulemin this season. 10 – Games without a goal for David Clarkson this season. 11:43 – Ice-time for Peter Holland in his Leafs debut. 2 – Multi-goal games for James van Riemsdyk this season. 1 – Point in the last seven games for Phil Kessel. Kessel played a season-low 15 minutes against the Sabres. 26:14 – Ice-time for Carl Gunnarsson on Saturday, a season-high. 60 per cent – Leafs success rate on the draw against the Sabres. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-2Season: 23.5% PK: 1-2Season: 83.5% Quote of the Night “This one wasnt high on artistic value, but its two points and well move on.” -Randy Carlyle on the victory over Buffalo on Saturday. Up Next The Leafs play host to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. Andres Guardado Jersey . 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Bledsoe, in his biggest game since returning from knee surgery March 12, made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Suns ahead for good 89-86 with 3:22 to play. Detroit was just 10 of 26 at the foul line, to Phoenixs 24 of 35. Phoenix outscored Detroit 12-6 over the final 3:22. The victory pulled the Suns within a half-game of Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, although the Grizzlies have the tiebreaker. Detroits worst culprit at the foul line was Josh Smith, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds but missed all eight of his free throws. Greg Monroe scored 16 for the Pistons. After quickly erasing a 12-point Phoenix lead in the third quarter, Detroit played the Suns close and had an 82-80 lead when Drummond made one of two free throws with 6:31 left. The game was tied three more times before Bledsoe, as the shot clock neared zero, hit a 3 from the top of the key to maake it 89-86.dddddddddddd Monroe made two free throws with 3:02 left to cut it to 89-88, Morris scored on a drive, Channing Frye blocked Kyle Singlers layup try. Morris and Bledsoe each made free throws to put Phoenix up 93-88 with 1:05 to go. Will Bynum scored, then Bledsoes driving layup had the Suns ahead 95-90 with 48.9 seconds to play. Neither team led by more than six points in the first half, with Phoenix up 51-50 at the break. Dragic hit a 3 and Miles Plumlee made two free throws to put Phoenix up 51-46 with 1:59 left in the half. Drummonds layup with 1:22 left, followed by his tip-in with 6.8 seconds to go, left the Suns with a one-point halftime lead. Phoenix opened the second half with a 14-3 run to go up 65-53 on Plumlees reverse dunk on a pass from Bledsoe. Plumlee scored seven in the spurt. But Detroit responded, outscoring the Suns 14-2 to tie it at 67-67 when Drummond made one of two free throws with 3:34 left in the quarter. Smith was fouled by Dragic on a 3-point try but missed all three at the line and Phoenix led 73-71 entering fourth. Notes: The Suns Markieff Morris drew his 12th technical foul, fourth-most in the NBA. ... Detroits last road win was at Washington on Jan. 18. ... Nine of the Suns remaining 13 games are on the road. ... The teams split the season series 1-1. ' ' '