As Randy Carlyle watched Team Canada clinch their second consecutive Olympic gold medal early Sunday morning, it was the way in which they went about achieving success - a complete defensive domination surrendering just three goals against in six games - which piqued his interest most. "I looked at it and I hope our players understand that defense does win, thats the simplest statement you can make," said the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach on Monday. If there is a goal for the Leafs over their remaining 22 games, it should be to clamp down defensively. Throughout the season, they have routinely been outshot, allowing 40 or more shots on 16 different occasions, and a league high 2175, 146 more than the next highest team, the Ottawa Senators. Of their 32 wins, the Maple Leafs lead the NHL with 25 wins in games that they have been outshot. A large part of their success has come from excellent goaltending and their ability to outscore their defensive issues, sitting behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most goals scored in the Eastern Conference. But come playoff time, it is often the best defensive teams that emerge victorious. "We know that we can score goals as a team so if we can tighten up a little bit our defence, we feel were going to be a tough team to beat," said Jonathan Bernier, who has faced the third-most shots in the NHL this season. "I think that youve seen that over a long time, not just in that tournament, that good defensive teams have success," added captain Dion Phaneuf. "When you play good defence, it means you have the puck more and that generates more offence. Thats a fair statement when you say defence wins, its been like that for a long time." Team Canadas defence was made effective, primarily by the cohesion featured among the five players on the ice at any given time, and the relentless nature in which forwards back checked. While that system was executed by some of the finest players in the game, strong defensive skills are not like offensive talent. When it comes to scoring goals, some players simply have more of a knack at it than others but, as Dave Bolland explained, there should be no excuse for poor defensive play. "Defence is about commitment," he said. "I know coming into the NHL, my defensive skills were terrible, and I admit that. But I learned that defence wins you games. I sort of took a hold of that and set it up as my third-line role." Bollands impending return (he, like last week, remained coy today about the potential of dressing against the New York Islanders this Thursday) should help lead the way in terms of defensive commitment. In 15 games before going down with the severed tendon in his left ankle, Bolland showed himself to be among the Leafs top defensive forwards. "I learned a lot about back checking when I got into the league," said Bolland. "When I was in juniors, you didnt even think about coming back. Once I got up to the NHL, you learn backchecking is crucial. The first guy I learned that from was Marian Hossa. You see that guy backcheck, he corrupts [sic] a lot of puck and he corrupts [sic] a lot of sticks, hes always back in the right spots." For an example of the style of play he hopes his players can work toward, Carlyle looked no further than the gold medal game itself. "In that game, it was played at a very high pace, but defence, probably on both hockey clubs, was very evident in the way they approached it and how they tried to set up their defensive schemes," he explained. "On the big ice surface, it doesnt look as Gary Zimmerman Jersey . No surprise there. Kershaw, who also earned the title after throwing his first career no-hitter in June, had a 1. Karl Mecklenburg Jersey . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/You...os-Jerseys/.com) - The Toronto Blue Jays will look to snap a three-game skid Friday night when they continue their road trip in the opener of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Shannon Sharpe Jersey . LOUIS -- When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didnt arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light. John Elway Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No.For the rookie left tackle Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints, the worst is over. Now that he has a game of NFL experience in his back pocket, his next game against Tampa Bay will be remarkably easier . Two quarterback sacks allowed and two illegal procedure penalties - all in the first half - showed that the risk Sean Payton took to start a complete rookie left tackle (with no positional playing experience) was not worth the possible reward. And come Monday morning Armstead knows he can play NFL football as long as he improves day-by-day - and that is a controllable desire. Overall, Armstead did okay. Not good, not bad - just okay. But its a building block of game experience the coaches have on video to work with . Now they can identify strengths and weaknesses and mold the Armstead so he can compete with Charles Brown for left tackle in 2014. Theres a lot of money on the table for both players to make as both try to achieve an NFL career and not just an NFL experience. The next left tackle of success goes to Patriot Logan Mankins - who played the position effectively replacing Nate Solder efficiently. Mankins is an NFL ‘tough guy - in a league full of them. He did play the position at Fresno State during college, but that was eight years ago. His ability to switch positions and play well was a significant reason the Patriots beat the Ravens so easily 41-7. Who is the best in the business? Well, you have a few to pick from. Tyron Smith from Dallas is probably the youngest and the best, while Justin Pugh of the Giants is also on his way to a great career. Trent Williams is the best on a losing team along with Duane Brown for Houston. King Dunlap for San Diego is the biggest rejuvenation of a career and DJ Fluker was the best first round draft pick. Joe Staley receives the least publicity with Panther Jordon Gross and there are others out there. Best value for example is Jordan Mills - a fifth round draft pick who has started every game. But the best? Jason Peters in Philadelphia. Watching him against Chicago, I marvel at his skill. In Denver, Payton Manning has now thrown 51 touchdown passes . Impressive when you consider only 10 interceptions and how congested the field gets the closer you get to the goal line. Manning makes careers and makes other players millions. Before he came to Denver, Eric Decker was good but not great. Julius TThomas was ‘just another guy and Brock Osweilier is getting an education of a lifetime.ddddddddddddIn Philadelphia, its hard to explain how the Eagles can score 48 one week and then come back and score 54. Cris Collinsworth did bring up an excellent point saying that time is a determining factor . There is running an offense and mastering an offense and the Eagles are oh so close to mastering the Chip Kelly way of doing things with the ball. The NFC winner will be decided on Sunday. Dallas did beat the Eagles 17-3 back on Oct. 20, but it seems that outside of the Minnesota meltdown, the Eagles have improved much more than Dallas in every way. In Green Bay, the talk this week and all week will be Aaron Rodgers and the risk vs. reward. If hes cleared and ready, its worth taking any risk. The chance that he will re-injure the collarbone is very minimal. When Shea McClellin tackled him, Rodgers was running in space and if he plays he wont do that again. This is a tough decision for Green Bay on a number of levels and one of them is game practice and speed. With the new collective bargaining agreement, it is harder than ever to duplicate game conditions - especially in Week 17 when practice is more work than at any point of the season. Personally I would not even try it - if the Packers got in through a division win they could be one and done. In another week, it will be Black Monday - the day that coaches lose jobs in a 48-hour cycle. Decisions have to be made with the Jets, Houston, Tennessee, Oakland, Washington and Detroit. I think a mitigating factor has to be Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and Ron Rivera in Carolina. Both have been very close to the unemployment line and both will win divisions this year. Detroit and Washington I think are inevitable and Houston too. But with all else, it may be best to stay the course and that includes Minnesota and Tampa Bay and Dallas. Finally, and this question always comes up this time of year - Do players or teams quit on coaches or on each other? I seriously doubt they do as just making a team has a level of difficulty that is surreal, so why would you jeopardize something that was so difficult to create in the first place? Some things are difficult to explain - Miami losing 19-0 in Buffalo or KC losing to Indianapolis 23-7 at Arrowhead. Those can be traced to mind set and preparation, but to ‘quit - I find hard to believe. Happy Holidays, everyone. Cheap Celtics JerseysWholesale Nets JerseysCheap Knicks JerseysCheap Stitched 76ers JerseysRaptors Jerseys ChinaCheap Bulls JerseysWholesale Cavaliers JerseysPistons Jerseys ChinaPacers Jerseys ChinaCheap Bucks Jerseys OnlineWholesale Hawks JerseysCheap Hornets JerseysWholesale Heat JerseysCheap Magic Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Wizards JerseysNuggets Jerseys ChinaTimberwolves Jerseys ChinaCheap Thunder Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Blazers JerseysWholesale Jazz JerseysCheap Warriors Jerseys For SaleCheap Clippers JerseysLakers Jerseys ChinaWholesale Suns JerseysCheap Kings Jerseys AuthenticCheap Mavericks JerseysRockets Jerseys ChinaCheap Grizzlies JerseysWholesale Pelicans JerseysSpurs Jerseys China ' ' '