TORONTO -- For the Toronto Maple Leafs, its time to rest, not panic. Losers of three in a row, the Leafs had a full day off Thursday after a rough run of six games in six cities in 10 days. Theyll now attempt to regroup before an already tenuous playoff picture gets more dicey. "First thing is get rest. Its been a gruelling stretch, a ton of travel, a lot of tough games where were seeing a lot of teams best efforts here," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "Get some rest and then come back refocused and get some of that confidence back that we had going to the West Coast." Confidence in the Leafs might be waning from the outside after losing to the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. But within the locker-room Wednesday night there was plenty of belief that those games featured some positive elements to build on. "No sense in panicking," said goaltender James Reimer, who has been thrust into the starting role since Jonathan Bernier was injured last week. "I think weve played some good hockey in the last three games, at times, and we know what we can do. I obviously believe in our team, we all believe in each other. "Its a case where, I think, with some fresh legs and kind of a little break here and get back at it, well be right back on top of our game again." Finding the top of their game is paramount to the Leafs, who occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after falling out of the top three in the Atlantic Division. They were as high as second, three points up on the Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, after beating the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13. In the three games since, Toronto has given up the first goal in each and struggled with defensive breakdowns in front of Reimer. Fixing the brutal starts might be the first order of business going into Saturdays game against the Montreal Canadiens and the final 10 after that. "Weve had a trend over the last three games where we seem like were starting a little sluggish or were not getting the exact start that were wanting," winger Mason Raymond said. "I thought later in (Lightning) game we showed that desperation, but we need that for 60 minutes. I think at the end of the day for me, (the key is) playing the 60 minutes in that desperation mode." Finding that "desperation mode" could have a lot do to with having more energy in reserve. At least thats coach Randy Carlyles hope after watching his team run on empty. "We just come off a 10-day road trip and we play tonight off a back-to-back," Carlyle said Wednesday night following a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. "Thats not an excuse, but its a trying situation, and its not easy." The Leafs have also made life hard on themselves by giving stars like Steven Stamkos way too much room close to the net. Defensive breakdowns like the ones that led to Stamkoss hat trick are likely on the to-do list for Fridays practice. "It comes down to doing the basic things, every night doing the simple things," defenceman Tim Gleason said. "I think as a group of five, we really have to button down, get pucks out when we can and do the simple things in our zone and the offence will take care of itself and well get our chances." If the Leafs are getting offensive chances, theres enough firepower from Phil Kessel (35 goals) down the lineup to make things happen. But Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and defenceman Jake Gardiner (five goals in seven games) scored against Tampa Bay and it wasnt enough. Only minutes after that defeat, players wanted to move on and separate themselves from this losing streak. The best way to do so is finding a winning recipe -- before it gets too late. The Leafs have played 71 games, the most of any team in contention in the East, which also means they no longer control their playoff hopes. The Detroit Red Wings, who visit Air Canada Centre on March 29, are in the drivers seat if they keep winning. Thats not a comfortable spot to be in with just 11 games remaining in the regular season. These are almost desperate times in Toronto. "Obviously we havent played as well as we need to, and were not sitting here saying that were playing the type of hockey that is required to have success," Carlyle said. "Well, we lost three games in a row and if we show the desperation that we displayed in the last half of the game for 60 minutes, we surely could improve our chances. Thats for sure." Jesus Molina Mexico Jersey .com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series. 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Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The long hours Laurent Duvernay-Tardif spends at practice will seem like a vacation of sorts. The playbook will seem like a comic book. Success would be sweet, failure merely a disappointment. The moment he heard his name called in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday, the Montreal native went from being a medical student at McGill University spending 60 hours a week in neonatal intensive care units to an aspiring offensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs. You see, in a draft full of intriguing stories, Doc Larry is especially unique. After all, how many 23-year-olds are late to their advisers house to watch the draft because they were helping to deliver twins by emergency C-section? And how many NFL hopefuls have spent their spring working at childrens hospitals, first in the emergency room and later in the NICU, often handling babies that fit comfortably in his massive hands? How many players who heard their names called over the three days of the draft have just one more year of medical school before they can call themselves a doctor? Duvernay-Tardif plans to fit that in during summers, when he is able to take a break from football. But for now, his focus has shifted entirely to the Chiefs. He planned to be in Kansas City this week for rookie orientation, with a three-day rookie minicamp starting May 24. "Thing is that a year ago, my dream was to play in the CFL," said Duvernay-Tardif, who played so well at the East-West Shrine Game that several teams — including the Chiefs — took notice. "At that point, I was like, Oh, damn! I think the NFL is the place for me to play," he said. "Everything went well after that. I was training in the States. I had two visits and hosted my own Pro Day in Montreal and a few teams showed up. Everything went really well for me." Lets be clear about one thing: Theres a good chance that Duvernay-Tardif is a better doctor than he is a football player at this point. The competition in the Canadian Innteruniversity Sport system — which has produced 10 draft picks total — is not exactly the same as the Southeastern Conference.dddddddddddd McGill is not Alabama, having produced one other draft choice — a long-snapper taken by Jacksonville in 2001. Some of the rules of the Canadian game are also a bit different. Then throw in the fact that Doc Larry will be going against players bigger, faster and stronger than ever before, and chances are hell be in for a rude baptism when he finally straps on a Chiefs helmet. "Competition (in Canada) is really a step backward," said Pat Sperduto, the teams area scout, "(but) football is blocking and tackling. Nothing changes there. Its still the same there. You just watch him, you realize that this kid has physical talent." For one thing, he has prototypical size at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. He also has what Sperduto called a "nasty" streak on the field, which is a bit hard to reconcile with the affable med student who has been spending his time working with sick children. "The potential that he has ahead of him is really good," general manager John Dorsey said. "Now hes going to have to learn, but what he demonstrated at the East-West Game, he actually played at a very high level. He did very well. When you have a player like that — hes got so much more room to grow." The Chiefs lost three players who started along the offensive line on the first day of free agency, and while Kansas City made a few moves to counter the departures, there is still a pressing need for offensive line depth. Duvernay-Tardif could provide some of it. "I think when you play football, you have to play 100 per cent," Duvernay-Tardif said. "When I went to the Shrine game, I said, Lets compete until you hear the whistle, and thats what Im going to do at training camp. And hopefully Im going to be able to compete for a spot." And if things dont work out? He certainly has a fallback plan. ' ' '