were better in the third than we were in the first," Kings coach

TORONTO – Nazem Kadri isnt the superstitious type, but one could understand if he was tempted to change his luck. More than a quarter of the way into just his third full NHL season it appeared as if the 24-year-old was stuck in a rut – totaling just 10 points in 22 games. But while the points are down this year, the other numbers look about as good as last season, if not slightly better. Kadri is producing more offence at even-strength, winning more faceoffs, directing more shots on goal, drawing more penalties and boasting one of the best possession marks on the Leafs. Working against him, however, has been an underperforming power-play, some unfortunate luck and an ongoing battle with consistency. Teaming with Joffrey Lupul and the since-departed Mason Raymond on Torontos second power-play unit a year ago, Kadri tied for second on the team with 18 such points, including seven goals – a mark that trailed only Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. But with Lupul banged up and Raymond off to Calgary, that same second unit has produced little to nothing so far this season. Kadri has yet to even register a single point with the man advantage and was removed from such duties entirely against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. It was a loud message to the brash centre and one that provoked the desired response. Nazzie hadnt had a point on the power-play in 21 games, said Carlyle after the 4-3 overtime loss. What would you do? Performing at last years pace on the power-play would net him an additional five points at this point in the year and would likely quiet some of the questions about his sagging production. From the sounds of it, hell be back on that power-play again soon. Hes a little bit snake-bit on the power-play, but we know thats going to come, said Leafs assistant Steve Spott, who directs Torontos man advantage. Some of that lacking production is also surely tied to luck. Unlike his 44-point breakout during the lockout season when luck was working hard in his favour, Kadri hasnt benefited much from the hockey gods this year. Despite being on pace for nearly 50 more shots than last season, hes scored on just 9.6 per cent of his opportunities, far below the 16 per cent mark he averaged in the past three seasons. Kadri has all five of his goals at even-strength – trailing only Kessel and van Riemsdyk in Toronto – and 10 even-strength points, behind only Kessel and Leo Komarov and equal to van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. He owns the second-best possession mark on the Leafs and draws penalties at one of the highest rates in the league, including one on Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. Carlyle also recently praised his improved efforts in the defensive zone. All of that, however, doesnt change the inconsistency thats there night to night and even shift to shift with Kadri. There are efforts like that in Pittsburgh when hes noticeably engaged in the game, throwing his 188-pound frame around with feisty abandon. He bowled over Christian Ehrhoff with a thunderous hit in the third frame, doing the same to Wings defender Niklas Kronwall just a few nights earlier in a win over Detroit. When hes playing with that edge, when hes playing with a little bit of emotion, said Spott, who coached Kadri when he first landed in junior with Kitchener, thats when he becomes a real weapon for us. So its combining his skill with that tenacity. When he does that hes a very valuable player. Its when that tenacity dips that Kadri is hardly noticeable at all. And then there are moments when his decision-making veers into questionable territory. With the score tied early in the third frame opposite the Penguins Kadri attempted a back-hand pass just a few paces in front of Jonathan Bernier. Malkin picked the puck off with ease and nearly scored to put the Penguins ahead. Generally though it was one of those efforts the Leafs would like to see more of. They doled out a team-high of nearly 19 even-strength minutes to Kadri, even double-shifting him from time to time in the final two periods. I thought Nazzie had one of his stronger games, Carlyle said afterward. He needs to play with that level of grit, Spott added, with that level of anger and when he does that he seems to take his game to the next level. Its doing it consistently every night. Part of what makes Kadri, the seventh overall pick in 2009, such a polarizing figure and the source of so much intrigue is the outsized expectations of him. The Leafs have lacked a superstar first line centre since Mats Sundin exited the organization and because of his obvious skill there are hopes inside Toronto, unfair as they may be, that Kadri can be that guy. He very well may be down the line, but thats not where he is at this point. Kadri may just be a dangerous offensive centre a grade below star status and theres really nothing wrong with that. Its about managing expectations and at times the organization has done a poor job of that. Former Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson once claimed that Kadri would be a superstar in the league one day. As confident as they come, Kadri surely believes hell cross that threshold at some point and that will make negotiations this summer quite interesting. Kadri will be a restricted free agent for the second time in three years, concluding a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.9 million. Those are questions for many months down the line though. For now the Leafs will take more nights like Wednesday from their often-puzzling, but equally talented centre. Im just trying to be as productive as I can with the ice-time Im given, Kadri said Wednesday night. Im going to go out there and give it a 100 per cent every shift I got and just leave it all out there. Whether thats scoring a goal, drawing a penalty, making a big hit, Im just trying to do whatever [I can]. Adidas Nmd Danmark .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. Adidas Basketball Sko Danmark .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. http://www.dknmdskotilbud.com/adidas-nmd-dame-outlet-danmark.html . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Adidas Nmd Herre Sort . Carling Bassett-Seguso was a world No. 8 almost 30 years ago. Currently 13th, Bouchard is assured of equalling that when the next rankings are released Monday. Adidas Nmd Herre Udsalg . Siddikur, who led on all four days and took a four-stroke lead going into the final day, bogeyed four out of six holes starting at the sixth and continued a forgettable last round in which he returned a three-over 75 to finish with a 14-under 274.LOS ANGELES -- The Minnesota Wild rallied twice from one-goal deficits and pulled out a victory against the Los Angeles Kings, who rarely give up late leads. Matt Moulson and Mikko Koivu scored 62 seconds apart early in the third period, and Zach Parise connected during a power play for the Wild, who snapped the Kings six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Monday night. "You dont want to be behind, but this shows that we believe in what were doing," Koivu said. "Even though we were down, we felt we were right there and we were able to create things offensively. "It was big for our confidence, to get a win over a team like L.A., because theyre deep. They have a lot of experience." Ilya Bryzgalov made 18 saves for the Wild. It was the second time in eight games the Kings lost in regulation after leading following two periods -- something that happened only once in 138 games dating to April 4, 2009. Minnesota won for the seventh time when training after two. "Keeping the lead in the third period is usually our teams forte," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "But we didnt play very well in the second, and then we had a little collapse in the third. They got two goals really quick, and we couldnt get it back. "We knew that if we let them back in the game it would be tough to win it." Alec Martinez and Justin Williams scored for Los Angeles, both capitalizing on turnovers by defenceman Jared Spurgeon in the Minnesota zone. Jonathan Quick stopped 17 shots. "Weve had a tendency this last week or so to give up leads in the third period, and thats very uncharacteristic of us," Williams said. "We need to rectify that in these last five or six games, because were a team that shuts it down once we get the lead." The Kings were 0 for 2 on the power play and have gone consecutive games without a power-play goal for the first time since a five-game drought Jan. 21-28. Minnesota is 19-9-4 when they are short-handed fewer than three times in a game. The Wild came in with the NHLs fourth worst penalty-killing percentage, but are averaging the sixth fewest penalty minutes. "Its important whenever you can limit power plays," Moulson said. "There arre a lot of skilled guys in this league that can hurt you on the power play if they get a bunch of chances.dddddddddddd" Moulson tied it with 16:06 remaining, using Martinez as a screen and beating Quick for his 22nd goal. Koivu made it 3-2 with his 10th on a one-timer from the top of the left circle. "We talked about making sure we were sticking to our game plan no matter what and pull out the two points," Moulson said. "We did a great job taking it to them in the third. Our goal was to make sure we got pucks in deep and get the forecheck going, and I thought we did a very good job of that." Williams put the Kings ahead 2-1 at 11:49 of the second with his 19th goal. Spurgeon had the puck behind his net and tried to clear it around the boards, but Willie Mitchell intercepted it and took a shot that struck Minnesota defenceman Ryan Suter before Marian Gaborik got control and set up Williams at the left of the crease. Martinez opened the scoring 6:30 in with his seventh goal in 15 games and 11th overall. "We were better in the third than we were in the first," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We turned a lot of pucks over in the neutral zone. It had nothing to do with third period, it was all first period. "Its not about defence, its about checking. Its puck battles and tough parts to the game that we have to be able to control, and we werent doing that. I feel like a lot of guys werent into that." Parise tied it at 3:37 of the second period, 36 seconds into Tanner Pearsons hooking penalty. Mikael Granlund got the puck in the slot from Koivu for a one-timer that Parise redirected past Quicks glove. Minnesota left wing Dany Heatley, struggling through a 12-goal season and currently in a 14-game drought, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. NOTES: Quick was 11-2 with a 1.67 goals-against average in his previous 13 games. ... Minnesota D Jonathon Blum, born in Long Beach, Calif., played in his 100th NHL regular-season game. In 2007, he became the first player born and raised in California to be selected in the first round of the draft (No. 23 by Nashville). ... The Kings were 11-4 in March, tying the franchise record for wins in a month set in January 2002. ' ' '