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TORONTO – Its been more than a decade since the Leafs last held an elite home record. “That was one of the goals we wanted to create is when teams come into this building theres no more of this two points, kiss your relatives and go home,” said Randy Carlyle following a fifth straight victory at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. “Its enough of that.” The win, also the seventh in the past eight games at home, improved the Leafs record in Toronto to an impressive 8-2-0, right there amongst the very best in the Eastern Conference. Success of that kind has generally eluded the club in recent years. Since holding the top home mark in the conference in 2001-2002, the Leafs have become a mediocre bunch on home ice. Last season, Carlyles first full campaign behind the bench, they finished with the eighth best record in the conference, their best finish since the 05-06 season when they held the sixth best mark. Home ice has rarely resembled a place of refuge for the Leafs in the past decade or so. Season Home Record Conference Rank 2013-2014 8-2-0 3rd 2013 13-9-2 8th 2011-2012 18-16-7 13th 2010-2011 18-15-8 11th 2009-2010 18-12-8 14th 2008-2009 16-16-9 12th 2007-2008 18-17-6 13th 2006-2007 21-15-5 10th 2005-2006 26-12-3 6th 2003-2004 22-14-3-2 7th 2002-2003 24-13-4-0 5th 2001-2002 24-11-6-0 1st In winning eight of their first 10 at home, the Leafs have benefited from a potent offensive attack; outscoring opponents 35-23, including 18-7 during the most recent five-game win streak. Theyve generated more than a goal per game more at the ACC than on the road – 3.5 per game vs. 2.27 – helped considerably in that regard by the leagues no. 1 ranked home power-play (32.4%). The strongest foundation of the club so far, terrific goaltending from both James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier – combined .933 save percentage – has shown up both at home and on the road. Never a bad thing to start with the lead, the Leafs have also scored first in seven of those first 10 home games. “I dont think you can be a successful hockey club without having a strong home record,” said Carlyle, his team hosting the Predators on Thursday night. “That brings that respect back to your community and your fan base.” The Leafs dip on home ice post-lockout (03-04) was unquestionably tied to the clubs general struggles, the quality of those teams a major part of the equation. But as Carlyle wryly noted (Ron Wilson previously opined with a similar belief), there is a sense that opposing teams, stocked with talent from the GTA, visit Toronto with extra motivation, the influx of family and friends on hand for the occasion inflaming that drive. Unlikely to help matters either is the tepid intensity of the local crowd. Among the tamer environments league-wide – save for the playoffs last May – the ACC generally does not provide much in the way of fan-engineered enthusiasm – again, lacking team success certainly factors in once more. The playoffs last May were a rare exception. “Typically its a quiet building,” said Joffrey Lupul, who has five goals and nine points at home this season. “And then to hear it change like that in the playoffs was pretty cool for us. It gives you that added motivation to play well at home and hopefully we can try and get the building back somewhere like that.” Looking around at some of the more raucous environments around the league, sensing the energy they provide to their respective teams, Lupul cant help but desire something similar for Toronto. “Chicago, Philly, Pittsburgh, New York, Montreal, Calgary,” said the 30-year-old with a laugh, listing those buildings whose atmosphere hed like to replicate at the ACC, “pretty much anywhere, Ottawa.” “Saturday night, its usually a pretty good atmosphere in the building, fans are there, but for the most part we say a lot of times create your own energy in the building. Thats just the way it is. Its mostly a corporate crowd I believe.” Given the clubs early trend of lackluster starts, its been a process to create that energy. The Leafs have often stuttered out of the gate at home (and on the road) before finding a proper track to two points (13-7-1 overall). In one of their better victories of the year on Oct. 22, they mustered a season-low two shots in the opening 20 minutes against Jonas Hiller and the Ducks before emerging with some of their finest hockey over the final two periods in a 4-2 win. “You want to get the fans involved in the game and the way to do that is not to be stuck in your own end for 10 minutes in the first period,” Lupul said with a chuckle or two, “and then you get them in the game, but its because theyre booing.” “We want to start well at home and try and get the fans in the game because whether people believe it or not you feed off the energy of the crowd a lot at home. I think we did it a lot last season at the end and in the playoffs and again, hopefully we can get it back to that level.” Part of Carlyles mandate when he replaced Ron Wilson in March 2012 was to re-establish home ice as a haven for success. The Leafs coach pointed right to wins and losses when asked what aspect of the culture he wanted to change – “Well our record for sure”. “We have to have success in our building,” he said. “Its imperative. Simple as that. If youre going to be a hockey club that is going to qualify [for the playoffs] and give yourself a chance you have to have a home record that you can be proud of.” Cheap Air Jordan 13 Retro Orange . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. Cheap Air Jordan 13 Retro All Gold . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. http://www.cheapretrojordans13.com/cheap-air-jordan-13-retro-all-red/ . Louis Cardinals. He was 48. The commissioners office said Bell died in his home state of Ohio. Bell had not been feeling well over the weekend and had been scheduled to see doctors later Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. Cheap Air Jordan 13 Retro Green ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region. Cheap Retro 13 Jordans For Sale . -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach.SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker is still thankful for the role players who helped carry San Antonio to its last NBA title in 2007. There was Robert Horry, a seven-time champion and official finals good-luck charm if there ever was one. Michael Finley, who was hitting 3-pointers at a much better rate in those playoffs than he did in the regular season that year. Fabricio Oberto, who probably never had a play called for him but found ways to get things done. The Spurs had a Big 3 then, the same one that they have now. But three is rarely enough, and thats been proven once again in these NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw have been exactly what San Antonio needed in this matchup against the Miami Heat, and might be the two biggest reasons why the Spurs are one win away from their fifth NBA championship. The Spurs lead these finals 3-1, and will look to end Miamis reign in Game 5 at home on Sunday night. "If you want to win championships, obviously you need a Big 3," Parker said. "But you need your role players to play great too. And every time we won championships in the past, the Big 3, we played great, but we had great role players. ... If you want to go all the way, you need the whole team to play great." Thats what the Spurs are getting. Parker is leading the Spurs in scoring, Tim Duncan is leading in rebounding and the Western Conference champions are outscoring Miami by 62 points so far with Manu Ginobili on the floor -- so yes, the Big 3 is doing its part. But when the Spurs took control of the series by winning Games 3 and 4 in Miami, Leonard led the charge by averaging 24.5 points on 68 per cent shooting. And Diaw has 23 assists so far in the series, more than anyone else and none probably better than his behind-the-back offering out of the post that set Tiago Splitter up for a dunk in Game 4. Theres already talk that Leonard could be in line to win MVP of the finals. In an absolutely not-shocking development, he wanted no part of that talk. "It feels the same for me as any game going into it," Leonard said of the anticipation level for Game 5. "All Im thinking about is playiing.dddddddddddd Im not worried about what if we win or lose, and we just want to go out and play." Such is the Spurs way. The makeup of a player who perfectly fits into the San Antonio system has remained unchanged for the better part of two decades. He values team play over any individual accolade. He never says too much, particularly about himself. He stays in the moment, avoiding the urge to look ahead or behind. Leonard and Diaw meet all those characteristics. "San Antonio is playing great," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Theyre moving the basketball. Theyre exploiting where were normally good, so we have to do a better job. Even when weve made adjustments, theyve still been able to stay in a rhythm and a flow." Its hard to remember now that Diaw couldnt get minutes with the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats -- a team that finished with the worst record in NBA history -- in part because then-coach Paul Silas was frustrated with Diaws penchant for passing the ball instead of taking shots at times. So the Bobcats waived him late that season. The Spurs picked him up and in Game 4 of these finals, Diaw had more assists (nine) than shots (six). Go figure. "He really has a high basketball IQ," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Diaw. "I think he raises the level for everyone. At the defensive end, hes pretty heady, not the quickest guy in the world, but really smart. Does his work early and understands whats going on. At the offensive end, he can score inside and out, and he passes the ball really well. Hes a consummate team sort of guy." Diaw is just the third player to have a game with at least nine rebounds and nine assists during these playoffs, with Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook being the others. For his part, Diaw said hes never cared about scoring. If the team scores, thats good enough for him. "Its just moving the ball, playing with everybody," Diaw said. "There is nobody really just watching. Everybodys involved, and everybody gets the ball at some point. So its been good." Good, indeed. One more win, and these Spurs officially become great. 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