DENVER – Fear consumed the Maple Leafs bench as they stood nervously by with Daniel Winnik lying motionless on the Pepsi Center ice. Josh Richardson Jersey . One of the most scary things that Ive been a part of and watched live, said Dion Phaneuf afterward. Though requiring a fine performance in goal and one unlikely hero, Toronto managed to rally in their fallen teammates absence. They scored a single point during a wild night in Denver, one that saw the Avalanche eventually emerge behind their young guns in a shootout. It was only 45 seconds into the action when Winnik was stood up at the Colorado blue-line by Jan Hejda. He fell backwards uncontrollably from the thunderous collision, his head and neck crunching violently against the ice. Laying there motionless and seemingly knocked out for an entirely uncomfortable stretch, Winnik was eventually carted off the ice on a stretcher, his eyes open and fingers moving. The bad part about it was he was out of it, said head coach, Randy Carlyle of Winnik, who played two seasons in Colorado. After reviewing it, yeah he did twist his neck, but the weight of his body seemed to roll on his shoulder more and into his back. He was lucky in that situation. Amazingly (and almost unbelievably so) Winnik is apparently okay. Hes 100 per cent fine, said Carlyle. He says theres nothing wrong with him. That may be hard to believe, but encouragingly given how devastating the injury appeared, Winnik was even up and walking around the dressing room during the first intermission. He offered his team a rallying cry in the process. Finish the game hard, he said. That was a relief because we were pretty bothered as a team when you have a teammate like that get hurt, Phaneuf said. That was a boost for us when we came in and saw him after the first. They rallied around his presence. Even on the scoreboard after that nervous opening period, the Leafs traded goals with the Avalanche in the middle frame, tying it up one more time in the final moments of regulation on an unlikely marker from the previously little-used, Richard Panik. They needed more than a few heroics from Jonathan Bernier to even get to that point, the 26-year-old making his first start in nearly a week. Carlyle called it a reckless game, one that saw chances galore from a pair of shaky defensive squads. Im sure it was exciting for the fans, but its never exciting for coaches, he said. Given the circumstance – Jake Gardiner was also lost to injury early leaving the visitors with 16 skaters – the Leafs were happy to snatch a point, though its clear they have much to improve upon after dropping both games of a brief stint on the road. We definitely deserved that point, Bernier said, and probably more. Five Points 1. Statement in Goal Bernier wasnt too thrilled not to get the start Tuesday in Phoenix – that was the original plan – and he responded with another fine effort. If not for him the Leafs likely get nothing in Denver. There were the back-to-back stops on Matt Duchene during a wave of Avs domination in the first. There was the glove snatch of Jamie McGinns point-blank attempt in the middle frame. There was the two-pad stack on Tanguay all alone in front early in the third. I think Im seeing the puck well, he said. Im fighting to see it as well. Obviously you want to make at least one save in the shootout, you had a chance to get more [points], but thats the way it goes sometimes. Bernier owns a .925 save percentage in his last five starts. 2. First Periods Much like a year ago, first periods have been a dud for the Leafs this fall. Outscoring opponents in both the second and third, Toronto has managed eight first period goals to 14 for the opposition. The trend continued Thursday night. Colorado struck on the very shift of the game on a goal from Nick Holden – ending the period with 19 shots. Carlyle has taken measures to fix the wobbly starts, intent on easing the tension before puck-drop. Those measures even include the odd hula-hoop contest, yes, hula-hoop. Ive found that it always works, Carlyle said of playing games and contests before puck-drop. It lightens your group up and it eases the pressure that comes with it. Despite another troubled start that saw Colorado outshooting them 12-4 at one point, the Leafs did rebound in the back half of the first, evening the score on the seventh this season for Phil Kessel. (Kessel missed the first six minutes of the third with an undisclosed ailment, but managed to return for the remainder of the game.) Toronto was one of the worst starters in the league last season, outscored 76-56 in first periods – those 76 goals against the fifth-most of any team. 3. Scoring First Inextricably linked to those first periods has been the matter of scoring first. Like most teams, the Leafs arent faring well at all when they fail to score the first goal. And they gave up the first one for the eighth time in 13 games against the Avalanche. I guess you could say that everybody would love to score the first goal, Carlyle said before the game. If you look at the statistics and the league historically…the team that scores the first goal I think their winning percentage is over 70 per cent. I guess everybody would want to score the first goal. The Leafs are now 1-5-2 when theyre forced to come from behind, 5-0-0 when they score first. 4. Young D Jake Gardiner was sporting a mean limp in the Toronto dressing room after the shootout loss. Gardiner was stung on the left knee by a Jarome Iginla shot early in the first, wobbling around for the remainder of what was a troubled 50-second shift. He tested the knee during a TV timeout, but clearly felt some discomfort. X-rays revealed no break, but a deep bone bruise. Hit him in a spot where no equipment was, Carlyle said. Morgan Rielly, meanwhile, sat as a healthy scratch for the first time all season – replaced by Stuart Percy. He and Carlyle had a brief exchange at the morning skate. We felt that Morgan needed to improve in some areas of his game, Carlyle said. We think theres more for Morgan to give. Morgans got to use his skating ability to play the game to a higher level. 5. Suspended Carter Ashtons NHL career was dealt a harsh blow Thursday. The 23-year-old, still searching for his first goal in the league, was suspended 20 games, without pay, for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ashton claims the detection came from an inhaler (not his own) he used during a pair of asthma attacks before the start of the regular season. Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed that there were no problems associated with the use of this inhaler and I used it without checking to see whether its contents were permissible under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, Ashton said in a statement, recognizing Clenbuterol as the offending substance. However, at no time was I seeking to gain an athletic advantage or to knowingly violate the terms of the program. Ashton will forfeit $169,185 as a result of the suspension. Already on the fringes of the Leafs roster and just starting to play recently – he was a healthy scratch in the first nine games – this was not what Ashton needed, a mistake that could trouble his chances of getting back in the lineup. A lot can change in the more than six weeks hell miss and given his limited track record he is by no means guaranteed a spot when he becomes eligible to return on Dec. 20 when the Leafs host the Flyers. Stats-Pack 5 games – Point streak for Phil Kessel, who has three goals and 10 points in that span. 1-5-2 – Leafs record when failing to score first this season. 14-8 – Mark by which Toronto has been outscored in first periods this season. 2 – Points for Richard Panik on Thursday, his first multi-point effort as a Leaf. 31:07 – Ice-time for Dion Phaneuf against the Avalanche, his highest of the season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2 Season: 20.4% PK: 3-3 Season: 83.7% Quote of the Night One of the most scary things that Ive been a part of and watched live. -Dion Phaneuf, on the Daniel Winnik incident. Up Next The Leafs return home to host the Rangers on Saturday. Glen Rice Jersey . The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. James Johnson Jersey .S. Olympic hockey management team have been making what he called "ghost rosters" since August. http://www.authenticbasketballshopheat.com/customized/ . Hes still nowhere close to throwing yet. The four-time MVP was in good spirits when he made his first public appearance on the field since having neck surgery Sept.SEATTLE -- Superlatives will be scarce come September if Masahiro Tanaka continues this pace. For now, Joe Girardi and the rest of the New York Yankees are just thankful they have the Japanese right-hander pitching like one of the best in baseball. "Hes been really, really big. You look at the numbers hes put up, the wins that he has, the distances hes given us during the course of the season," Girardi said. "Hes meant a lot." Tanaka added another notch to his stellar first two months in the majors, striking out 11 and tossing a complete game Wednesday night as the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2. Tanaka became the second pitcher in baseball with 10 wins and won his fourth straight start. It was on the verge of being possibly his most impressive performance of the season before giving up a two-run homer to Robinson Cano in the ninth inning that ruined the shutout. That only made Tanaka more determined to finish off his second complete game of the season. He struck out Kyle Seager and Logan Morrison to finish off the victory. "Obviously I wasnt very happy about that home run, but at the end Im pretty satisfied I was able to go all nine innings tonight," Tanaka said through a translator. Tanaka allowed six hits, walked one and leads the AL with a 2.02 ERA. He tied for the wins lead with Torontos Mark Buehrle, who is 10-2. Tanaka has allowed only four earned runs in the past 29 2-3 innings and hasnt given up more than three earned runs in any start. That number would be less if not for Cano hitting his third homer of the season -- and first at Safeco Field -- in the ninth. James Jones reached on an infield single with one out and Cano hit a drive out to left-centre on the first pitch. "He was dealing. He was the same guy you see on TV," Cano said. "He put the ball where he wants. Hes filthy." Tanaka cruised from the start. It took the Japanese rookie 15 pitches to get through the first two innings and 26 pitches setting down the first nine Mariners in order. Seattle got baserunners in the fourth when Jones and Seager singled, but the threat ended when Morrison struck out on a check swing. It also started a strikeouut binge from Tanaka. Alonzo Mourning Jersey. Beginning with Morrison, six of the next seven outs came via strikeout. Tanaka struck out the side in the sixth, getting Cole Gillespie and Endy Chavez swinging before capping the inning by getting Jones looking at strike three. Cano broke the strikeout streak at five when he grounded out to open the seventh. Seager then walked on four pitches, the first walk issued by Tanaka. But Morrison grounded into a double play and Tanaka was through seven innings on just 79 pitches. Tanaka also wiggled out of trouble in the eighth after Mike Zuninos double and Brad Millers single. Just as movement started in the Yankees bullpen, Gillespie lined out and Miller was doubled off first base to end the inning. Tanaka was given an extra day of rest after a rainout on Monday in Kansas City. That ruined a possible matchup against countryman Hisashi Iwakuma, but Tanaka said the rest was helpful. "I never really thought about it going into the season. I just thought about taking it game by game, just trying to go out there and do the best that I can each game," Tanaka said. "As a result this is where I am." All the offence Tanaka needed came from Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Teixeira. Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single in the third. Two innings later, with Seattle starter Chris Young (5-4) struggling, Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer that barely cleared the wall in right-centre field. The game-breaking shot was Teixeiras 11th homer of the season. But all Teixeira wanted to do was rave about Tanaka. "If he keeps this up, hes going to have one of the greatest first years in baseball of any pitcher that has ever played this game," Teixeira said. "I would love to see it." NOTES: Derek Jeters stolen base in the first gave him 350 for his career. He had two steals in the game. ... Seattle Seahawks DE Cliff Avril threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Teammates QB Russell Wilson and LT Russell Okung were on the field watching pregame batting practice and talking with players from both teams. DT Brandon Mebane and DE Michael Bennett were also in attendance with Avril. 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