TORONTO - The Leafs kicked off the New Year by snapping a skid. 14 different players hit the scoresheet as the Leafs erased a three-game winless streak with a 7-3 icing of the Lightning at the ACC on Tuesday night. A back and forth second period saw the two clubs exchange four goals in one minute and 48 seconds with Darryl Boyce potting the eventual game-winner, his first of the season. "I just think we had our foot on the gas all night," Ron Wilson said following the game. "They scored first, but we scored right away. And every time they managed to tie the game up - at least through the first half of the game - we bounced right back and got ahead almost on the next shift." Slipping in the month of December with just four wins (4-6-3) and sour from an empty three-game road trip (just one point), the Leafs were looking to begin January and a lengthy homestand - nine of 12 - in proper fashion. A much-needed confidence boost was in order for a roster brimming with youth. Joffrey Lupul led the way with four points with Dion Phaneuf (one goal, one assist), Tim Connolly (two assists), Matt Frattin (one goal, one assist), and Mikhail Grabovski (one goal, one assist), also chipping in with multi-point performances. The Leafs have scored seven on the Lightning in both meetings this season, defeating the Bolts by a 7-1 final on November 22. Five Points 1. Much-maligned in December (64%), the Leaf penalty kill finished a perfect five-for-five, looking aggressive, confident and certain for the first time since November. "It felt great," Carl Gunnarsson said. "We had a lot of confidence it felt like - no issues. And every time they got a powerplay we just felt like we were just going to go out there and kill it." Wilson shuffled his deck ever so slightly, teaming Boyce with David Steckel on the first unit, Connolly with Nikolai Kulemin on the second unit and Joey Crabb with Matthew Lombardi on the third unit. "I think weve just got to cut the cord here on the first half of the year with the penalty kill," Boyce told the Leaf Report prior to the game. "Regardless if we went 90% for the rest of the year I dont think were going to pull our percentage up too too much...I think weve got to put that behind us and start fresh." 2. Boyce buried the game-winner, but saved his most effective work for the PK. The 27-blocked a critical Steven Stamkos point shot with the Leafs killing a 45-second five-on-three. "The block on the five-on-three was huge," Wilson said. "Thats what we havent been getting a lot on our PK are guys willing to block shots. And the forwards got a few tonight and the D were excellent around the net in terms of blocking shots." 3. Also a pesky presence in constant confrontation with Lightning forward Steve Downie, Boyce impressed with his all-around performance on Tuesday night. Cut at training camp but recalled from the Marlies on December 20, hes quickly provided a spark, much the way he did at a similar stage last season. "The way things have developed we need that kind of second effort that he gives you," Wilson said. "Its contagious when somebody like that does those little things." 4. Using Winnipeg and their recent dominance at home as an example (10-3-1 during a stretch that saw them play 13 of 15 at home), the Leafs are looking to take full advantage of a lengthy stint in Toronto. Home-ice advantage is tricky to truly define, but a reality from Cody Fransons perspective. "Definitely," he told the Leaf Report, pointing to the effect he saw firsthand in Nashville. "They were so energetic that we actually built off the crowd there. Theyd scream through a whole TV timeout and when things arent going your way in a game that actually does help. I dont know if fans know what guys [on the bench] experience when they start doing stuff like that and how it can change the morale of a team in the middle of a game." "I think you do have a bit of an advantage," Wilson added. "You should know your ice; the board bounces and some things like that. But its up to us to determine home-ice advantage and go out and play well. It seems here in Toronto that you dont get very many teams that come in often and have an off-night; everybody gets fired up to play in Toronto, in Montreal, so your advantage is taken away a little bit, but well try to push the pace and make it a home-ice advantage." 5. Lupuls four point performance bumped him into a tie for fourth in the overall scoring race (44 points), just one behind teammate Phil Kessel, who added his team-leading 22nd goal in the win. Bonus Points Gunnarsson led the Leafs in ice-time at 25:39, also potting his second goal of the season…Jonas Gustavsson made 21 saves for his 10th win…Kessels late goal (the 7th of the evening) extended his point streak to six games (three goals, three assists)…With an assist on Phaneufs sixth of the season, Clarke MacArthur also extended his point streak to six games (two goals, five assists)…Grabovskis two-point night gives him eight points in the last nine games…Frattin set up Boyce for the GWG, also scoring his fifth of the season minutes later…Colby Armstrong took to the ice briefly on Tuesday morning before his teammates. "Hes probably at least a week to ten days away from being ready to play," Wilson said. "When you get a concussion or those type of symptoms you cant go on the ice [so] you lose a lot of your conditioning and the timing; hes got to get that back." Armstrong has been sidelined since December 17, missing seven games. cheap jerseys . Still to be determined is whether the few Indian athletes who have qualified for Sochi compete for their country or under the Olympic flag. The International Olympic Committee gave a reprieve to Indias suspended national Olympic body on Tuesday after a long impasse that had threatened to lead to the expulsion of the worlds second most populous nation. wholesale nfl jerseys . Hes also one win away from a trip to the Winter Games. The reigning Canadian champion remained undefeated at 6-0 with a 5-4 victory Thursday night over veteran Kevin Martin, clinching a spot in Sundays final of the Canadian Olympic curling trials. http://www.wholesalejerseychinast... . Albert, Alta., has an easy time of it Sunday at the world senior curling championship. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseychinastore.com/]cheap jerseys from china . Pacquiao is coming off two losses and has not fought since his devastating knockout defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez almost a year ago. Garcia said hes noticed subtle signs of decline in the Filipino boxer, once considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. nfl jerseys china ." Hamilton tried to score from third on a foul popup near the Detroit dugout in the first inning. Third baseman Brandon Inge and catcher Victor Martinez both chased the ball, leaving the plate unprotected. WASHINGTON -- A day after spending 2 1/2 hours at the dentist to fix his two chipped front teeth -- parts of which apparently became embedded in Cartier Martins forehead -- Bradley Beal landed hard on the court while his Washington Wizards were trying to hold on to a lead. It was therefore fitting that, after he showered in the locker room, he put on a sweatshirt with the word "Reckless." "Thats me," Beal said. "Young and reckless." Teammates were razzing the rookie after the game, which was OK because the Wizards came away with a win despite wasting much of an 18-point fourth-quarter lead. Washington put seven players in double figures Friday night in a 119-113 victory over the Denver Nuggets. "We were saying on the bench -- hes having a rough rookie year," said Emeka Okafor, who led the Wizards with 17 points and 13 rebounds. "Got his teeth knocked out yesterday, and then continued to get banged up twice, ran into the cameraman and then did some type of gymnastic-worthy landing. Its crazy, but hes a tough kid, hes young, his body can handle it." Beal, who finished 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, banged his head while fouling Ty Lawson as the guard drove to the basket with 1:07 to play. Beal lay on the floor for a few moments but was quickly back in the game and hit a pair of clinching free throws in the final seconds. He was wearing a mouth guard because of his head-to-head collision with Martin in practice a day earlier, an impact so powerful that Martin said the doctor removed parts of Beals teeth while sewing more than a dozen stitches to close the wound. "Its been a tough week," Beal said. The Wizards never trailed as they broke a two-game losing streak and added another example to its knack for knocking off top teams while sitting near the bottom of the NBA standings. Its the kind of loss the Nuggets dont need as they jostle for seeding in the Western Conference. Theyve dropped four straight on the road, giving up at least 109 points each time. "Im a little cooncerned," Denver coach George Karl said, "that we dont respect the opponent on the road enough to think defence first and then worry about offence -- because offence usually happens when we play defence.dddddddddddd" The Nuggets shot 48 per cent from the field but made only 4 of 22 3-pointers. Lawson had 27 points and 12 assists, Wilson Chandler had 22 points, and Andre Miller scored a season-high 19. They also have the dubious distinction of getting swept by the Wizards, having lost at home to Washington 112-108 on Jan. 18. The Nuggets cut the Wizards lead to three on Andre Iguodalas baseline 3-pointer with 4:02 remaining and pulled within two after John Wall fancy-dribbled himself into a turnover that led to a Nuggets fast break, with Lawson hitting a pair of free throws with 1:07 remaining to make it 113-111. Wall missed a floater with under a minute to play, but Nene blocked Lawsons layup with 33 seconds to go to keep the margin at two. Wall then redeemed himself, making an open 19-footer that put the Wizards ahead 115-111 with 14 seconds left. Miller then missed a driving layup in a crowd that essentially ended Denvers last threat. JaVale McGee, traded from the Wizards to the Nuggets at last years trade deadline, made in his first return visit to Washington. He heard some boos and a few claps as he entered the game in the first quarter, and his foul on Garrett Temples 14-foot jumper allowed Washington to convert a momentum-sustaining three-point play at the end of the third quarter. "It really wasnt emotional. For some reason I have a selective memory," McGee said after putting on a pair of Dr. Seuss socks. "So I remember the stuff I want to remember, so it wasnt like I was having flashbacks or stuff like that." NOTES: Jason Collins, acquired by Washington in the trade that sent Jordan Crawford to the Boston Celtics, will join the Wizards for Saturdays home game against the Houston Rockets. ... Washington ended an 11-game streak of holding opponents under 100 points. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '