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TORONTO – It may have just been the last gasps of a wounded hockey club on life support, but it kept the Maple Leafs faint playoff hopes alive – barely – for another day. They hung on to win (and picked up points) for the first time in more than two weeks Tuesday night, halting a drudging eight-game losing streak with a narrow 3-2 win over Calgary at a quiet ACC. "Well, it beats losing thats for sure," Cody Franson said of the Torontos first win since Mar. 13. Masterpiece it was not. Standing nervously even with the rebuilding Flames after 40 minutes, the Leafs pulled ahead on third period goals from Dave Bolland and David Clarkson – the first for the 30-year-old Clarkson in nearly two months – before hanging on in the dying seconds of regulation. "I dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves because we didnt paint a Mona Lisa here tonight," said a relieved, but still cautious Randy Carlyle afterward. "Its been a long time. Its been too long. Its a much better feeling than what weve been able to enjoy here over the last while, thats for sure." Close and unpleasing as it may have been, it was a win no less for a club thats found all too many ways to lose amid a collapse thats all but shattered their once certain playoff entry. After their last win in mid-March – a resilient 3-2 victory in Los Angeles – the Leafs stood three points up on the Canadiens and Lightning, six ahead of the Blue Jackets and a seemingly insurmountable nine up on the physically beaten Red Wings. More than two weeks without a point destroyed that cushion and then some. Montreal and Tampa stormed far ahead for control of second and third in the Atlantic division – 93 points apiece – Toronto (82 points) trailing Columbus by a point (83) and Detroit by two (84) for the final two wild card positions in the East – both have two games in hand and more regulation/overtime wins. All of which makes their playoff hopes with five games to go razor-thin at best with an especially daunting Thursday night clash with Boston ahead – the Bruins have raced to the top of the NHL with 15 wins in the past 16 games (15-0-1). Asked before Tuesday morning if he believed his team still had a realistic opportunity to land a second straight playoff berth, Carlyle responded with whatever hope he could muster. "Its realistic if you win," he said. "Weve got to win the first one. Thats the bottom line. "We cant change whats happened. We dont like whats happened. Were not comfortable with whats happened but move on. Thats what our focus is." Carlyle said hed enjoy that first win for five, maybe 10 minutes. He knows one does little to alter the fortunes of a team clinging to the ropes and all five might not even be enough. Hope is still just hanging on for life. Five Points 1. Rare Bright Spot David Clarkson hasnt had much to celebrate in a lost first season with the Leafs, but he found a little light with a breakaway goal in the third period on Tuesday night. The goal, his fifth of the season, snapped a 16-game pointless drought and was his first since Feb. 4. "Its no secret, its been tough," he said of a season in which hes mustered just 11 points, looking lost more often than not. "Personally, Im not happy with the season. [But] I hold myself accountable. Im someone thats got to be better." "Numbers arent always everything," said Franson in defence of Clarkson afterward. "Clarkies been a guy thats gone out and worked hard every night for us. Hes tried to be very physical and create a lot on our cycles. You cant judge a guy just by numbers. I think hes brought a lot more to the table than people give him credit for." 2. Kessels Pain The stick came down on the bench, shattering into pieces at the frustrated one-hand chop of Phil Kessel. The 26-year-old had just taken another puck to the bruised right foot hes been bothered with since Saturday, storming off the ice in obvious pain and disgust. "He had the sign on his foot obviously," Carlyle said with some humour. Kessel did not practice Monday and remained off the ice ahead of the tilt with Calgary on Tuesday morning. Still searching for the first 40-goal campaign of his career, he remains stuck on 36 goals and 77 points, totaling 17 minutes and 36 seconds against the Flames – his lowest total since a Jan. 23 beatdown in Dallas. The Leafs improved to just 7-22-2 when he does not a record a point. 3. Bernier Post-Olympic Four goals had passed Jonathan Bernier in each of his previous three starts after returning from a nagging groin injury, but on Tuesday, just two of a tame 24 shots slipped by in victory. "It was nice, actually," he said of the comparatively quiet night. Stellar from October to February, Bernier actually had his worst month of the season following the Olympic break in March, compiling a .907 percentage in eight starts. It was a rare dip from a goaltender whos been ultra-consistent; Bernier posted a save percentage of at least .923 in four of the previous five months. He improved to 6-8-2 when stopping between 20-29 shots this season. 4. Distractions In hopes of distracting the mind from a playoff chance-sapping skid, Jake Gardiner opted to see a movie Monday, taking in the new Russell Crowe flick, Noah. "Its tough," he said of getting away from a losing streak that finally ended Tuesday. "You look on Twitter or TV, its pretty much what everyones talking about right now. But were kind of used to that. Weve had some ups and downs throughout the season and throughout the past, youve just got to take it in stride." 5. Distractions II Almost at the end of his rookie season in the NHL, Morgan Rielly has learned at least one tool to insulate himself from the often high-pitched noise of Toronto. "I dont check Twitter as often," Rielly said. "Its hard though because when youre out eating at Earls or something, its on TV and theres people talking about our skid, trade rumours or how weve been playing. But honestly, you cant really worry about it too much as you all know. Its just a matter of keeping concentrated on just playing the game and not what everybodys saying." Avoiding Twitter was a lesson the 20-year-old picked up in training camp, "when youre not sure if youre going to make the team or not and theres tweets about you not making the team or theres tweets about you on the team," he said. "You cant be too concerned about whats going on out there. Youve just got to worry about what youre able to control and all that is is playing hockey." Stats Pack 2-9-0 – Leafs record in the past 11 games. 17:36 – Ice-time for Phil Kessel on Tuesday, his lowest since Jan. 23. 16 – Consecutive games without a point for David Clarkson, a drought snapped Tuesday with his fifth goal of the season. 7-22-2 – Leafs record this season when Phil Kessel does not record a point. .907 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier in March. 17 – Games without a goal for Jay McClement, who snapped that drought Tuesday with his fourth of the season. 15:10 – Minutes for Paul Ranger, who returned to the lineup as the seventh defender against Calgary. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-1Season: 20.3% (7th) PK: 2-2Season: 78.6% (28th) Quote of the Night "I dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves because we didnt paint a Mona Lisa here tonight." - Randy Carlyle, following a 3-2 win over the Flames. Up Next The Leafs host the Bruins at the ACC on Thursday night. Ryquell Armstead Jersey . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Josh Oliver Jersey . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. http://www.authenticjaguarslockroom.com/...I-Elite-Jersey/. - Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon has voluntarily checked into a treatment facility and seems to be doing well. Marqise Lee Jaguars Jersey .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. Taven Bryan Jersey . Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night.Criticizing NHL officiating is like picking low-hanging fruit. Every night we can assemble a collection of video replay evidence to shine a spotlight on missed or questionable calls. Such is the life of an NHL official. However, Thursday night in Pittsburgh featured an oddity - a very rare example of a minor penalty being rescinded. A case where something appeared to happen actually didnt and at least one of the two officials assigned to this game was 100 per cent sure it didnt. As our video shows (click here to watch the video), L.A. Kings forward Jarret Stoll was tagged for tripping as Pittsburghs Brandon Sutter went down inside the blue line. Stoll argued the call, but was swiftly directed to the penalty box by Greg Kimmerley who eventually waived Stoll out of the box after consulting with fellow referee Steve Kozari. Its clear a mistake was made and this isnt the first time on-ice officials have rescinded a penalty. However, a similar scenario almost always includes a high-sticking infraction when a teammate has caused the foul, as recognized by one of the games four officials. This wasnt that case. This was a tripping call the Penguins might argue shouldnt have been called back. As it turns out, Pittsburgh won the game and this isolated play had no impact on the outcome. However, while NHL officials shouldnt be beaten down for getting it right, some around the league worry about the precedent of this overturned call from now on. The games decision makers have worked hard at protecting the aspect of human error when it comes to NHL officiating. Of course, its the goal of every official to get it right, but those opposed to additional video review believe the discretion of the officials is traditionally an important piece of the fabric of the game. Perhaps a blown call in Wednesdays game between the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals (click here to watch the video) raised the level of sensitivity in the NHLs officiating department. The Wings beat the Caps 4-2 after having a Drew Miller goal disallowed based on goaltender interference, though it was clear via video replay that Braden Holtby simply fell while scrambling to get back to his crease. This one should have been called back. Its unreasonable to overreact and sugggest these examples are going to force NHL general managers to re-write the rulebook.dddddddddddd But its likely these same GMs will take a much closer look at it the next time video review or a coachs challenge is tabled for discussion. Theres always a next time. Educating On Ebola To no surprise, the National Hockey League has an Infectious Disease Committee and recently sent an email to all clubs primarily related to the Ebola outbreak. But it also included steps and precautions to be taken to avoid certain infectious flu viruses, particularly during the fall flu season. By the sounds of things inside the St. Louis Blues dressing room, this memo was received a tad late. An infectious bacteria that leveled several of the Blues players continues to plague the team, causing sore throat symptoms and swelling described as similar to the mumps. The flu is nothing new and annually makes its rounds throughout the NHL, but those impacted by this bug in St. Louis say theyve never seen anything like it. Green-er Pastures? Were just over four months until the NHL trade deadline, so theres plenty of time for the Washington Capitals and veteran defenceman Mike Green to work on a contract extension. However, with the offseason signings of blueliners Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik, many believe Green may be viewed as the odd man out given the $6.08 million cap space he takes up. Sources say to date, theres been little to no contract discussions with Green - who is averaging close to 20 minutes per game and ranks fourth in that category behind John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. Mike is playing exceptionally well this season under Barry Trotz and is a very valuable part of our team and our organization, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told The Dreger Report. Per club policy, we dont comment on player negotiations, but we are very happy with the way Mike is playing right now. Based on his experience and the high value placed on a quality defenceman with a right-handed shot, trade speculation surrounding Mike Green will most definitely intensify. And count the Detroit Red Wings among those teams with interest. Have a great weekend and look forward to the next edition of Insider Trading, Tuesday on SportsCentre and TSN.ca. ' ' '