OTTAWA – Carl Gunnarsson had a simple explanation for the sky-high shot totals peppered at Leaf goaltenders on a nightly basis and once more in the nations capital on Saturday evening. "You know what? I think its a conspiracy," Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report with a large, sarcastic grin in the bowels of the Canadian Tire Centre. "I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it." Two nights after Jonathan Bernier stopped 48 of 50 shots in an overtime win against the Stars did James Reimer stop 47 of 50 in a shootout victory against the Senators, one that also snapped the Leafs seven-game road losing streak. The primary force in the teams success so far this season (16-11-3,) goaltending, after a slight dip under increasing strain in late November, have re-emerged as the backbone of victory in the early days of December. "When we get those wins on a night like this its their win," Gunnarsson said of the goaltenders, Reimer on this particular night. "We need them right now and theyre really showing [up.]" While they raced out to a 3-1 lead on goals from James van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel and Jake Gardiner, the Leafs nearly fumbled victory away again on this night. Another late letdown, highlighted by continued discipline issues, saw the Senators push back with a pair of goals from Erik Condra and Erik Karlsson, the latter coming on a power-play midway through the third. "When we skate and we attack we can be a hockey club that can have success," said Randy Carlyle, pleased with the effort through two periods, but not so much in the third. "And when we sit back and receive the game, we allow the opposition to dictate the pace of the game." Only the efforts of Reimer kept Ottawa, now nine points back of Toronto in the Atlantic Division, from swiping the lead and two points entirely. "My job is to stop them, whether its 10 shots or 100 shots," said Reimer, who remains unbeaten in Ottawa. "We dont really care how many shots were giving up. Our job is just to stop the puck from going in the net." "We feel were fortunate to have the level of goaltending from Reimer and Bernier," said Carlyle. "We can go with either of them on any given night." Five Points 1. Challenges of a Busy Night Interestingly, Reimer explained that bloated shot totals arent what wear down a goaltender. "They threw a lot of pucks at the net," he said of the Senators, "but what tires a goaltender out on pretty much any team [is] their in-zone time. Its not necessarily the shots, its them working, cycling. Thats when youre in your crouch and youre looking at the pass across and youre moving trying to fight through traffic. Thats whats the most tiring." Regardless, the Leafs are forcing their goaltenders to be spectacular on too many nights. Theyve yielded 37 shots per game against this season, most in the NHL. 2. Reimers Capital City Dominance The unbeaten streak and brilliance for Reimer in the nations capital continued on Saturday. With the 47-save performance – and two more in a perfect shootout – Reimer improved to 7-0-0 lifetime at the Canadian Tire Centre with a .970 save percentage. The 25-year-old, for his part, had no explanation for his success in Ottawa, attributing it to simple randomness. Date Shots Faced Goals Against Jan. 11, 2011 33 1 Apr. 2, 2011 25 2 Feb. 4, 2012 49 0 Mar. 17, 2012 30 1 Mar. 30, 2013 31 0 Apr. 20, 2013 50 1 Dec. 7, 2013 50 3 3. Liles Season Debut John-Michael Liles hadnt played a game for the Leafs since Game 7 of a first round playoff series with Boston last May. He returned from the Marlies on Saturday, playing nearly 18 minutes alongside Mark Fraser against the Senators. "I thought he gave us a good game," said Carlyle of Liles. "He gave us what he does best. Hes a puck-moving defenceman. I thought he did a heck of a job for us." The 33-year-old, who has seen his role in the NHL dwindle in recent years, said he chose to assess his situation in the minors without negativity. "Theres an opportunity to dwell on it and maybe give the kind of woe is me but at the same time thats not really who I am," said Liles, recalled to help a struggling Toronto defence in their puck-moving pursuits. "That was something I tried to not let myself get caught up in." By all accounts, Liles had been terrific with the Marlies, totaling 13 points in 16 games. He credits Steve Spott, the Marlies head coach, for helping to ease his transition to the American League. "Spotter has been fantastic for me," said Liles. "He said he expected a lot of me [and] I expect a lot of myself." 4. Late Meltdowns Just as they did in near-defeat to the Stars on Thursday night, the Leafs very nearly let victory slip away against the Senators. Rather than attack with the lead, they simply sat back and saw it evaporate. "I guess its when we get a lead we freeze, do we freeze up or what are we doing?" said Carlyle, searching for answers himself. "Weve talked about it a lot. Were beating it to death. If we had the answer right now, we wouldve corrected it a long time ago." Ottawa cut the lead to one in the opening minutes of the third frame with Colin Greening outmaneuvering Gardiner for a puck in the Toronto zone, before feeding Condra high in the slot. Karlsson then tied it on the eighth Leaf minor penalty. "It seems we work hard for 40 minutes of the game and establish the type of game we want to play and then we take some penalties that change the momentum and we dont seem to be able to get it back," Carlyle said. "But we won the hockey game, found a way to win and thats the most important thing. Weve had some pretty down times here prior to the last two games, so no matter how you get the points, were going to take them and move on." "Its just a good feeling," said Gunnarsson. "We got the two points. Its not the way we wanted, but in the end the points matter so well take that." 5. Clarksons Production The first 20 games in a Maple Leafs jersey have passed rather quietly for David Clarkson. Clarkson has just two goals and five points, numbers that, while disappointing in the scope of his more recent production, align more closely to the bulk of his NHL career previously. On pace for just seven goals and 18 points this season, Clarkson averaged a not so dissimilar 12 goals and 24 points in his first four NHL seasons with the Devils. Though he played slightly less then – between 12-14 minutes – the 29-year-old garnered similar power-play time and a similar number of shots to those hes put forth this winter as a Leaf. His more recent outbursts,perhaps unsustainable, seemed to alter the conversation though as far as expectations for the Mimico, Ontario native are concerned. Two years ago, Clarkson posted career-highs with 30 goals and 46 points. That year he averaged a then-career-high of 2.85 shots per game, while shooting a career-high 13.2 per cent. While slightly less accurate the next year – a lockout shortened 48 games – Clarkson shot the puck with even greater frequency, establishing a new career-high of 3.75 shots per game. Also notable was the first unit power-play time he gathered in those two potent seasons, a fact of life thats diminished in Toronto to opportunity more closely aligned to those first four seasons in New Jersey. All of which is to say that Clarksons offensive production in the previous two seasons (120 games) may prove more exception than rule. Stats-Pack .970% - Career save percentage for James Reimer in Ottawa. 22 – Career goals for Phil Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 42 – Career points for Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 17:51 – Ice-time for John-Michael Liles in his season debut. 0.47 – Goals per game for James van Riemsdyk, who scored his 12th this season on Saturday. 6 – Consecutive games with a point for Kessel, who has four goals and eight points in that span. 28:32 – Ice-time for Dion Phaneuf, a season-high. 4 – Goals from the Toronto defence this season, Jake Gardiner scoring his first this season against the Senators. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-6 Season: 24.7% PK: 6-8 Season: 78.2% Quote of the Night "You know what? I think its a conspiracy. I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it, I think thats what it is." -Carl Gunnarsson, musing on the amount of shots the Leafs have given up this season. Up Next The Leafs return home to host Boston at the ACC on Sunday night. 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This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. Those three words were echoed again and again by Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, during Mondays busy media day proceedings and have been filtered down throughout the organization. The truth is, up to this point, there have been plenty of excuses. The schedule, its been difficult. The injuries, theres been a lot of them. The officials, they havent been kind. All valid excuses, but in the end, theyve amounted to perennial heartbreak to the tune of five straight playoff-less seasons. From the top, Leiweke, down to the general manager, their new global ambassador, the coach and the players, the message is clear; there are to be no more excuses. "None of us have an excuse," insisted returning head coach Dwane Casey, who is entering the final year of his contract. "Theres no out. What is your cop-out? Its right here, its the same team, same group." "Thats why Im saying were past the talking stage. This is our team, our group, so lets go to work." In addition to a punishing stretch to begin last season - 15 of their first 22 games on the road - they had a built-in excuse, getting three rookies and a couple of key additions acclimated on the go. Thats not the case this year. The only rookie on the roster is undrafted signee Dwight Buycks, who doesnt figure to have a significant role out of the gate. Despite the change in management, incoming GM Masai Ujiri has opted to stick with the group that closed out last season in the starting five. For those returning players, the grace period has ended and the pressure is on them to put the excuses aside and perform. "Weve just got to take advantage of every opportunity," knows DeMar DeRozan, the longest tenured Raptor. "Weve got to take advantage this week in training camp of [us] all being together, take advantage of [the] preseason and continue to get better and, as soon as that home opener starts, weve got to take advantage from game one to game 82 and just put it all out there because we have no excuses." For the team, its clear the bar has been set high but intentionally unclear where that bar sits exactly. "Im not even going to talk about playoffs," Casey said, tempering expectations after last seasons failures. "My mentality right now is to get better and all those other things are going to take care of themselves. Im not even going to mention it to our players tonight in our meeting when we talk about getting better. When you do that, good things are going to happen." If things go south in a hurry, this group may not have much time to forge its path, whatever it may be, as the leash on the returnees could be a short one. "We cant make any excuses of [a] tough schedule," Ujiri said. "So yes, how we start the season will be very important and then thats our jobs to make adjustments and the players jobs and coaching." "Chemistry is very key for us," he continued. "A lot of people think its individual talent, at the end of the day, it all has to come together. Were hoping these guys come together quick." Monday was overloaded with optimism for this Raptors franchise. With the addition of Drake to their staff, they will host the 2016 NBA All-Star Game with a brand new look expected to be unveiled that season. The organization, its players, coaches and fan base have experienced the feeling of optimism in the past and, needless to say, it hasnt necessarily translated in the standings. "Were going to find out pretty quickly if we have enough to be a playoff team," Casey said. "If we make continuous growth, we should be going in that direction but were not going to talk about it because talk is cheap. Its about doing it." "I thought we talked about it a little bit last year and we started out 4-19. So I dont want to talk about where we should be, what we could be doing or anything. I want to talk about how hard the guys are going to work to get there." Thats what this season will be about for Casey and his brigade, many of whom - like their coach - are in the hot seat. To the dismay of some fans, they will not be tanking, its simply not in the makeup of anyone currently affiliated with this organization to roll over. The mentality that is being preached, and will continue to be preached, is quite the opposite, in fact. "No more excuses," Leiweke repeated. "I think what Drake helps us do is he sets a tone and I like the tone, which is; were going to get better, were going to get rid of the excuses [and] were going to get rid of all the distractions.dddddddddddd" "And for our players," he continued, "for the other players in the league and for our fans, now we talk about the positive and we talk about what were going to be. For me, [its about] accountability here, about our brand, our image, our buzz and our potential, thats what Drakes helping us do." "I want accountability. No more excuses." Back on the Defensive It should come as no surprise that Coach Casey has committed to re-emphasizing defence in his third and most crucial season with the Raptors. In his first year with the team, during the lockout shortened 2011-12 campaign, the Casey-led Raptors began to shed the perception that had been haunting them. They were, up until that point, a perennial doormat, a soft team. In 66 mostly hard-fought games, Casey changed all that. He took a team that ranked at the bottom of the league in nearly every defensive category the year prior and made them competitive. The Raptors finished that season as the NBAs most improved team in opponent field goal percentage (from .482, 29th in the NBA to .435, 8th) and opponent scoring (from 105.3 point allowed per game, 26th to 94.0, 9th). Then, just as quickly as the defensive renaissance came to be the year prior, that progress was undone during a turbulent 2012-13 season. "Last year," Casey said, "I dont think it was a mistake, we had to get better offensively, but we tilted the pendulum a little bit too far to the offensive side. This year, its going to be back to the defensive side." "When you emphasize something the way we did offence going into training camp last year, it took [on] a personality of its own. Somewhere down the line, youre going to rest and I thought our guys took a step back with the focus and the spotlight not being on the defensive end." A Refocused Rudy Gay is coming off an emotionally and physically exhausting campaign. He battled injuries and brushed off ongoing trade speculation as a Grizzly, eventually giving way to a midseason shakeup that took him from the only NBA home hes ever known - a winning team in Memphis - to a city over 900 miles away, one that hasnt seen playoff basketball in five years. "Last year was kind of like a whirlwind for me," he admitted. "Not even having any place to stay or even put my clothes." He comes to training camp this year - his first with the Raptors - 100 per cent healthy and refocused after a busy offseason of hard work. In addition to his day-to-day training, Gay worked on his post game with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon, underwent a procedure to correct ongoing vision problems and added a noticeable 20 pounds of muscle. "My trainer basically lived with me," said the Raptors seemingly invigorated forward. "I worked all but three weeks this whole summer, after my eye surgery." Admittedly, Gay feels underestimated and has his eyes - which now work as theyre supposed to - set on proving his and the teams naysayers wrong. To do that, Casey wants to see his go-to scorer become more efficient offensively while bringing consistent effort on the defensive end. DeMars Shot As last season came to a disappointing close for DeRozan, who has missed the playoffs in each of his four years in the league, the Raptors guard vowed to return an improved three-point shooter. According to DeRozan, who has shot the three-ball at a 24 per cent clip over his career, he spent the bulk of the summer making good on his promise. "Any type of way I could have the ball in my hand[s] and get off a three-point shot, [I did]," DeRozan said. "I definitely feel the most comfortable Ive ever felt from the three-point line and Im going to continue working on it day in and day out." The 24-year-old spent Sunday morning hoisting up jump shots, knocking down 300 triples prior to his mandated physical. Despite this seasons tempered expectations, failure is not an option for the young veteran. "Personally, the way I approach workouts all summer is, this is my fifth year [and] Im tired of going home early, watching everybody else play, watching my friends play," he passionately exclaimed. "Its sickening to me, I get tired of [it]." "Me personally, I work my ass off so we can play in that moment. Be a team in that 8, 7, 6, whatever spot it is, to have the opportunity to play. So thats my goal and Im sure everybody on this team feels the same way." ' ' '