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TORONTO – Peter Holland was riding the GO train just a couple days after he was traded to play for his hometown Maple Leafs when he was recognized by a fan. It was the kind of surreal moment that made life playing at home all the more real. "That never wouldve happened in Anaheim, California," Holland, a native of Caledon, told the Leaf Report with a chuckle. "That was pretty cool." No longer on the west coast with the Ducks, the 22-year-old enjoyed the biggest night of his NHL career in front of the hometown crowd on the Saturday night stage. With his parents and childhood skills coach (Joey Simon from Powerhouse Hockey) in the stands, Holland scored twice and added a helper as Toronto stunned the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 at the ACC. It was the clubs first win in regulation since Nov. 19 and third in the past 20 games. Moved up in the lineup onto a unit with Joffrey Lupul and Mason Raymond – David Clarkson was serving the first of a two-game suspension – Holland scored his fourth this season and first of the game on an early power-play, notching his second on a tic-tac-toe feed from Lupul and Raymond. He would add an assist on the second of two goals from Lupul. "Theyve given me a good opportunity here and I think that as long as Im playing my game I think I have the ability to play at this level," said Holland, acquired from Anaheim in mid-November. "Obviously playing with guys like Lupul and Raymond is going to help me stick around too." A first round pick of the Ducks in 2009, Holland nearly doubled his season output with the standout performance against Chicago, now at five goals and seven points in 16 games this season. With injuries plaguing the Leafs at centre ice – Dave Bolland and Tyler Bozak are both sidelined – opportunity is there for someone like Holland to grab hold of. To this point, he had offered only brief glimpses of the skill his pedigree would infer. But with more opportunity – a career-high of over 19 minutes – he was able to show it off in a big way against the Blackhawks. "Im just kind of approaching it like its a job and it is a job," Holland said. As to the chance to play at home, after bouncing between outposts in Syracuse, Norfolk and Anaheim, Holland said its been more comfort than distraction. "If anything I think it almost relieves pressure," he said. "Youve got more of a support network around you. Its a thrill to play in front of them every night. Going back to minor hockey when your parents came to every game, driving you there and stuff, and now they can come to every home game here. Its a good feeling." Five Points 1. Response from St. Louis Only two days before shocking the Blackhawks at home, the Leafs were embarrassed on the road by the Blues. It was their eighth loss in 10 games and among the worst efforts of the year. "Off our performance in St. Louis we could not have anything close to that again," said Randy Carlyle following the win against Chicago, the leagues top team again this season. "They werent very proud of our performance. They knew that we didnt do a lot of things that we set out to do. "I thought that our hockey club responded the way they needed to respond," he continued. "They took responsibility for our actions and thats a good sign. But the most encouraging thing for us tonight was our work ethic and we stuck to our system and played it." Trekking through their most arduous portion of the schedule – which has included the Sharks, Bruins, Kings, Blues, and Blackhawks – the Leafs now face another top team in Pittsburgh on Monday. "It doesnt get any easier," said Lupul, who had four points on Saturday, "but certainly winning a game against the top team in the league gives you a little bit of confidence so hopefully we can run with it." 2. Cycle Offence Though they generated the bulk of their offence off the rush, the Leafs did manage to sustain bursts of the cycle game Carlyle has been pleading for. The fourth goal of the evening, and fourth this season from Nik Kulemin, found its way into the back of the net off such an attack. "Weve been striving for that," said Carlyle. "And in the games that we are effective it seems that we have more of that in the hockey game. Thats really what were trying to do is were trying to eliminate a one-dimensional rush team." That rush game was certainly effective, notably the line of Holland, Lupul and Raymond. "When you start to wear teams down, if you play more in their zone, your rush game becomes more effective," Carlyle said. "The players will tell you, they never get tired playing in that zone. Theyre not receiving the game. When youre attacking and youre creating more offensive zone time its a better feeling." The Leafs also benefited on this night from scoring beyond their top unit. Phil Kessel would score the seventh and final Toronto goal, his 17th this season, but the remainder of the offence came from the second and third lines. Pegged to slow down the Blackhawks imposing top trio of Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa, the third line of Kulemin, Jerry DAmigo, and Jay McClement scored twice while holding their opponents off the scoresheet. "They did a heck of a job for us," said Carlyle. 3. Playing at Home In addition to the unlikely meet and greet with the fan on the GO Train, Holland said the second surreal moment of playing at home came when he put on the Leafs jersey for the first time, one he wore as a fan growing up. "I kind of let that sink in for a couple seconds there because that was a dream come true for sure," he said. Holland often made it down to Leafs games as a kid, mostly at the old Maple Leaf Gardens. "Some of my fondest memories were actually at the Garden," said Holland. "I was in there bleeding blue and white with the fans growing up." 4. Defensive Confusion A frequent frustration for Carlyle in recent weeks has been the rising tide of goals scored against from the critical areas or the zone surrounding the goal. "Its taking care of the front of your net before anywhere else," John-Michael Liles said of such improvement, prior to Saturdays game. "Ultimately, most teams are trying to draw you out of those critical areas so they can get the puck into those critical areas. Its no different than any other sport." Liles compared the tactic to soccer or basketball (where quality outside shooters draw defenders from the basket), noting the desire of an offence to space the defence out and away from the respective goal. "Its that movement (of) trying to confuse," he said. Defensive improvement stands high atop the Leafs priorities. During their ongoing struggle, theyve allowed three goals or more in 13 of 20 games, losing all but two of those games (including on Saturday). "Were trying to implement a defensive zone coverage that we can hang our hat on," said Carlyle. "Once you play better defensively then you start to become more of a team that (attacks) versus receiving the game. Thats really what has happened with our hockey club, I would say specifically in the last 15 games, is weve been receiving more than weve been attacking." 5. Shake-Up For the first time all season neither Paul Ranger nor Mark Fraser was in the lineup for the Leafs. A new-look third pairing of some speed and some skill saw John-Michael Liles paired with Morgan Rielly. The adjustment appeared an early success. "I thought they did a good job from a standpoint of we played our system and we moved the puck pretty much worrisome-free other than about five or six minutes in the second period," said Carlyle of the group. The Toronto defence has been a source of instability all season. Only one pairing has remained a constant from start to present: Carl Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf (save for Phaneufs recent two-game suspension). Asked prior to Saturdays game if he would consider splitting the two as he did last season – and thus balancing the group –Carlyle said no. "Its been an experiment that we felt it failed," said Carlyle. "We werent happy with that. I would say at this point we think that theyre our go-to pair. Right now, I dont think thats a possibility for us … But coaches change their minds." Searching for balance, Carlyle split Gunnarsson and Phaneuf for the first 28 games last season with Phaneuf playing alongside Korbinian Holzer and current Blackhawk Michael Kostka. By mid-March though he abandoned the plan and reconnected the teams usual top pairing. Bonus Point – Bolland Update A bit of positive news amid a difficult stretch for the Leafs saw Dave Bolland off crutches this week and walking around the Air Canada Centre on Saturday morning. "The update is that hes progressing along at the expected rate," said Carlyle without offering any concrete timeline. "Theres no great difference in where hes at versus where we thought he was going to be. Hes not ahead of schedule, hes right on schedule right now." Stats-Pack 7 - Goals for the Leafs against Chicago, a season-high. 3 - Points from Peter Holland, a career-high. 4 – Assists for Mason Raymond against Chicago, a career-high. Raymond also surpassed the 22 points he had in 46 games last season. He now has 24 points in 34 games. 19:22 – Ice-time for Holland, also a career-high. 5 – Points for Jake Gardiner in December. He had six points combined in October and November. 1 - Career NHL goal for Jerry DAmigo. DAmigo also added an assist against the Blackhawks. 2 - Goals from the Leafs third line, who also held Chicagos top unit scoreless. 9 – Games without a goal for Joffrey Lupul prior to a two-goal outing on Saturday. Lupul hadnt scored since Nov. 9 in Boston. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-4Season: 24.3% (3rd) PK: 1-2Season: 76.7% (27th) Quote of the Night "You guys cant see it, but Im just going crazy inside right now." -Jerry DAmigo, moments after scoring his first career NHL goal. Up Next The Leafs travel to Pittsburgh for a Monday date with the Penguins. Nike Air Force 1 Australia Womens .Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No. Air Force 1 Sale Australia . Karlovic of Croatia used his big serve to beat Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7). Kohlschreiber had lost all of his three previous matches against Istomin but the German broke serve for a decisive 3-2 lead in the third set and held on to reach his first final of the year. http://www.wholesalenikeairforce1australia.com/.com) - Maria Sharapova rallied for a three- set win over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday to capture the season-opening Brisbane International tennis tournament. Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Australia . A broadcast source said the deal is for five years. The agreement calls for a minimum of 17 regular-season games as well as the East and West Division finals being broadcast annually on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNEWS. Nike Air Force 1 Australia Mens . Spencer Abbott and Trevor Smith scored third-period goals erasing a 2-1 deficit giving Toronto a late 3-2 lead.TORONTO - Kevin Pillar doesnt know how long his second shot with the Blue Jays will last but hes here, excited to play and eager to use the opportunity to showcase the strides hes made toward becoming a consistent major league player. Amongst Torontos starting outfielders, only Jose Bautista is signed for next season. Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera are in the final year of their deals. "I think guys like myself, guys like Anthony (Gose), know that theres potential for some openings in the outfield coming up," said Pillar. "Were really here to just take care of our business. Any time you get to go out on a big league field its an audition, not only for your team but all the other 29 teams out there. As guys who play the game we want to play in the major leagues. Ideally we want to play for the Blue Jays, theyre the team that drafted me and theyre dear to my heart but anytime you step onto the field you know its an audition for a major league job somewhere." Pillar joins the club red-hot at the plate. After stumbling out of the gate to a .114 batting average (5-for-44), Pillar has gone 38-for-97 (.392) since, which included an 18-game hitting streak. At the time of his recall, hed reached base safely in each of Triple-A Buffalos last 26 games. His nine walks represent an upward trend over his time with the Bisons last year. Pillar has struck out 16 times which, prorated, is a positive trend downward. "Just getting back, using the whole field and being aggressive in counts, hunting the heater and getting better pitches to hit," said Pillar of his early-season adjustments. "Kev, in the minor leagues last year, had a tremendous year," said manager John Gibbons. "He came up here, got his feet wet and it was a little bit of a struggle for him last year. Went back down there to Triple-A this year and really got it going again. Hes a good baseball player. A real good defender, good baserunner and the guy can hit." Like Chad ;Jenkins and Jonathan Diaz (the man whose roster spot he took – Diaz was optioned to Buffalo on Tuesday) the day before, Pillars travel day began in Charlotte and involved a complicated path to Toronto.dddddddddddd He flew from Charlotte to Baltimore, changed planes and flew into Buffalo. After quick stops at his apartment to gather clothes and toiletries and at the Bisons home, Coca Cola Field, where he transferred his equipment to a bag with a Blue Jays logo, he picked up the waiting car service for the drive to Toronto. This time when Pillar arrived in the clubhouse, he knew what to expect. He knew where to go to find what he needed. Its nice to feel comfortable. "That was a huge difference compared to last time," said Pillar. "Coming in, I walked in on egg shells. I didnt really know anyone here. I was greeted with open arms. At least I knew where my locker was, I knew where things were at this time. Its definitely a different feeling this time." "Hes coming back the second time, you know the shock, now he knows what to expect, said Gibbons. "The awe of the big leagues is kind of out the way now. The first time you show up you dont know what to expect and youre kind of overwhelmed or you can be sometimes." Pillar started in centerfield in place of Colby Rasmus on Tuesday night. Rasmus is nursing a tight right hamstring, the condition of which Rasmus said was improving. After Monday nights game, in which Rasmus was removed to start the seventh, Gibbons offered that maybe Rasmus was in need of a stint on the disabled list. Rasmus is hoping to avoid the DL and by Tuesday afternoon Gibbons had changed his tone, sounding hopeful Rasmus would need only a day or two on the bench. Meanwhile, while hes here, Pillar just wants to relax. "I dont have those same butterflies that I did six months ago when I came here the first time," said Pillar. "I kind of feel like Im here on a business trip and Im prepared." ' ' '