PITTSBURGH – Just when it seems that the Maple Leafs might be turning a corner does the inconsistency, which has branded the team through the first two-plus months of the season, emerge yet again. Sidney Crosby ultimately sunk Torontos ship at the Consol Energy Center on Monday night, beating Jonathan Bernier with the eventual game-winner in the final minutes of the third frame. Though his team would hold serve with the tattered Penguins for most of the evening, Randy Carlyle couldnt help but express disappointment at parts lacking, specifically a stunted start. "Its disappointing tonight," said Carlyle, clearly frustrated following the 3-1 loss. "We didnt come out jumping like I thought we would. I thought we would have lots of energy and be on the puck and jumping and we just seemed like were a step behind." Energy was to be expected after a stunning home victory against the defending Stanley Cup champions two nights earlier, but it was notably absent in the opening period. Whatever momentum theyd established against the Blackhawks seemed to short-circuit upon arrival in Pittsburgh, much in the way it did in St. Louis last week. Only 39 seconds had elapsed before the Penguins snatched hold of the lead, Chris Conner redirecting a point shot behind Bernier. "I thought we were a little flat off the gate," said Bernier, who made 28 saves. Outshot 15-7 in the period, the Leafs managed to even things out in a second that saw them fire 13 shots at Marc-Andre Fleury. Morgan Rielly capped the resurgence with his first career NHL goal. "I think as a team we hoped to play a bit better than how we did," said Rielly, who played 19 minutes. "I dont think we were playing our game in terms of how we usually skate. I think we were a bit slower tonight." Unable to generate much in the third, the Leafs were ultimately undone by a series of mistakes and missed opportunities which resulted in Crosbys game-winner. There were the mostly failed efforts of the power-play, including one in the final minute. There was the Nik Kulemin attempt that missed just wide of an open cage. There was the icing which saw Jake Gardiner fire the puck beyond the tape of James van Riemsdyk (though he and his teammates believe it touched a Penguins defender at the offensive blue-line). And though Jay McClement won the subsequent defensive zone faceoff, there was the failed clearing attempt from Gardiner and the inability to check the games greatest player in the slot. "Hes the best player in the game for a reason," said Dion Phaneuf of the Penguins captain. "He has been for a long time. He makes a real good shot there."More good has emerged from the Leafs in recent days, including strong efforts against the Kings and Blackhawks, but the Jekyll and Hyde of their inconsistency remains. "I think weve kind of flirted with the way we can play," said van Riemsdyk, "but weve got to do it more consistently." Five Points 1. Riellys First It took 41 shots for Morgan Rielly to score his first goal in the NHL. Winding up with a wrist shot at the top of the left circle on a power-play, Rielly slung the puck by a surprised Marc-Andre Fleury. "Its a pretty nice feeling," said the 19-year-old about the goal, "but its always tough when the team loses and youre not overly happy after the game because of what the score was. But its pretty nice just to get it out of the way." Rielly is tied for fifth in scoring among rookie defencemen with 10 points in 26 games. 2. World Juniors? Rielly had been a healthy scratch for three consecutive games last week, at which point it seemed that a trip to the World Juniors was all but certain. And then he was reinserted back into the lineup for four straight games, predictably quieting the assumption. Carlyle made clear after Mondays game though that a final decision had not yet been reached on whether to send Rielly to Sweden. "Were going to have a tough decision here coming thats for sure," he said. Be it Carlyle, Dave Nonis or any member of the management team, the Leafs have stressed that theyll do whats best for the long-term development of their prized rookie defender. But that assertion typically included the caveat that Rielly would remain in the NHL if he was playing regularly and contributing. "We feel that he can play here and make a contribution," said Carlyle, questioned on the subject on Dec. 2. The decision will come soon. Canada plays its first pre-tournament game on Friday. 3. Surviving Injuries Like the Leafs – if not more so – the Penguins have endured a substantial amount of injuries at key positions, notably on defence. Pittsburgh has been without three of its top-four on the blue-line – Rob Scuderi, Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik – and just placed Kris Letang on injured reserve. And yet, theyve continued to win, now nine victories in the past 10 games. Boasting two of the top players in the world certainly helps, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin pacing the league-wide scoring race, as does terrific goaltending, but the Penguins have also benefited from the steady contributions of players plucked from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre. "I think all the guys who have come in deserve a lot of the credit," said Crosby. "Theyve been thrown into some pretty important situations right off the bat here and theyve done an unbelievable job. They deserve a lot of the credit. Thats impressive. You have seven, eight guys from Wilkes-Barre coming in and playing the minutes that theyre playing and doing the job theyre doing that says a lot about the depth in our organization." Its a model to replicate for those clubs beset by injuries, including the Leafs, who remain without Dave Bolland and Tyler Bozak. Contributions from the organizational ranks have picked up steam for Toronto in recent days with Trevor Smith, Jerry DAmigo, and Peter Holland – who never played for the Marlies, but slides down the depth chart with a healthy lineup – all chipping in amid a challenging stretch. What the Penguins survival efforts highlights is the value of quality depth within an organization. "I dont know if you necessarily get an appreciation for it when theres only one or two guys coming up," said Crosby. "When its this many guys that have to come in you definitely get that appreciation." Pittsburgh entered the night with 161 man games lost to injury compared with 101 for Toronto following the game. 4. Leafs Goaltending Still Good, But Not Quite Heroic Despite their struggles defensively, the Leafs managed to win 10 games in October, largely on the heroics of their two goaltenders (and special teams). Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have remained a solid duo in November and December, but not nearly to the largely unsustainable level they were at early on as the table below indicates. Save Percentage Splits for Toronto Goaltenders Goaltender October November December James Reimer .949 .916 .914 Jonathan Bernier .933 .923 .915 "Weve been very, very fortunate with our goaltenders," said Carlyle on Monday morning. "Theyve been very, very good for us. Weve made a lot of mistakes along the way, but our goaltenders have been able to provide with us that save and timely saves." 5. DAmigos Rough Night First Jerry DAmigo was hammered into the boards by Zach Sill. Then he was crunched twice in the neutral zone by Robert Bortuzzo, the first of which drew a penalty for a hit to the head, the latter ending the 22-year-olds night. The NHL said shortly after the game that Bortuzzo would not be suspended for the first offence. "Its a 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6 guy on skates delivering a check to a 5-foot-10 guy," said Carlyle of the collision. "It didnt look good from the bench where he hit him with his shoulder, but I cant say that I can comment other than I only saw it in live time and its difficult." Departing the game briefly after the first hit (likely for a concussion test), DAmigo returned before he was crunched into the boards once more by Bortuzzo, appearing to favour his shoulder as he left the ice for good. Carlyle had no update on the Binghamton native following the game, but he was seen leaving the arena in considerable discomfort. Stats-Pack 1-1-1 – Leafs record against Pittsburgh this season. 1-6-3 – Road record for the Leafs in the past 10 games. 39 – Seconds elapsed before the Penguins opened the scoring. 40 – Shots on goal for Morgan Rielly before scoring his first career NHL goal against the Penguins. 15 – Assists for Cody Franson this season, tied for the team lead. 19:04 – Ice-time for Rielly against the Penguins. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-5Season: 24.1% (3rd) PK: 1-1Season: 76.9% (27th) Quote of the Night "Were going to have a tough decision here coming thats for sure." -Randy Carlyle, on the impending decision on Morgan Rielly and the World Jrs. Up Next The Leafs play host to the Panthers on Tuesday night. NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap . He will be practicing with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. - @AnaheimDucks Corey Perry has a knee sprain and will miss the next three to four weeks. Authentic Jerseys Cheap . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. http://www.authenticwholesalejerseys.net/. The German has taken the pole for three straight races -- winning the first two. Hes aiming for a third consecutive win at the Yeongam circuit and, most importantly, a fourth consecutive F1 championship. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. CHICAGO -- For the Cincinnati Reds, there was no better place to open a 10-game trip than Wrigley Field. Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines. Making his third start, Simon (2-1) allowed an unearned run in six-plus innings and sent the Cubs to their fifth straight loss. Simon, in the rotation while Mat Latos recovers from elbow and knee injuries, had made 99 relief appearances for the Reds before getting a chance to start this year. "Hes wanted more opportunity. Weve given that to him," manager Bryan Price said. "I think it was a good idea that we brought him into camp to start in case we had an injury or didnt have the depth. And our good fortune is that he came in ready to go and had a great spring and is off to a good start." Simon struck out three and walked two. "I feel great," he said. "I just tried to keep the ball down today and just try to (get ground balls)." Jonathan Broxton pitched a hitless ninth for his second save in two tries, completing a six-hitter for the Reds, who stretched their winning streak to a season-best three and have won four of five. Cincinnati, which won last years season series 14-5, went ahead on Billy Hamiltons RBI double in the fifth. The Reds made it 3-0 in the sixth when Zack Cozart hit a bases-loaded grounder to third, and second baseman Emilio Bonifacios relay for a double-play attempt went wide of first for an error that allowed Ryan Ludwick to score from second. Ludwick had reached on catchers interference by Welington Castillo. "Believe me, we dont take it for granted that were coming in here to win all the games," Price said.dddddddddddd. "I mean, we want to but we dont take it for granted at all." Jeff Samardzija (0-2) gave up three runs -- one earned -- and six hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. He is 0-4 despite a 3.86 ERA in 10 starts since winning at San Diego on Aug. 24. "Its a tough day to hit with that wind," he said. "Its just the way it goes sometimes. You cant let it get to you." Luis Valbuena hit an RBI single in the seventh, ending a 24-inning scoreless streak for the Cubs dating to Sundays loss to St. Louis. Cincinnati scored another run in the eighth on a wild pitch by Justin Grimm. "I think we were a little sloppy in general, and Jeff really kept us in the ballgame throughout," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "I think well do better." NOTES: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips left in the middle of the third, two innings after he felt back spasms after he swung and missed a Samardzija pitch. Price said Phillips was removed as a precaution and said he was hopeful Phillips could play Saturday. ... Price said LHP Aroldis Chapman has been cleared to throw batting practice for the first time since he was hit in the face by a line drive during an exhibition game on March 19. ... Reds LHP Sean Marshall (sore left shoulder) has rejoined the Reds and could be activated this weekend. ... The Reds stole five bases. ... Jon Tinker, a grandson of former Cubs Hall of Fame shortstop Joe Tinker of Tinker to Evers to Chance fame, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Cincinnatis scheduled starter Saturday is LHP Tony Cingrani (1-1), while RHP Edwin Jackson (0-1) is to start for the Cubs. ' ' '