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TORONTO – On the day he was introduced as the bombastic new president and general manager of the Maple Leafs in November of 2008, Brian Burke declared the Mats Sundin era over in Toronto. “He’s going to go somewhere where he thinks they have a chance to win based on my conversations with him,” Burke said almost six years ago to the day. “I don’t think we profile as a team that he’s going to sign with.” Sundin would ultimately land in Vancouver just a few short weeks later, and from the point of his exit, the city of Toronto has been obsessed with figuring out who would fill that void for the Leafs. Tyler Bozak has been the guy at the centre of the debate for the past five years. “If he’s not a no. 1 centre, who is?” Joffrey Lupul questioned. “We don’t have a Ryan Getzlaf so he’s the no. 1 centre. We don’t have Jamie Benn or Ryan Getzlaf or [Sidney] Crosby or [Evgeni] Malkin, but the majority of teams don’t so yeah, he’s our no. 1 centre and we certainly don’t undervalue any of the things he does.” Amongst the top-25 scorers in the league at this moment, and on pace for career-highs in most offensive categories, Bozak is in the midst of his finest season as a Leaf. His booming production though is directly tied to a surge on the power-play, one that’s unlikely to be sustainable for the remainder of the year. Bozak has scored more than half of his 11 goals on the power-play (adding another two shorthanded), quietly navigating into “soft spots” between attention-drawers, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. That was precisely the case over the weekend when he found an opening between Capital forwards, Joel Ward and Jason Chimera, confidently flipping a Kessel feed over an overmatched Braden Holtby. “Obviously when you’ve got guys out there like James, Phil, Naz, and Dion, a lot of attention is going to be on them so I just try and slip under the radar and get to spots where guys aren’t,” he said afterward. But this kind of production isn’t likely to last as triumphantly as it has. Consider that the 28-year-old, tied for second in the league at this point, is currently on pace for 21 power-play goals -- or more than he’s ever scored in a single season. Also remember that Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 24 power-play goals a year ago. Bozak has already matched (through 23 games mind you) a career-high with the six markers on the man advantage. He’s scored on 33 per cent of the 18 shots he’s fired with a 5-on-4 advantage, a trend that will likely right itself over time. Consider that last season he shot just 10 per cent in such situations. The 28-year-old is shooting the puck more often in all situations, though. He’s on pace for nearly 200 shots this year or nearly 80 more than his previous career-high. “I used to look at him as more of a passer when Phil and I played with him, but now you can see he’s a little more comfortable shooting the puck and has a little bit more confidence as far as goal-scoring goes,” Lupul said, citing that increase in confidence as the likely factor behind such a shift. “I think initially he would probably always look to get the puck to Phil and now he’s starting to realize that he can score goals and you can see him getting a little more comfortable going hard to the front of the net and getting some goals there.” “Obviously when you play with guys like Phil and James and when I was playing with Joffrey, you want to get them the puck as much as you can in scoring positions, but I think I’ve learned to take a few more shots,” Bozak added. “And I think I’ve also learned just to find the better areas on the ice where if the puck does come to me I’ll be in a better position to have a good chance of it going in.” Bozak is a historically efficient shooter – career 17.1 per cent – something he says is by design, a recognition of where he figures he’ll be most able to score. “I don’t really take too many shots from the outside in areas where I don’t think I’ll be able to score,” he explained. “I try and limit my shots to the grade-A scoring areas and give myself a good chance to score every time I shoot.” The Leafs are generating more shots with Bozak on the ice this year than a year ago. And they’re also giving up a bit less too. Part of that stems from an increase in offensive zone starts – less time subsequently in the defensive zone – and less time matching up with opposing top lines, but also from what the team believes is defensive improvement on Bozak’s part. “It’s the work he does away from the puck to defend,” Leafs assistant Steve Spott said glowingly. After the worst season his career in the faceoff circle last season – which he attributes to injury troubles – Bozak is also surging there again this year. He’s up to 57 per cent, good for sixth-best in the NHL. The power-play boom does inflate Bozak’s overall production though. Nazem Kadri, whom many are dubbing a disappointment this year, has the same number of even-strength points as Bozak – 11 each through 23 games. That’s outside the top-30 for NHL centremen. All of which reverts back to the argument against Bozak as a bona-fide first line centre, an argument which also hinges around his dependency on Kessel and on his smallish frame – generously listed at 6-foot-1 and nearly 200 pounds. Bozak would be in the lower echelon of top centres in the Eastern Conference alone, comparable with the likes of Derek Stepan and Kyle Turris. Albeit under mostly different management, the Leafs haven’t made it a secret that they’d love to improve in that spot, but as Lupul wisely pointed out, the Getzlafs of the world are found only in the draft (or in restricted free agency where few teams opts to stray). Given the dearth of high-end centres available both now and in the future, it’s likely that Bozak remains there with Toronto, inked for three more years at more than $4 million. “There’s been people saying that the whole time I’ve been here so I’m used to it now,” Bozak said of the no. 1 centre debate. “I don’t really look into too much. I’ve had a couple coaches and a couple GMs here that have had the opportunity to put me in a different role if they wanted to and I’ve stayed where I’ve been for the most part.” “He’s really emerging as a no. 1 centre in this league now, not only offensively as we’ve seen lately but defensively,” Spott said. “I think he’s a highly underrated centreman. He’s great on both sides of the puck and he’s finding that offensive touch now that you want from a no. 1 centre.” The debate continues. Nike Air Max Womens Sale . While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other. Nike Air Max Mens Sale . Raymond, 31, started 15 regular-season games for the Stamps in 2013, racking up 51 tackles. He also returned two kickoffs for 79 yards including a 61-yarder. http://www.airmaxtrainerswholesale.com/. -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Cheap Nike Air Max Shoes . "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). Nike Air Max Online Sale .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames.Shapes of MLS The Formations: Carl Robinsons Vancouver Whitecaps went back to a 4-2-3-1 for Saturdays game after finishing last weeks 1-1 draw at Chivas in a 4-4-2. The move was not surprising, although Pedro Morales (stiff back) being left on the bench was a move that wasnt expected. Russell Teibert returned from injury and was back on the right, where he played against New York, pushing Kenny Miller central. New England, coming off two poor performances to start the season, stuck to their favored shape and welcomed back captain Jose Goncalves after he was left out of the 18 in Philadelphia for the ongoing dispute over his contract status. The Game: It ended 0-0 and was not a classic, however, from a tactical perspective, it proved to be a fascinating one with many changes happening throughout the match. New England had played very narrow for the first two games and were expected to do so again but Saer Sene and Diego Fagundez started the game very close to both touchlines. They were able to do this because the midfield central three of New England completely dominated the opening 45 minutes. Sene and Fagundez were excellent outlets for the trio, while also helping to cause key overlaps with full backs. Matias Laba and Nigel Reo-Coker, in particular, really struggled distributing the ball in midfield and were regularly pressed quickly, allowing New England to make crucial turnovers and start quick transitions. The double pivot works best when one of the midfielders can drop deeper, make crucial tackles or be the outlet for the centre-backs to start an attack, while the other one pushes slightly more forward and into space. With New England dominating this area of the field, both Laba and Reo-Coker were reluctant to get forward, pinning the Whitecaps deeper. This had a knock-on effect towards how the front four played. Kenny Miller had to come deeper and turned the formation into a 4-5-1 while the wide players also retreated to try and help their teammates. This allowed New England to also win the battle on the flanks with Sene and Andrew Farrell, in particular, on the right side really dominating Sebastian Fernandez. Farrell was the best player on the field, defending excellently while making intelligent runs to create overlaps and chances for Sene. The Turning Point: Vancouver desperately needed to pass the ball better in the second half and needed a ball treasurer. Up stepped Morales, who replaced the ineffective Fernandez at half-time. Immediately, the visitors were a better side at the start of the second half. Andy Dorman had a lot of the ball in the first half because the Whitecaps were so deep but now his mind was occupied by the playmaker, Morales. A very interesting point to note with this change was how Robinson stuck to his shape but put Mattocks on the left and kept Miller central, now up top. Millers defensive game on the flank against Chivas last weekend wasnt the best and it was clear that Robinson trusted Mattocks more to deal with Sene and Farrell. In fairness, Mattocks worked very hard at this part of his game. He committed three fouls and looked clumsy at times but his pace and workrate proved that Robinson was correct to not have Miller defend that side of the field. When Teibert came off for Kekuta Manneh, Mattocks moved to the right and suddenly the Whitecaps had two track athletes on the flanks. Defensively, they were adequate but on the break they were breathtaking. The final ball too often was the wrong one but having those players out wide stopped New Englands danger out wide and pinned the impressive full backs deeper with Farrell only getting the better of Manneh once, allowing a great chance for dangerman Diego Fagundez who drifted centrally. New England boss Jay Heaps tried to counter Robinsons changes by, first, moving Kelyn Rowe out wide (who was very clever with his movement and range of passing) and then putting Teal Bunbury there in the final minutes. To be fair, Heaps haad to do something with Bunbury after he spent most of the second half inside Andy OBriens pocket.dddddddddddd The Positives: It should be noted that the playing conditions for this game were very poor. The wind played a massive part in the game and that certainly is one reason why the Whitecaps, playing against it, struggled in the first 45 minutes. At one stage, the exceptional OBrien misjudged the wind and allowed a simple ball back to his goalkeeper to be held up, which required David Ousted to come out quickly to deny Bunbury. Ousted was brilliant in this game and allowed the Whitecaps to get a point. Despite the poor conditions, a real positive was Robinsons proactive nature. It is refreshing to see a young coach demand so much of his players in terms of a style and identity. Through three games, we already know what a Robinson side should look like and in the first 45 minutes, he clearly wasnt happy with how they were playing. In the second half, with Morales on, the Whitecaps trusted themselves more to play through midfield which turned the momentum away from New England and allowed them to dictate the game more. The Negatives: The season is only three games old but the Whitecaps need to be able to stick to their identity when opponents are on top. Far too often in the first half, long balls were sent up by the defence to try and get the forwards into play. One of the reasons for this is the Laba-Reo Coker partnership. A problem with the 4-2-3-1 is that if both, in the double pivot, are too deep, a team becomes divided and a back six may as well send postcards to the front four because they are so far away. One team becomes two. Reo-Coker lost the ball, similar to the way he did against Chivas for their goal, early in the game and was booked after just eight minutes. Once he is booked that early, it is virtually impossible for him to play the entire 90 minutes because one of his real strengths is his power and ability to cause turnovers by riding that fine line between a foul and a fair tackle. A solution may be to play a diamond in midfield, pushing Reo Coker on to the right where he feels he has a bit more of a license to get forward. This would, obviously, depend on the opponent. However, what this could also counter is who to play in the wide areas of a 4-2-3-1. After a bright start at home to New York, Fernandezs performances in the last two away games can be described as average followed by very poor. Playing in that position away is very different than at home, as attacks are started much deeper and defensively, you have to be more diligent. This is something Robinson will need to monitor as the season goes on. With Miller showing he is less than capable to be trusted on a flank regularly, if he is to play 4-2-3-1, he will need to work with the likes of Mattocks and Fernandez on how to get better in those positions. The Star Man: David Ousted was clearly the best player for the Whitecaps on the day but tactically, it was an impressive performance from the two centre-backs. OBrien was a rock while Johnny Leveron, making his first start of the season, certainly brought a new dimension to their side. He is, by far, the most comfortable centre-back in possession of the ball and when a 4-2-3-1 is working at its best, against a team playing with one striker, very often the second centre-back can be the free, isolated player not picked up by the opposition. This happened just before half-time when the Honduran got forward down the left, beat Sene and Bunbury, in an attack that ended with Miller just firing wide. Leveron needs to be careful and a bit sharper with his passes and distribution when he gets the ball but, with time, he can be a real asset for Robinson. In many ways, he sums up the early season storyline for the unbeaten 2014 Whitecaps – plenty of versatility with options and a lot of promise to develop quickly into the identity Robinson doesnt just wish for but demands. ' ' '