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TORONTO – James van Riemsdyk was only a few months removed from going to class at the University of New Hampshire when it got real. No more games. Hockey had officially become a business. It was 25 games into his NHL career and John Stevens had been fired as the Flyers head coach. Expectations weren’t being met for a Stanley Cup contender that featured Chris Pronger, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter at the top of a roster that also included a young Claude Giroux and a still-productive Daniel Briere. The Flyers had lost six of seven at that point in early December and were tumbling down the Eastern Conference standings under Stevens’ direction, just a few points up on a Ron Wilson-led Toronto club that was scuffling itself. Now 25-years-old and sprouting the first signs of a beard, van Riemsdyk vividly remembers the tense closed-door meetings of that time, the threats of trades and demotions from management, the eye-opening reality of life as a pro. It brings a grin to his face now, but didn’t then. That was the moment when the game changed. Business in the league could be cold and ruthless. “It’s a wake-up call when someone loses their job,” said van Riemsdyk more than five years after the fact and just days after his third head coach in the league was dismissed. “You’re like ‘wow’.” The Flyers didn’t initially take to the firing of Stevens and hiring of Peter Laviolette, but they eventually righted the ship, snuck into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season and won three playoff rounds before Chicago dropped them in the Cup Final. It was the kind of turnaround most clubs dream of when they dismiss a coach mid-season, the L.A. Kings churning down a similar path under Darryl Sutter en route to a Cup win in 2012. “Once you get into the playoffs anything can happen,” said van Riemsdyk, tied for 18th in league scoring on a Toronto team that’s lost eight of 10. “That’s our goal here, to get into the playoffs and once you get to the dance pretty much anyone can beat anyone.” Unlike the Flyers in those days, the Maple Leafs aren’t chasing Cups at this point in their history, but they did fire Randy Carlyle with the hope of shaking up a season veering further and further off the rails. Dave Nonis said his team was “trending the wrong way” after a slimy 1-4-0 road trip, adding that such a move “was made to try to put ourselves in a better position, nothing other than that.” And so now it falls to interim head coach Peter Horachek to try to steer a turnaround in the second half. He’s tasked with chipping away at all the instabilities that lingered in Toronto during Carlyle’s 188 games behind the bench. Horachek led his second practice on Thursday morning, one day after a 6-2 loss to Washington in his Toronto coaching debut. The whistle blew repeatedly. Drills were stopped. Instruction was constant. Players were informed of where they needed to be on the ice and why. They asked questions. He asked questions back. There was less barking, more talk. The pace was high. “That’s his job,” Horachek said in directing Sam Carrick, explaining what the responsibilities of his teammates were during one particular defensive zone drill. “He’s a good communicator and a good teacher out there for us,” said van Riemsdyk, who made note of that quality on the first day of training camp. “Obviously we have some things in our game that we need to find some consistency with and he’s going to try and help us do that.” Horachek has spoken about culture, accountability and resolve, but more than that he’s charged with improving those elements on the ice that have sagged badly in recent years and especially in recent weeks. The Leafs struggled under Carlyle to both keep the puck and keep it out of the net. “When you come into a situation there’s something that needs to change - whether it’s attitude adjustment or whatever it is - something always has to be adjusted,” Horachek said, filling the interim tag for 66 games in Florida last season. In this case, defending is top of the list. The Leafs are sixth from the bottom defensively this season – 3.10 goals against per game – yielding more even-strength goals at the midway point than every team but Buffalo and Edmonton. They attempted corrections at practice, working to improve both their ability to defend in-zone and off the rush. Horachek has talked repeatedly about the five-man approach. “You can’t play defence with four guys,” he said. “Everybody’s got to do their job and everybody’s got to be part of what their responsibilities are.” And he made sure that was known, steering traffic at a practice that went on for less than an hour. Players noticed a higher tempo with shorter drills, but more of them. Playoff-less in eight of the past nine seasons, Toronto sits just outside of a spot at the official midway point of the season. Its clear where they want to go. Whats unclear is the effect Horachek can imprint on a puzzling club in the final 41 games. 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That had a lot to do with it. ... With guys being out, we could hardly get in a rhythm. The last couple of weeks the difference has been weve been pretty steady injury-wise.Carolinas victory sets up a winner-take-all showdown next Sunday at Atlanta between the Panthers (6-8-1) and Falcons (6-9) for the division title. It also guarantees below .500 will win the NFC South.The winner will join the 2010 Seattle Seahawks as the only teams to reach the post-season in a non-strike-shortened season with a losing record.Now it all comes down to one game and thats all we can ask for is to be in that situation, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.Said tight end Greg Olsen: It says a lot about the guys in here. ... Every year you set out to try to win your division. We have one game left and it is right in front of us.Things we learned from Carolinas win over Cleveland on Sunday:NEWTON IS TOUGH: We knew this already, but it will be hard for anyone to ever question Cam Newtons toughness after he started 12 days after a car accident left him with two fractures in his lower back. Not only did Newton play, but he ran 10 times for 64 yards before taking two knees late in the game to run out the clock.dddddddddddd The guys a warrior, left tackle Byron Bell said. He could have made any excuse not to play. He has a bad back, a bad ankle, the whole nine (yards).MANZIEL A WORK IN PROGRESS: The Browns were hoping Johnny Manziel would take a big step forward after a rough outing the previous week in a 30-0 loss to Cincinnati. That didnt happen. Manziel was highly ineffective — just 3 of 8 for 32 yards — before leaving the game with a hamstring injury late in the first half. Coach Mike Pettine said Manziel wasnt productive and its just disappointing overall to lose your starting quarterback and have to shift gears midstream.PANTHERS Defence IMPROVING: Carolinas defence has been much improved in recent weeks and turned in another solid effort, holding the Browns to 228 yards and eight first downs on Sunday. They registered three sacks and forced one turnover. It was just good pressure, defensive end Charles Johnson said. Everybody realized that we had to get to them with pressure when Johnny Manziel was in there, that we had to contain him. When he went out, (Brian) Hoyer came in, so we could be more aggressive with our rushes and stuff.YOUTH MOVEMENT: Panthers coach Ron Rivera went with a youth movement several weeks back and it has paid off big time. The Panthers added a number of rookies and first-year players to the lineup, including wide receiver Philly Brown and defensive backs Tre Boston and Bene Benwikere. We thought we needed to get faster at a few positions, Rivera said. We needed to get younger at a few positions. These were guys that were looking for the opportunity.DECEMBER KIDS: The Panthers have now won 11 of their last 12 games in December under Rivera. It is good to have a coach like him that speaks encouragement and (puts) belief into us, Stewart said.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Twins Jerseys Wholesale Royals Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Authentic Indians Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Discount Blue Jays Jerseys Wholesale Rays Jerseys Cheap Yankees Jerseys Discount Red Sox Jerseys Discount Orioles Jerseys Discount Astros Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Athletics Jerseys Cheap Mariners Jerseys Rangers Jerseys From China Braves Jerseys Outlet Cheap Marlins Jerseys Wholesale Mets Jerseys Wholesale Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cubs Jerseys From China Reds Jerseys From China Cheap Brewers Jerseys Wholesale Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Authentic Rockies Jerseys Dodgers Jerseys From China Wholesale Padres Jerseys Giants Jerseys From China ' ' '