NEW YORK – Jonathan Bernier had one thing running through his mind amid an avalanche of shots in what was a wildly tilted second period for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. "I thought Bernie stood on his head and gave us a chance to steal another point," said Randy Carlyle after the 2-1 shootout defeat, the teams 10th loss in the past 11 games on the road. Nudging a puck past the pads of rookie Cam Talbot, Nazem Kadri evened the score at one with less than two minutes to play in regulation. His efforts would have been for not if it wasnt for the sterling play of the 25-year-old between the pipes. The Rangers outshot the Leafs 22-5 in a penalty-filled second frame, firing 18 shots in a span of just 12 minutes. "We had a bit of a rough stretch there," Kadri said, "but thats why weve got great goaltenders. We werent worried because we know Bernie can hang in there and make some big stops for us. Obviously weve got to find a way to tone that down, but he gave us a chance to win the game." Toronto goaltending has been that kind of rock through hard times all season, the lone bit of solace amid continued spurts of inconsistency. The bookends of Mondays performance were solid for the Leafs, nearly undone though by a second frame under siege. "Im just trying to keep it close," said Bernier of the experience in the second. "I know were going to score one goal and Im just trying to do my job and go shot by shot." It was the fourth 40-plus save performance for Bernier in 22 starts this season. He now boasts a .929 save percentage on the year, good for seventh-best in the NHL. But the Quebec native wouldnt go so far to say hell stole a point for his team. In fact, he couldnt help but lament the two goals that snuck by in the shootout. "I didnt steal one," he said. "I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." Five Points 1. Bernier Shootout Struggles Bernier dropped to 3-8 lifetime in the shootout and 2-4 this season. His career .500 save percentage is amongst the worst of any active goaltender (tied for 68th in a class of 77). He was beaten on this night by Mats Zuccarello, who flipped a shot over his left shoulder, and Derek Stepan, who potted the eventual winner. "I thought the first two I was a little bit impatient," said Bernier. "Ive got to go get that extra point for my team." 2. Road Woes The road has offered nothing but misery for the Leafs since the start of November. With Mondays shootout defeat, theyve now dropped 10 of the last 11 games away from the ACC (1-6-4), outscored 36-20 in that span. Their lone victory in that stretch came on Dec. 7, a 4-3 shootout triumph over the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Now 6-8-4, the Leafs have the fourth-worst road mark in the Eastern Conference. 3. Means to Victory Saved often by the efforts of Bernier and James Reimer, the Leafs now sit 13-1-2 on the year when theyve yielded two goals or less. Conversely, their record is just 5-15-3 when theyve allowed three goals or more. 4. Christmas Break "This is the dog days of hockey when you get close to the 40-game mark," said Carlyle. And with a three-day break lying in wait for the holidays, he and the Leafs are just hoping to reset with an increasingly taxing second half ahead. "Its been a real hectic schedule here for the last three weeks, Ill tell you that," Carlyle said of a stretch which saw his team play 12 times in 23 days. "It seems like we play every second day and theres no relaxing time and then theres very limited practice time." With just one regulation victory in the past 18 games, theyll need to find a path towards improvement. "You just cant look at all the negatives," said Kadri, who scored his 11th goal of the year in defeat. "Youve got to look at the positives. I know thats a bit cliché, but its the right thing to do. You also point out the negatives and you go to the chalkboard and you work on it. But I think a few of those games weve played some of our better games of the year and still come out with losses. Thats just how this league works." 5. Lengthy Shift For one stretch in the Rangers dominant second frame, Dion Phaneuf was caught on the ice for a taxing two minutes and 56 seconds. New York fired five shots on goal before Peter Holland was finally whistled for roughing, the first of four penalties for the Leafs in the period. "Not very good," said Phaneuf, asked how he felt during the near-three minute shift. "When you get stuck out that long its tough. "I was trying to change obviously. I wouldve liked to not get stuck out there for that long, but its part of what happens. Sometimes teams are able to hem another team in and thats what happened tonight." Stats-Pack .929 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier this season, seventh-best in the NHL. 3-8 – Career record in the shootout for Bernier. 1 – Regulation victory for the Leafs since Nov. 19. 1-6-4 – Leafs record on the road in the past 11 games. 5-4 – Shootout record for the Leafs this season. 13-1-2 – Leafs record when yielding two goals or less this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-4Season: 22.4 per cent (4th) PK: 4-4Season: 78.4 per cent (26th) Quote of the Night "I didnt steal one. I didnt get the extra point. When you give up two goals in the shootout most of the time youll lose so Ive got to be better in shootouts." -Jonathan Bernier, following his 42-save performance. Up Next The Leafs are off three days for the Christmas break, returning to host Buffalo on Friday night. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Elgin Baylor Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.thelakersteamshop.com/robert-horry-lakers-jersey/ . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Authentic Jerry West Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Authentic Elgin Baylor Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position.SAO PAULO -- Brazilian organizers have completed another World Cup stadium. Yet there was little reason to celebrate Wednesday amid doubts about when or even if the remaining five venues will be ready in time for footballs showcase tournament in June. The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who took a symbolic first kick in front of a few thousand people. The event came a day after organizers admitted there is a serious risk the southern city of Curitiba might be dropped from the tournament because of lagging stadium construction. Brazils World Cup organizing committee admitted FIFA might have to consider reshuffling the tournaments matches, which would be an embarrassment for the country and disastrous for footballs governing body as more than 1 million game tickets have already been sold. "We know we had several warnings but it seems that these warnings were not taken seriously," Jose Maria Marin, the committees president, told reporters. "Its a difficult situation." Brazil promised to deliver all 12 World Cup stadiums by the end of 2013, but five are still under construction and at least two of those will not be ready until about two months before the tournaments June 12 start. One of those two is the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo, which is supposed to host the World Cups opening match. In Natal, work was being done until the last minute before the inauguration of the Arena das Dunas, a 42,000-capacity stadium hosting four matches in the World Cups opening round — Mexico vs. Cameroon, Ghana vs. United States, Japan vs. Greece and Italy vs. Uruguay. The pace of stadium construction is likely to be on the agenda when Rousseff meets with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zurich on Thursday. The delay in building the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba is the biggest problem so far. FIFA and local organizers will make another evaluation there Feb. 18, but even if Curitiba is kept as a host city, the stadium isnt likely to be ready until a few weeks before the World Cup. "t;We cant believe in the worst.dddddddddddd. On the contrary, I believe that the governor, the mayor and the entrepreneurs responsible for the stadium in Curitiba will have it ready in time," Rousseff said. "I have to bet in favour of that, not against." The Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo is where two workers were killed late last year when a crane collapsed while hoisting a huge roofing structure. It isnt expected to be done until mid-April. Officials say the three other unfinished stadiums will be ready before then, but the timing remains unclear. Organizers were hoping to have the first match at the renovated Beira-Rio stadium in the southern city of Porto Alegre on Jan. 29, but civil defence officials monitoring construction said Wednesday there might not be enough time to get everything ready by then. The Arena Pantanal in the wetlands city of Cuiaba was listed as 90 per cent complete going into January. The Arena da Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus, where a worker fell to his death from about 115 feet (35 metres) up in December, was about 95 per cent ready. There also have been problems at some of the stadiums already completed. The roof leaks at the stadium in the capital of Brasilia, and there are concerns about the condition of its playing field. On Wednesday, FIFA inspectors recommended officials reduce the number of matches scheduled there before the World Cup to preserve the grass. Also Wednesday, Brazilian authorities announced that the 12 host cities will have integrated command centres to provide security during the monthlong tournament. The estimated $14 billion that Brazil is spending to put on the World Cup has been one of the targets of anti-government protests that erupted last year, and several times demonstrators clashed with police trying to reach stadium sites. On Wednesday, during the inauguration ceremony for the Arena das Dunas, nearly 300 demonstrators gathered outside the stadium to protest the tournaments cost, local media reported. Globo TV said some protesters vandalized a car. Associated Press writer Marco Sibaja in Brasilia contributed to this report. 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