TORONTO – James van Riemsdyk was only a few months removed from going to class at the University of New Hampshire when it got real. Paul George Shoes Deals . 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. The page though has begun to turn. Paul George Shoes For Sale .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Clearance Paul George Shoes https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . Coaches are now allowed to challenge both called and potential defensive pass interference fouls under certain conditions.ST. LOUIS -- Travis Wood made a beeline for fellow pitcher Jeff Samardzijas locker. He wanted to apologize for all of that run support. "I instantly came in here and gave him a hug and said sorry," the lefty said after the Chicago Cubs got six RBIs from Junior Lake in a 17-5 rout over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. "The offence played great, they brought their A game." Samardzija has a 1.45 ERA, but is 0-3. The Cubs have totalled 15 runs in his eight starts. Lake homered and doubled twice for Chicago, which had lost seven of eight overall. The Cubs totalled just four runs while getting swept in a three-game series at Atlanta over the weekend -- Emilio Bonifacio scored five times himself in this romp. "Thats what we needed," Lake said. "Just play hard and something happened good." Chicago has the worst record in the league at 13-24, but is 4-3 against the defending NL champions. The Cardinals were forced to finish with infielder Daniel Descalso as a relief pitcher getting the final out in the ninth. Its the first time St. Louis used a position player to pitch since Rob Johnson against the Dodgers in a 13-4 loss at home Aug. 7. "Its embarrassing to have to put him into that spot," manager Mike Matheny said. "Hes a team guy and understands, but should have never been in that spot to begin with." "Its tough for all of us to watch." The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first five batters -- Bonifacio doubled, Anthony Rizzo singled, Starlin Castro tripled and Mike Olts two-run homer capped a four-run first inning. Bonifacio had four of Chicagos 20 hits and scored a career-best five times -- the most in the majors this season -- once on a play overturned by video review. Rizzo and Castro each drove in three as the Cubs set season highs for runs and hits. Cardinals reliever Randy Choate gave up a career-worst six runs in the ninth and left with two outs. Descalso made his first pro pitching appearance and retired the only batter he faced, getting Oltt on a fly ball. Paul George Shoes Outlet. "I just went out there and did what they asked me to do," Descalso said. "I really dont want to talk about this." Wood (3-4) beat St. Louis for the second time in three starts despite giving up five runs in six innings. He hit two batters in the fifth and both scored. Tyler Lyons (0-3) surrendered nine runs in four innings in his fourth start in place of injured Joe Kelly. "I felt a lot better the first two innings than I did in the third and fourth," Lyons said. "Its just one of those things. Sometimes you just get hit, I guess." Allen Craig drove in two runs for the Cardinals. Yadier Molina had two hits, an RBI and a steal when he caught Wood napping in the fifth and took third without a throw. Lake hit a three-run homer in the second for a 7-0 lead. He had an RBI double in the fourth and a two-run double in the ninth. Lake began the game with eight RBIs in 92 at-bats this season. Three of his four homers have come against the Cardinals. "Hes electric, for sure," Wood said. "When hes on, hes on. Hes got tremendous pop and nice to see it come out." Olt leads NL with eight homers, including four in the last six games, all on the road. In the fourth, Bonifacio was called out at the plate when he tried to score on Rizzos grounder to short with the infield in. The Cubs challenged the call, and the ruled was reversed. NOTES: The Cubs previous bests for runs and hits came at Comiskey Park on Thursday when they scored 12 runs on 15 hits against the White Sox. ... Bonifacio is the first Cubs player to score five runs since Jody Davis in 1987. ... Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (6-2, 4.75) opposes Jake Arrieta (0-0, 2.89) in the second game of a four-game set. Wainwright is 9-7 for his career against Chicago but just 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA at home, and is coming off his first career loss at Wrigley Field on May 2. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime Garcia, rehabbing from shoulder surgery, allowed two runs on three hits in five innings for Triple-A Memphis. ' ' '