TORONTO - There are many questions surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, namely: How did this happen? How, in less than two weeks, did a team that was sitting pretty in second place in the Atlantic Division fritter away a three-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens and nine-point advantage over the Detroit Red Wings? As the players come to grips with the roots of their six-game losing streak, Tuesdays almost-comeback against the St. Diego Reyes Jersey . Louis Blues highlighted a big issue: Why cant the Leafs play with the desperation they show when down two or three goals at the start of games? "Thats the million-dollar question right now," winger James van Riemsdyk said. "It seems like every time we get down we start to ramp it up, and then its always just a little too little, too late at the end." It may be too little, too late for the Leafs if they cant figure out how to solve that problem. Theyre tied at 80 points with the Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals but are fourth among those teams for the Eastern Conferences two wild-card spots because theyve played the most games (74). Of course that also means their eight remaining are the fewest among those in the race and theres not much time to figure out slow starts, a central problem during this losing skid. Against the Blues, the Leafs scored first for the first time since March 10, but they also gave up a season-high 23 shots in the opening period and were hemmed in their zone often. "We just couldnt get out of our zone," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "They put a lot of pressure on us, and we couldnt handle it." Coach Randy Carlyle noticed some of the pressure that has been building on his team early on Tuesday night. "Theres a lot of tenseness in our players," he said after the 5-3 loss. "The first three puck recoveries, we just slapped the puck away. We didnt pick up the puck and skate with it at all. Thats showing signs of being nervous, tense, (a lack of) confidence not wanting to make a mistake, which led to more offensive-zone time (for St. Louis)." The listless Leafs led for less than five minutes, then trailed from the time David Backes scored with 32.3 seconds left in the first period until the end of the game. It was only after ex-Toronto forward Alex Steen scored to make it 4-1 that the Leafs showed some fire and launched a comeback bid that fell short. At this point, players are even self-aware that the transformation is happening once they fall behind. "It seems like when we get down, then were playing with no fear, were letting some of our skill take over, our defencemen are rushing the puck out of the zone and making plays," Lupul said. "Theres something to be said about being down and not having that fear anymore, but realistically weve got to play like that right from the start. Its more of a psychological thing than it is a physical thing." If its a mental problem, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson doesnt have the answer. "Weve been talking about it," he said. "I dont know whats going on there, but weve got to figure out a way here to change it." Changing it and managing to play as well as they did in the bulk of the third period against the Blues would give the Leafs a good chance of coming out of this tailspin and making the playoffs. Gunnarsson and goaltender Jonathan Bernier agreed that, although thats a challenge, the end result could be scary for opponents. "If we play like we did in the third period for 60 minutes, I dont think theres a lot of teams that can beat us," Gunnarsson said. Of course if the Leafs make mistakes like they did in the first half of the game and throughout this losing streak, they can lose to any team left on the schedule. They visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday before returning home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and also have games against the Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators to close out the season. We have a lot of fight left in us," van Riemsdyk said. "Theres eight games left, and well have to leave it all out there in every game." Javier Aquino Jersey . Louis Blues are reportedly taking restricted free agent forward Vladimir Sobotka to arbitration. Marco Fabian Jersey . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamstore.com/jose-de-jesus-corona-mexico-jersey/ . Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. CINCINNATI - Bengals cornerback Leon Hall is happy with his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July.CARACAS, Venezuela -- Cory Joseph gave his teammates a spark when they needed it as Canada got off to a promising start at the FIBA Americas Championship basketball tournament. He also played 37 minutes, something Canadian coach Jay Triano said cant happen every game. Joseph scored 17 points and added 10 assists and eight rebounds as Canada defeated Jamaica 85-64 in Fridays tournament opener. The San Antonio Spurs guard had his best stretch at the end of the third quarter, when Canada was in need of a lift. Jamaica had a 15-0 run in the third to cut Canadas once sizable lead, but Joseph capped the quarter with a three-pointer to put Canada up 60-50. Joseph scored Canadas last eight points at the end of the third. "He had us going," Triano said. "I thought his coming off of ball screens and what he was doing was very good." But Triano is going to need other players to step up and take the pressure off Joseph. Canada plays four games in five days at the tournament, including three in a row, which will require the coach to utilize his entire roster to cover off minutes. "We cant play Cory this many minutes moving forward, but we knew the importance of this first game and getting us off to a good start," Triano said, adding he believes Canada has the depth to address the issue. "Just because a guy like Andrew Nicholson onlyy plays 16 and a half minutes today, doesnt mean hes going to play that tomorrow. Giovani dos Santos Jersey. . Hell probably have games where hes up into the 30s." Brady Heslip added 17 points off the bench for Canada. Levon Kendall had 13 points and eight rebounds while Tristan Thompson had 11 points and 12 boards. Triano said Heslip, who plays college basketball with Baylor, adds a needed offensive element to the Canadian roster. "Hes got a very good basketball IQ," Triano said. "He knows where to find spots and where to score points. He and Andy (Rautins) are both guys who can spread the floor for us. "Scoring points is going to be an issue for us, so if those guys can not only score points but contribute by making good plays and getting good assists, then thats going to make it better for us." Adrian Uter led Jamaica with 16 points and eight rebounds. Canadas next game is Saturday against Puerto Rico, which was a 78-71 winner when the teams met last week at the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup. "Their ability to come off screen and rolls, their ability to get into the paint, collapse the defence then kick out the threes ... those are going to be the keys for us," Triano said. "We have to do a good job of containing the ball." The four tournament semifinalists advance to the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. ' ' '