PITTSBURGH – Save for the voice of Randy Carlyle and members of his coaching staff, Maple Leafs practice was generally an eerily quiet affair on Tuesday afternoon. Air Max 270 Australia . Tension lingered from what occurred less than 24 hours earlier. "Push him!" Carlyle bellowed at the morning session in Toronto, the team departing to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter for a Wednesday affair against the Metropolitan division-leading Penguins. "Get up! Get up!" It was the voice of a head coach frustrated with his group. Spanked 6-0 by the ailing Blue Jackets at home on Monday evening, the Leafs were dealt a thunderous reality check at the ACC, the year-long woes and concerns of Carlyle culminating in an embarrassing defeat. "Its not like he came in and really reamed us out," Nazem Kadri said of Carlyle following arguably the teams worst game this season. "I think we all knew what we thought of the game. We just want to flush it as fast as possible and get to the next one." Outshot, outworked, outplayed, there was not much to like about the effort against Columbus, nor the concerning trends it brought to the forefront. The alarming defeat came just two nights after 50 shots were pelted at James Reimer in a shootout victory over Washington and a mere four nights after a puzzling, uninspired defeat to Nashville. With just two regulation wins all month and a difficult schedule looming in December, improvements are increasingly urgent in need. "The fact is we havent played to where we think were capable of playing and we havent played to the template that we think we have to play to," said Carlyle. Among the concerns is an offensive attack thats fallen into slumber. Shut out for the second time this season against the Blue Jackets, the Leafs have scored just 16 goals in the past 10 games, a mere 10 of those coming at even strength. Phil Kessel notably has one even-strength point all month, the team led in November scoring by Mason Raymond and Trevor Smith. Most frustrating to Carlyle is the manner in which his team has generated offence all season – save for a still potent power play – the bulk of it coming in speedy transition. Last week, Predators coach Barry Trotz referred to the Leafs as a "rush team", a distinction that while accurate based upon evidence, infuriated Carlyle to no end. "Thats what people perceive us as," he said. "[But] is that what we are? We dont want to be that." Carlyle has pushed and prodded for his group to wade away from that dazzling show-and-go (and often one-and-done) attack which has generated much of the goal-scoring and stray toward a blue-collar cycle game. He wants more shots to the net – the Leafs average the third fewest in the league – more second and third chance opportunities and more goals from the "dirty areas" of the ice. "And truthfully, our defence has got to do a better job of getting pucks into that area when our forwards are there," he said. Its a brand thats emerged in bits and pieces, most prominently during a dominant 20 minutes in a loss to Boston earlier this month. "Not for 60 minutes," Carlyle said. "Thats the issue. You have to be prepared to play to your style, your template for a majority of the game for you to have success." "Thats been our problem this year," Kadri said in full agreement. "Well play some good hockey, but it hasnt been for 60 minutes. And thats really what we need to focus on." Yielding a flood of odd-man opportunities to the Blue Jackets on Monday and a boatload of shots and opportunities to the Capitals over the weekend, defensive improvements are also suitably on the agenda, even moreso with the high-powered Penguins on deck. Toronto goaltending has been so good most nights that its cloaked the teams troubles in these areas, but its been a problem no less. Only the Senators and Sabres allow more shots nightly than the Leafs. One minor change designed to help ease those troubles would see Mark Fraser reunite with Cody Franson. Paired together for most of last season, Fraser and Franson evolved into a second pairing for Carlyle, broken up this fall with a new mix of defenders. Jake Gardiner is also expected to be scratched for the first time this season in favour of Paul Ranger. A weak link all year, the Leaf defence has proven unstable beyond the top pairing of Carl Gunnarsson and Dion Phaneuf. Yet to field a full roster, the Leafs will also be without Joffrey Lupul for the next two weeks. The 30-year-old suffered a grade-2 groin strain on Monday night. "We were lucky in a lot of ways that our goaltending and our special teams were winning us hockey games when the shot clock was lopsided and we werent creating enough and we were being hemmed in [our own zone]," Carlyle said. "That, to me, is a sign that weve got to change some of the things that were doing out there. Weve tried to implement that on a day-to-day basis, but [Monday] night mightve been a culmination of the grand scheme of things. It was a pretty ugly game for us. "What were looking for from our group is a response." Optimism for the group lies in the fact that they remain third in the Atlantic division with 29 points, though after a furious 6-1-0 start, the Leafs are just 8-8-1. "Our game hasnt been really where we wanted it to be for most parts," Gunnarsson said. "I think we can step it up. [But] were in a good spot. Weve still got a lot of points and thats a good thing, right?" Fake Jordan 1 . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. Asics Outlet Store .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/cheap-asics-fake.html . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell.The Toronto Blue Jays continued making bold moves this offseason, acquiring a power-hitting third baseman to further bolster the middle of their batting order. Numbers Game looks at Torontos acquisition of Josh Donaldson. The Blue Jays Get: 3B Josh Donaldson. Donaldson, 28, is a premier power-hitting third baseman, slugging 53 home runs over the past two seasons while playing in Oaklands pitcher-friendly stadium. He has an .840 OPS (.363 OBP, .477 SLG) over the past two seasons, which ranks 19th among qualified hitters, and his fWAR of 14.1 over the past two years ranks third in baseball, behind only Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen. 2014 PLAYER PA HR AVG OBP SLG fWAR Josh Donaldson 695 29 .255 .342 .456 6.4 Part of the reason that Donaldson has such high overall value is that, even as a converted catcher, hes an adept fielder. Over the past two years, his 31 Defensive Runs Saved ranks fourth among third basemen and his Ultimate Zone Rating of 25.4 ranks fifth. Not only is Donaldson a really productive everyday player -- and durable enough to play every day -- but hes under team control financially. Eligible for arbitration this year, Donaldson will get a sizeable raise (projected by MLB Trade Rumors to be $4.5-million), and that will continue to escalate in the years ahead. Even so, given his place in the contract cycle, Donaldson is a veritable bargain for what he provides. The Athletics Get: 3B Brett Lawrie, LHP Sean Nolin, RHP Kendall Graveman and SS Franklin Barreto. Lawrie is a 24-year-old who has more major league experience than Donaldson, and has shown plenty of raw talent, but has not been able to stay healthy. Over the past three seasons, Lawrie has hit 34 home runs, stolen 22 bases and posted a .722 OPS (.316 OBP, .406 SLG), but has shown flashes in the field, with 24 Defensive Runs Saved, ranking sixth among third basemen. His fielding numbers were excellent in 2011 and 2012, but have fallen off the past two seasons. 2014 PLAYER PA HR AVG OBP SLG fWAR Brett Lawrie 282 12 . Balenciaga Outlet Store. 247 .301 .421 1.7 Though Lawrie has more major league experience, he doesnt have the same credentials as Donaldson, so his projected arbitration award this season is $1.8-million. It means the As will save some money, but they had also better hope that Lawrie can stay healthy and live up to the potential that had him rated as high as Baseball Americas No. 40 prospect in 2011. Nolin, 24, is a polished southpaw who has fared well in 20 Triple-A starts over the past couple seasons, with a 3.17 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 105 innings. Hes pitched a couple innings for the Blue Jays over the past couple seasons and has a change-up that gives him a chance to have success at the major league level. He should be close to ready for a legitimate shot in the majors. Graveman, a 23-year-old righthander, climbed from A through Triple-A ball last season, going 14-6 with a 1.83 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 27 starts, getting into five games with the Blue Jays late in the year. While he had a low strikeout rate (115 in 167 1/3 innings), his average fastball velocity approached 93 MPH and he mixes in a 90-plus cutter. Like Nolin, Graveman should be close to getting his shot in the big leagues. Barreto has a chance to be the real prize of the deal for Oakland, eventually. The 18-year-old shortstop played Low-A ball last season, but coupled an .865 OPS (.384 OBP, .481 SLG) with 29 stolen bases (and, incidentally, 61 RBI in 73 games). It will take time for Barreto to develop, but he if he turns out to be an everday shortstop in the major leagues, then that would be a really nice long-term play for the As. Verdict: The As gave up a really good player, at a point when hes not yet prohibitively expensive, but they didnt give him up cheaply. Given the risk that goes with prospects, though, the Blue Jays have to be happy with their side of the deal. They didnt have to give up any of their top-tier pitching prospects and if Barreto ultimately provides significant value, its going to be several years down the road. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '