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TORONTO - As the Toronto Maple Leafs returned from a winless Western Conference road trip, they found the friendly confines of Air Canada Centre to be not so welcoming. Adidas Cheap Shoes .A few fans threw jerseys onto the ice, a couple wore bags over their heads and many more voiced their displeasure by booing. In the game itself, it was much more of the same as the Leafs were thoroughly outclassed by the lowly Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 loss Monday night.It was Torontos fifth loss in a row with just two goals to show for 300 minutes of hockey.Its a similar answer that weve been saying for now the past five games: We havent found a way to put pucks in the net, captain Dion Phaneuf said. The bottom line is that we had our chances and were having a tough time putting the puck in the net. Thats very evident.The only thing that kept the Leafs (22-22-3) from being shut out for the fourth time in five games was a power-play goal by Nazem Kadri in the third period. That ended a goal drought of 162 minutes 14 seconds.Before that point, they fell behind by three thanks to goals by Brad Malone, Elias Lindholm and Eric Staal. Interim coach Peter Horachek tried to convince his players to get back at it after falling behind, but it was hard to shake the feeling.I get the sense like theres a big letdown, Horachek said.Carolina (16-25-5) capitalized, chasing goaltender Jonathan Bernier with three goals on 13 shots. Anton Khudobin stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced as the Hurricanes improved to 6-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2015.We werent perfect, though we played hard and we competed, first-year coach Bill Peters said. Back-to-back wins on the road for the first time for us this year, so things are going in the right direction.Things appear to be going in the wrong direction for the Leafs, who are 1-6-0 under Horachek and have lost 13 of 16 dating to the inconsistencies that cost Randy Carlyle his job. Horachek has tried to instill a tough, defensive mentality, but his team has been outscored 24-9 since he took over.And though the Leafs overall defensive play may have improved, the results arent there.When you give up that many chances and you win hockey games (earlier in the season), sometimes that comes back to haunt you, said Phaneuf, who fought Eric Staal in the second period. And right now were just having a tough time on the other side of the puck because weve cut down our chances against but we havent been able to put the puck in the net.Unable to find a happy medium between defensive responsibility and offensive power, the Leafs again fell into the trap of trying to sacrifice one for the other. Horachek said his team cheated too often after falling behind.By the time the Leafs were down 3-0 in the second period, one fan threw a jersey onto the ice. We dont appreciate that, obviously, winger Phil Kessel said. Were trying. I dont know if people see that. We are trying. I dont know. We cant find it right now.When the Leafs were trying and even had possession of the puck, another jersey came flying.I dont know how that happens or what security or the ushers are doing, Kadri said. It seems like were giving the guy an extra couple minutes to flip everybody off and to mock our real fans. I dont know how that guys not taken by his shirt and dragged out of there, but what do I know.Frustration was evident throughout the game, even from the Hurricanes. Eric Staal, who got into only his second career NHL fight with Phaneuf after the Leafs captain hit brother Jordan, wound up and fired a slap shot from close range into an empty net to seal it.Staal seemed intent to either let the puck drill Phaneuf or the net.I was ready, Staal said. One of those plays where you just react and youre into the emotion of the game, youre into the energy and I knew I wanted to get it in so I made sure I got a hold of it.Staal scored more goals Monday night than Leafs forwards have in the past five games. This latest loss was just more strife in a season that has gone bad quickly.We didnt play our best tonight, Kessel said. We had good spurts in there, we had some chances and its not good enough.Notes — Kadris goal snapped Carolinas streak of consecutive penalties killed at 36, which dated to Dec. 21 against the Rangers. Peters said it was an opportunity to start a new streak. ... Leafs backup James Reimer stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief and could start Wednesday at Ottawa in the final game before the all-star break. ... Forwards Leo Komarov (shoulder) and Troy Bodie (healthy) and defenceman Stephane Robidas (upper-body injury) were scratches for the Leafs. Matt Frattin made his eighth appearance of the season in Bodies place. ... Winger Alexander Semin and former Leafs defenceman John-Michael Liles were healthy scratches for Carolina.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Adidas Cheap Shoes Online . The Red Sox maintained a share of the AL wild-card lead Tuesday night, using four home runs to beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 and set up a dramatic conclusion to the regular season. The skidding Red Sox were 6-19 this month before rebounding to edge the last-place Orioles. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale . The 49ers, 6-2 and riding a five-game winning streak following the bye week, also waived cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and activated cornerback Eric Wright from the reserve/non-football injury list. Manningham made 42 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown in 12 games and 10 starts last season before injuring his left knee in a loss at Seattle Dec. http://www.adidascheapshoes.com/ . Those cheers seemed more special this time because the captains run on Broadway could soon be over. The adoration surely sounded much nicer to Callahan than all the recent trade talk.TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan leaned over Kyle Lowry after the final buzzer sounded to end the Toronto Raptors season -- Lowry was laying distraught on the floor, his face in his hands. DeRozan was above him, speaking with urgency. It was a moment that said volumes about this young Raptors squad: their unexpected record-breaking season and their thrilling run through the playoffs, and the bonds they built along the way. "Thats my man," Lowry said of DeRozan. "He said, If anybody is taking that shot, Im living and dying with you taking that shot, or trying to attempt to get that shot off. It was a great brotherly moment." Lowry, who led the Raptors with 28 points Sunday, had just been blocked on a shot at the buzzer, giving the Brooklyn Nets a 104-103 Game 7 victory and ending the Raptors first playoff run in six seasons. "The play was to get me the ball, but they did a good job of trapping me, and I didnt get that shot off that I wanted to get off," said Lowry. Amir Johnson had a playoff-high 20 points plus 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 7:53 to play. DeRozan added 18 points for the Raptors, who were hoping to see the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in the franchises 19-year history. Patrick Patterson finished with 16 points, while Terrence Ross had 11. "Im proud of our guys," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said afterward. "Nobody gave them a snowballs chance in you-know-where to be here. Each game (in the series), a young player grew and learned something. "This group has a lot of stuff in front of them, a lot of basketball in front of them. This organizations in a great spot. Theyre going to be good." Still, it was a heartbreaking ending to a season that began with low expectations but ended with such high hopes, the remarkable turnaround coming after the seven-player trade in December that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento. The Raptors went on to record a franchise-high 48 wins, claim the Atlantic Division title and earn the No. 3 seed in the East. "Its definitely tough to take this loss, but we had a helluva fight, man," said DeRozan, holding his infant daughter Diar, clad in a tiny No. 10 jersey with a big red bow in her hair. "Nobody picked us to make it this far, to win these many games." A one-point game was a fitting ending to a season-long battle between these two teams. The total scores were identical -- 1070-1070 -- over the 10 games played. Toronto, desperate to keep its season going, played like it was feeling the pressure for much of the afternoon, trailing by as much as 12 points in the third quarter in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd that was hungry for a playoff series win. They trailed 81-73 going into the fourth, but a Toronto team that has been so strong down the stretch all season long pulled within five on a basket by Lowry with 7:20 to play. With the fans on their feet for the final couple of minutes left, the Raptors kept their foot on the pedal and it was a three-point game with 22 seconds left. Lowry drove to the hoop for a basket to cut the deficit to a point, but Shaun Livingston made two free throws to put Brooklyn back up by three with 13 seconds to play. Ross answered with a basket, and then stole the ball off Livingston with six seconds left. Lowry drove to the rim on the Raptors final possession, but three Nets players clogged the lane, and it was game over. "I just told him, Dont worry about it," said DeRozan, who ran to Lowry after buzzer. "I can sleep at night knowing he took that shot. I can live with that. Dont be down on yourself, thats what I was telling him. I told him without him we wouldnt even be in that situation." The capacity crowd of 20,457 chanted "Lets go Raptors!" as the dejected players left the court. Joe Johnson scored 26 points to lead the Nets, who will face the two-time defending champion Heat beginning Tuesday in Miami. Marcus Thornton finished with 17. Deron Williams had 13 points, Kevin Garnett had 12 and Paul Pierce 10. "It feels so much better when you do it on the road because you know you earned it," said Pierce, who was acquired along withh Garnett in the off-season in the Nets plan to win an NBA title. Adidas Shoes Cheap Wholesale. "Everybody is against you. I cant say some of the things they were calling me out there. You were against not only 15,000 in the building, you were against the 15,000 outside. Nobody is with you." Lowry lingered long at his locker after the game. He arrived at the press conference still dressed in her jersey, his two-year-old son Karter at his side. Asked what was going through his mind he said: "Whats not? Its a lot of things that could have been done differently, but this season has been a great season. Ive had the best core group of teammates that Ive ever had in my life, in my career. . . its just a lot. "Mad, frustrated. But understanding that this is only a stepping stone for my growth." The Air Canada Centre and its fans resembled a massive Maple Leaf -- fans in the end sections wore red "We The North" shirts, while fans in the middle sections wore white. Drake, former Raptor Charles Oakley, and Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and his wife Elisha Cuthbert sat courtside. Coach Casey was forced to take the subway to the game. He got stuck in traffic due to road closures for the Toronto Marathon, and did a U-turn and headed for the subway. Pictures of Casey -- dressed in a black Canada Goose bomber jacket with black Raptors T-shirt -- surfaced on Twitter soon after. Casey, whose contract expires after this season, said his players will draw inspiration from the series, saying theyll be in the gym on warm summer nights thinking about how close they came. "We would have loved to have been there. We put ourselves in a position, one shot, one free throw, one offensive rebound here or there. That close," Casey said, holding up two fingers. "Thats what I told the team. We were right there." Lowry becomes a free agent on July 1, but when asked about his future, he said his mind was still on the series and its ending. DeRozan said he hasnt talked to Lowry about his future. "I dont need to say nothing to him," DeRozan said. "Im not worried about that, the relationship Kyle and I have, he knows. I dont have to say much. Why would he leave? Thats my opinion, thats how I look at it." Raptors versus Nets made for a spirited first-round series since before the first game even tipped off, beginning when the Nets sat their starters at the end of the regular season in order to drop to sixth in the East to face the Raptors -- whom they saw as easier prey than Chicago. Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri fired a shot back, dropping his famous F-bomb about Brooklyn when addressing the Maple Leaf Square crowd prior to Game 1. Sunday afternoon, some 10,000 fans packed the sunny Maple Leaf Square and spilled into roads leading into it to watch the game on the giant screen outside the ACC. Ujiri addressed the fans once again. This time he would only say: "You know how I feel." Tim Leiweke, the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, also addressed the crowd. "The other night the whole team, they put you in the locker-room before the game so we could understand what were playing for," Leiweke told the fans. "Tonight, today, we play for you. God bless you." Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted on Twitter: "Great effort (at)Raptors! Came up short but were all looking forward to next season. .WeTheNorth .NothernUprising .RTZ" Vince Carter led the Raptors past the New York Knicks and into the second round of the playoffs in 2001, where they lost the Philadelphia 4-3. Toronto missed its first three shots but then calmed down and a driving Greivis Vasquez jumper with two minutes to go in the first quarter gave the Raptors a six-point lead. They went into the second up 28-26. The Raptors allowed the Nets to shoot 67 per cent in the second, and Brooklyn went up by 10 on long pullup jumper by Livingston with 29 seconds left. The Nets led 61-53 at halftime. Toronto pulled to within six points on a driving layup by Lowry with 6:10 left in the third, but couldnt build any momentum, and the Nets were back up by 12 less than three minutes later. The Nets took an eight-point lead into the fourth. ' ' '