The Leafs hit the road for four games, landing first in Phoenix for a Mo

Madison, WI - Former Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez will be making another temporary return to the sideline, announcing Thursday that he will lead the Badgers for the upcoming Outback Bowl following Gary Andersens departure from the program. Bobby Tolan Cardinals Jersey . Andersen left Wisconsin on Wednesday to take the vacant head coaching position at Oregon State, the second time in three years the Badgers have had their head coach resign prior to their bowl game. Alvarez, the winningest coach in Wisconsin football history and now the schools athletic director, also coached the team in the 2013 Rose Bowl after Bret Bielemas stunning departure for Arkansas. A number of the seniors met with me on Wednesday after our team meeting and asked if I would consider coaching the team. I told them I would have to sleep on it, said Alvarez on Thursday. After thinking it over and meeting with some of the seniors again this morning I have decided to coach. My goal is to make sure our players, especially the seniors playing their last game, have a memorable experience and we do everything we can to prepare to win the game. Alvarez retired as Wisconsins head coach following the 2005 season, which ended in a 24-10 Badgers victory over Auburn in the Capital One Bowl. Ironically, Wisconsin will be facing Auburn once again in this seasons Outback Bowl, which will take place New Years Day in Tampa. Including the Badgers loss to Stanford in the 2013 Rose Bowl, Alvarez compiled a 118-74-4 record over 16 seasons at Wisconsin from 1990-2005 and directed the Badgers to three Big Ten titles (1993, 1998, 1999). Alvarez was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Junior Fernandez Jersey .com) - The fading Ottawa Senators have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race on Tuesday night as they play host to the New York Rangers. Mike Matheny Cardinals Jersey .A. Happ capped a challenging season with one of his best efforts of the year. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ .Ryan Anderson had 14 points for the Pelicans, who trailed 78-63 after three periods before trimming the deficit to 86-83. Jrue Holiday had 13 points and Eric Gordon added 12 for New Orleans.Mike Scott and Jeff Teague each had 11 points for Atlanta.TORONTO – His two linemates chuckle every time they see his face plastered over the video screen at the Air Canada Centre. Hes Phil Kessel, the teams leading scorer and soon-to-be highest paid player, shyly covering his face at the slightest bit of attention. “I guess he doesnt want people to see his face or something like that or hes just extremely exhausted,” Tyler Bozak said of Kessel with a laugh following the Leafs fourth consecutive victory. “Its one of the two. I think hes just too shy to put his face up there.” “Hes a private guy,” James van Riemsdyk added. “[But] its tough when you play in a market like this and youre the leading goal-scorer and one of the best players in the league to keep that fully private.” Kessel has rather quietly and in full avoidance of the spotlight led the Leafs recent charge back to respectability. He scored his team-leading 23rd goal in a win over the Canadiens, also making the critical first pass which preceded van Riemsdyks eventual game winner. The two-point effort gave the 26-year-old 10 points in a string of five games – four of them wins – also shooting him back into the Top 10 in league scoring, now with 48 points in 50 games. His elevated performance has lifted the Leafs from the stench of a four-game losing skid into their longest win streak of the season. “I think he pulls the group every single night,” said Bozak, who has 17 points himself in the past 14 games. “Hes our best player so when hes going I think it filters through the lineup and makes everyone go a little harder.” Toronto improved to 21-6-3 this season when Kessel records a point. His line has often proved the sole engine for the teams offensive production. During a three-game run from Jan. 10-12 for instance, the trio had a hand in all eight goals the Leafs would score. “I think he creates pretty much every night, its sometimes a matter of getting some bounces,” said van Riemsdyk, who deposited Bozaks feed beyond Carey Price in the 5-3 win. Maybe the most unique star (and personality) in the league, Kessel continues to show zero interest in the very bright spotlight his terrific play often demands. As has become the unusual, but consistent standard, the soon-to-be two-time U.S. Olympian refused to speak with media following Saturdays win and hasnt done so, in fact, since the Winter Classic. Often shirking the public responsibility that comes with being arguably the teams best player, Kessel is quite literally content to let his play do all the talking. “I always get a laugh out of it when they show him on the Jumbotron and hes got his head in between his legs,” said van Riemsdyk with a chuckle. Five Points 1. Rivalry Stoked It was back in late November at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Max Pacioretty scored the fourth unanswered goal for the Canadiens, holstering his stick in celebratory fashion en route to a 4-2 win over the Leafs. Then on Saturday evening at the ACC, P.K. Subban lingered by the Toronto bench after the Canadiens first goal and offered something, according to those present, in the way of smack talk. “If they want to play that game then well play it too,” said van Riemsdyk. And so it was after van Riemsdyk scored the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner that the 24-year-old winger grabbed the Maple Leafs crest on his sweater in celebratory retaliation. “Im usually not one to engage in stuff like that, but I was a little bit fired up – just kind of happened,” he said. The Leafs, who now sit four points back of the Canadiens in the Atlantic division, snatched the third game of the season series with Montreal, the rivalry simmering to new levels in a spirited back-and-forth tilt between the two storied clubs. Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 30 shots in his first career win against the team he grew up rooting for, said the fever between the two teams had intensified, at least in part, because of the Canadiens goal celebrations – which also drew the ire of the Senators earlier this week. “Those are type of plays that [make] you start hating guys,” said Bernier with a grin. 2. Kadris Dazzling Night Teammates joked that Nazem Kadri may have been inspired by the presence of Lakers star Kobe Bryant at the ACC on Saturday. Struggling in recent weeks, Kadri had one of his more impactful games of the year against the Canadiens, dishing out two assists in victory. The 23-year-old had just five points in the previous 15 games. “Hes a typical young player,” said head coach Randy Carlyle afterward, noting the impact of Kadris physical play throughout the night. “These are learning curves that young players have to absorb and retain that will allow him a long career. “The good players find out early that its not easy every day and theres a certain program that you have to follow and theres certain things you can and cant do. Matt Wieters Cardinals Jersey. And when things arent going your way on the ice you have to find another way to be effective.” Kadri, who also won 13 of 23 faceoffs, set up a pair of highlight-reel goals; the first saw him dangle the puck through the legs of Alexei Emelin on the run before distributing it to Cody Franson; the latter saw him fire a bullet cross-ice pass to an open Mason Raymond on the power-play. As for Bryant, who was in Toronto for Sundays game against the Raptors, Kadri grinned, “Maybe I can meet him somehow.” 3. Bolland Rehab Pt. 1 A tenuous rehab process has meant a lot of Apple TV for Dave Bolland. “Ive been crushing that a lot actually,” said a cheerful Bolland on Saturday morning. The 27-year-old continues to work his way back from a severed left ankle tendon, a “slow rehab” which has kept him out of the lineup for the past 35 games. Though he had no firm timetable for a return, Bolland has been back on skates in recent days for the first time since the injury and hopes to rejoin his teammates on the ice at some point soon. “Its not like any other rehab when you break an ankle and you can just say six weeks and youre back and its healed,” said Bolland. “You cut a tendon and its got to re-heal itself. Youve got to do the rehab, do the movements with the trainers at the gym. Its not fun. Its grueling.” Bolland, who had a special boot designed for his return to the ice, described his early days of skating as painful and full of lessons. “Youve got to learn how to work that tendon again and work with it,” he said. 4. Bolland Rehab Pt. 2 Bolland, who had six goals and 10 points and was arguably the teams best player before going down in Vancouver on Nov. 2, said the mental side of such a serious injury has proved challenging. “When youre watching and youre off the ice it does screw with your head a lot mentally,” he said, describing the difficulty of remaining patient through a time consuming recovery. The Mimico native was admittedly rattled when he read about long-time Dallas Star Mike Modanos six-month recovery from a similar injury. “You sort of hear some of those things and you have in the back of your head, like when youre going to come back or whats going to happen. You do get a little mentally broken down.” Neither the team nor Bolland himself could say when hed be in line to return. “You cant afford to take any type of risk with this type of injury,” Carlyle said. “We all know that its a tough one to come back from. Its a long, tedious process, specifically where it was in the tendon that was injured. Its pretty dramatic.” 5. Options with Gleason One added benefit, thus far, of the Tim Gleason acquisition is the options he offers the club on defence. Rather than exposing either 23-year-old Jake Gardiner or 19-year-old Morgan Rielly to the considerable competition of a role in the top-four – as was often the case earlier in the year – Carlyle has been able to plug the more experienced Gleason into a spot with Cody Franson. “Its allowed us a little bit more comfort with those two on who they have to play against consistently,” Carlyle said of Gardiner and Rielly, who both played under 18 minutes against the Canadiens. “Its not to say that they dont go out against some of the top lines, but if theyre in your top four they see a steady diet of that versus if theyre playing in the 5-6 slot.” Gleason played nearly nine minutes as the Leafs eventually protected a one-goal lead in the third period. Gardiner and Rielly meanwhile were limited to about five minutes apiece in the final frame. Stats-Pack 4 – Consecutive wins for the Leafs, their longest streak of the season. 5 – Consecutive games with a point for Phil Kessel, who has three goals and 10 points in that span. 3 – Goals in the past 22 games for Mason Raymond, who scored his 13th of the year against Montreal. 17 – Points in the past 14 games for Tyler Bozak. 1 – Career win for Jonathan Bernier against Montreal. A Quebec native, Bernier grew up a Canadiens fan. 13-23 – Nazem Kadri in the faceoff circle against the Canadiens. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-2Season: 22.4% (5th) PK: 2-3Season: 77.3% (27th) Quote of the Night “I guess he doesnt want people to see his face or something like that or hes just extremely exhausted. Its one of the two. I think hes just too shy to put his face up there.” -Tyler Bozak, on Phil Kessels displeasure with the spotlight at the ACC. Up Next The Leafs hit the road for four games, landing first in Phoenix for a Monday night affair with the Coyotes. ' ' '