TORONTO -- While his players and Leaf Nation might be looking forward to Wednesdays Winter Classic against Detroit, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle is playing the role of Scrooge when it comes to the holiday season outdoor game. Jung-ho Kang Jersey . "I wasnt waving the pom-poms to be involved with it to start with," Carlyle said after a 5-2 win over Carolina on Sunday night. "Its been a trying time. "Specifically we havent played as well as wed like to hang our hat on. Our group, we believe, has got lots of room to grow, so that always put added pressure on. And then youre much more under the microscope if you can believe it. Were under the microscope with you (media) guys alone and then you add the element of HBO and then the event, theres a lot of factors. "Again were here to win hockey games and thats the most important thing and our focus is going to be on the game." Friends and family will be enjoying the event more than the actual participants, he suggested. The Leafs (20-16-5) head to Ann Arbor, Mich., on a winning note and having picked up points in their last five games. But they needed a pair of goals from sniper Phil Kessel, solid goaltending from Jonathan Bernier and a few lucky bounces to dispose of the Hurricanes before a crowd of 19,452 at the Air Canada Centre. Carolina (14-16-9) outshot Toronto 43-27 on the night, only to see its winless streak stretch to five games. The Hurricanes have won only one of their last nine outings (a stretch that has featured four OT losses). "We had enough chances to win a hockey game," lamented Carolina coach Kirk Muller. "The chances were there. They scored and we didnt." Carlyle agreed it had been a loose performance from the Leafs. "I thought at times we seemed like we were overmatched in a lot of areas," he said. The Hurricanes followed a popular, simple strategy against Toronto -- dumping the puck in and forcing the Leafs to play defence. "We havent been able to handle that or manage the game properly in that area and we have to get better at it," Carlyle said. Kessels second goal allowed him to reach the 20-goal plateau for the sixth straight season and he could have had more on the night, missing on two breakaways. Toronto also got goals from Nikolai Kulemin, Paul Ranger and Dion Phaneuf, with an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining. Nathan Gerbe and Justin Faulk replied for Carolina. Centre Tyler Bozak returned to the Leafs top line after a 12-game absence due to an oblique injury. He showed off some of his playmaking skills with three assists and made an important backcheck, snuffing out a Hurricanes threat. The Leafs were loose on defence and were fortunate the Hurricanes did not punish them more. "We had some lapses in the D-zone," said Bozak. "We got some good bounces as well ... The puck was kind of following us around tonight." The game marked the halfway point of the season for Toronto, while setting the table for playing in front of an expected crowd of 100,000-plus at the Big House. "Its going to be a pretty cool event," said Bozak. "I know most guys have lots of family here, including me. Im excited to get to Detroit and see what its all about." Added Ranger: "I think its going to be fun ... Backyard rinks, thats where I spent most of my childhood. Its just a bigger backyard rink." Leafs forward David Clarkson went to the dressing room in the second period to have his elbow stitched up but returned in the third healthy enough to smash Tuomo Ruutu to the ice. "Probably the best period of hockey hes played for us," said Carlyle. The Leafs previous four games were shootouts -- a club-record streak that featured two wins and two losses. After surviving a horrendous start against Buffalo to win via a shootout Friday, it seemed like more of the same Sunday for the Leafs. Leading the league in giveaways with 475 going into the game, Toronto coughed it up 15 more times against the Hurricanes. Toronto also did not manage a shot on net until 11-plus minutes into a first period that saw the Leafs wobble at times in their own end. Bernier seemed the lone defender on duty and Toronto was lucky not to go down. The Leafs went ahead after a faceoff when Bozak dug the puck out to Kessel, whose backhand from behind the goal-line somehow went in off goalie Cam Ward for his 19th of the season at 16:56. It was perhaps payback for the freak goal that gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win in Toronto in October when a bad bounce off the boards on a shoot-in bounced in off Bernier with the Leafs thinking icing might be called. The five-foot-five Gerbe tied it up at 1:36 of the second period after talking a pass from Alexander Semin in the corner and beating Bernier from near the faceoff dot. Semin outmanoeuvred Jake Gardiner to set up Gerbes ninth goal. Toronto pulled ahead with two goals in 76 seconds in the second period. A pretty passing play between Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk made it 2-1 at 13:42 with JVR unselfishly sending the puck back to Kessel from in-close. Kulemin then beat Ward with a shot from the top of the circle at 14:58 to make it 3-1, prompting Muller to call a timeout in a bid to stop the bleeding. It was Kulemins fifth of the season. A four-on-three helped the Carolina cause with Faulk scoring his third of the season on a slap shot with 2:17 remaining in the period to close the gap to 3-2. Ranger added an insurance goal at 4:58 of the third, firing a low shot through traffic that eluded Ward for the defencemans second goal of the season and the 100th point of his NHL career. For Toronto, it was Berniers 28th appearance of the season, compared to 18 for James Reimer. Bernier has started nine of the last 15 games, with Reimer pulled during two of his six starts during that stretch. Carlyle refused to interpret the numbers when asked what it meant that Bernier had started three straight. "Hes played three straight games. That what it says." Josh Harrison Jersey . The motion to expand the stadiums capacity passed through by a count of 39-3, with Toronto mayor Rob Ford being among those in opposition. Roberto Clemente Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest. http://www.cheappiratesjerseys.com/ . Patton was placed on the restricted list testing positive for a banned amphetamine. Patton took Adderall, a drug commonly used to combat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, late in the 2013 season and then was given a random drug test.CHICAGO -- Ian Kennedy has had enough problems getting run support from his offence. This time, he had to deal with a mental lapse by his defence. Kennedy struck out nine in six strong innings and Yonder Alonso hit a two-run homer to lead the San Diego Padres past the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Friday night. Cameron Maybin hit his first home run of the season in the third inning, but also had a mental lapse in the fourth. With one out and Conor Gillaspie on second, Alexei Ramirez hit a routine fly to Maybin in centre field. Maybin thought it was the third out of the inning. He put his head down and started jogging in. Gillaspie noticed that Maybin was unaware of how many outs there were and tagged up to third without a throw. One pitch later, Gillaspie scored on Kennedys wild pitch to tie it at 1. "You hate to see that," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Cam, when he came in, the first guy that he went to was to Ian and apologized. Cam doesnt make those mistakes." It wasnt the first time Kennedy had to overcome a position player forgetting how many outs there were. "Ive done it before on the mound so at that point, for me, Ive just got to get over it. My job was to keep that runner there. Yeah, but he came up to me and apologized to me," Kennedy said. "It was after he hit the home run and I said, Make it up to me, hit another home run, I will forget about it." Kennedy (4-6) allowed one run and four hits with three walks. The right-hander has struggled to get help from San Diegos offence. Before the game, he ranked 98th out of 101 qualified pitchers with 2.79 runs of support per nine innings. He struck out the side in the fifth and Gillaspie leading off the sixth. Alonso finished with three hits as the Padres ended Chicagos three-game winning streak. Padres closer Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 16 opportunities. Nick Vincent and Joaquin Benoit backed up Kennedy with a scoreless inning apiece. "In this day and age the bullpen is so important," Black said. "Our guys have been pretty solid all year, pretty consistent. We saw that again tonight. We feel good about our pen. Its a big part of our early-season victories." White Sox starter John Danks (3-5) followed an impressive outing against the Yankees with seven effective innings against the Padres. Danks allowed two runs and scattered eight hits. He struck out four and walked one. Dave Parker Jersey. "I for the most part was able to get the kind of contact I wanted," Danks said. "Obviously, made some mistakes and got burned for them, but all in all it was a good day." Danks pitched eight shutout innings last Saturday but ended up with a no-decision in Chicagos loss to New York. White Sox starters have 2.21 ERA in their last 10 games. "Theyve come along," manager Robin Ventura said. "I think theyre getting stronger as we go along. Where were at right now, you stay with them and we have confidence when they go out there." Maybin led off the third with a home run on a 2-0 pitch from Danks. It was his first home run since June 9, 2013, at Colorado. Danks got help from second baseman Gordon Beckham. Everth Cabrera put down what appeared to be a perfectly placed bunt, but Beckham dove at the ball in the infield grass and swiped the ball with his glove to Adam Dunn at first for the out. Rene Rivera led off the fifth with a double to the warning track in centre and later scored on Danks wild pitch to give the Padres a 2-1 lead. "Its kind of odd that they score a run on a wild pitch and we score a run on a wild pitch," Kennedy said. "Its crazy how the game works like that. For the most part, its nice to get that in the next inning right away." Alonso added insurance runs in the eighth with a two-run drive off reliever Javy Guerra, his fourth homer of the season. NOTES: Kennedy struck out 12 against Miami on May 8. ... White Sox LHP Chris Sale (4-0, 1.73 ERA) will start Sunday instead of Monday, scuttling a potential marquee matchup against Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 3.57). ... Chicago DH-1B Paul Konerko, bothered by a stiff back since Tuesday, said he was available to pinch-hit. ... Ventura reiterated his support for RHP Ronald Belisario (3-0, 5.10) as the teams closer, saying there was no need to break in somebody else. Belisario has three saves in six chances. ... San Diego RHP Andrew Cashner (2-5, 2.35) threw all his pitches during a bullpen session and is expected to throw a simulated game Monday. Cashner has been on the disabled list, retroactive to May 15, with soreness in his right elbow. ... Black said LHP Robbie Erlin (3-4, 4.53) continues to rehab his sore left elbow in San Diego and there is no timetable for his return. Erlin is on the 15-day DL retroactive to May 18. ' ' '