Kaminzimmer » but we wont know until our next game

Toronto FC supporters have heard all about it. They have watched it from afar. And now they have seen it for themselves. Jermain Defoe is a difference maker. Just two matches into his Major League Soccer career, the England international now has three goals. He followed up his opening day brace by scoring the winner against DC United in the clubs home opener on Saturday. MLSE has spent big bucks bringing the former Spurs forward to Toronto as part of a remarkable offseason transformation and even at this early stage, they are seeing a return on their investment. On Saturday, BMO Field was alive again. It was like 2007 all over again. A stadium and fan base that has seen the life gradually sucked out if it, year by year, failure after failure, was reinvigorated. With Defoe, its not just about the goals. Far from it. His movement is exceptional. Against D.C. United he created three first half chances which showcased his exceptional reading of the game - he was one or two steps ahead of the D.C. defence every time he sensed a potential opening in front of goal. An MLS coach told me last year he believes when LA Galaxys Robbie Keane is on his game, he is "unstoppable." Defoe has shown in his first two matches that he has the ability to have that same impact in Major League Soccer. And its not just Defoe. MLSE President Tim Leiweke must have been grinning from ear to ear when he saw three of the clubs big offseason acquisitions involved in the only goal of the game against D.C. Michael Bradley played a lovely ball through for Brazilian Gilberto who saw his shot saved by Bill Hamid, only for Defoe to pounce and score his third goal in just two matches. For the second week in a row, Bradley ran the midfield. Prior to signing Bradley, TFC GM Tim Bezbatchenko described him as "the heart and soul" of the U.S. Mens National Team. He has very quickly become he heartbeat of Toronto FC as well. It was also the first chance we got to see Gilberto. The 24-year-old missed most of preseason through injury but started against D.C. and was impressive showing some quality touches as well as the physical attributes necessary to succeed in MLS. Defensively, Toronto also looked solid. Brazils number one goalkeeper Julio Cesar kept his first clean sheet for the club while the central defensive tandem of veteran Steven Caldwell and young Canadian Doneil Henry continues to develop a strong understanding. The quality on the pitch and the atmosphere in the stands was night and day compared to six months ago. There have been false dawns before, but this time it feels different. For the first time in club history the Reds have won back-to-back games to start the MLS season. There is of course still much work to be done. This is a team in the early stages of its life together and there will be setbacks and bad days ahead. There are questions about the depth of the squad should some of the key pieces be missing for an extended period of time. Head coach Ryan Nelsen talks often about the fact the team is not anywhere near where he wants it to be - he told me he wants the team to be able to win playing beautiful football and also learn how to win ugly. Saturday was probably somewhere in between. It is very much a work in progress and will remain so for many weeks ahead, but after seven years of missing the playoffs, on Saturday at BMO Field it was a celebration for Toronto FC fans as their team finally gave them some hope for the future. Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. Logan Couture Jersey . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. http://www.sharkssale.com/authentic-evan...rks-jersey/.ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. San Jose Sharks Jerseys . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Brent Burns Jersey . Edwin Encarnacion carried the torch for two days at Fenway Park this week; Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista have had their moments; lately Anthony Gose has contributed.OTTAWA -- The Minnesota Wild didnt take long to rebound from an ugly loss. Captain Mikko Koivu had a goal and two assists to lead the Wild to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Koivu scored the winning goal with less than three minutes to play, allowing the Wild to rebound from the disappointment of Tuesdays 6-2 loss at Montreal. Former Senator Dany Heatley had a goal and an assist for the Wild (14-5-4) as did Jonas Brodin. Jason Pominville had the other Minnesota goal while Zach Parise had two assists. "I felt good going into this game and I felt confident that we were going to play really hard because of our leadership and because of the way weve responded in the past," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Ive got a lot of confidence in that leadership but the one thing I was worried about was our legs after three games in four days. I thought it was a factor in the first period but I thought our guys were able to find another gear." Milan Michalek scored on the power play as the teams approached the midway point of the third period to pull Ottawa even with the Wild, and it looked as if that goal would at least get the Senators to overtime. "Its disappointing. We got the game tied up, but again, were chasing the game. Any time youre chasing the game, it makes the game hard," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. Kyle Turris and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Senators (8-10-4), who have lost three straight games and four of their past five. "Its very disappointing, its frustrating. We came out and had our best first period of the year. We played a pretty solid game but again, theres one or two mistakes that we let happen and they capitalized on," Turris said. A pair of goals in the second period allowed the Wild to take a 3-2 lead into the third, and Heatley played a part in both. He drew a primary assist on Brodins goal that tied the game 2-2 exactly three minutes into the period and then jammed in a loose puck while behind the net at 6:05. Heatley pushed a loose puck to the front of the net and then beat Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson to the puck before banking it off goaltender Craig Andersons right pad and in, all while standing behind the goal-line. "Whetther were in Ottawa or not were worried about our team and (Tuesday) night wasnt acceptable and I think everyone thought that way.dddddddddddd We needed to come back with a big win and we did," said Heatley, who had a sour parting of the ways after four season in the Senators organization. The Wild had the only power play of the first period but it proved to be fruitful for both sides while Jared Cowen sat in the penalty box for interference. The Senators opened the scoring with a short-handed goal on a nifty pass from Clarke MacArthur to Turris. With his stick between his legs, MacArthur fed Turris in the slot and his one-timer slowly trickled across the goal-line at 5:54. But just 59 seconds later Pominville took a pass at the corner of the face-off circle and beat Anderson with a quick shot inside the near post. Pominville, who leads the Wild with 13 goals, skated in the warm-up but was listed as a scratch on the starting line up before eventually suiting up. Zibanejad gave the Senators the lead at 11:11 but the celebration was short-lived. The Senators outshot the Wild 37-25, making it just the sixth time the season they have outshot their opposition. It was also just the sixth time in 22 games they have allowed fewer than 30 shots. "On a positive side of it, we look at the stat sheet and the balance (shots on goal) is starting to go the other way. So thats a positive for us. We only gave up 25 shots on our net. The scoring chances are unofficially in our favour, we gave up a lot less," MacLean said. "Are we going in the right direction? We believe so, but we wont know until our next game." Notes: The Senators played their 800th home game in franchise history, and 676th at the building currently named the Canadian Tire Centre ... The Senators have lost only 15 man-games to injury all season. The Wild have lost 62 ... The Wild recalled forward Jason Zucker from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Zucker had four goals and eight points in 12 games with Iowa this season ... Minnesota has allowed a league-low 23 five-on-five goals this season ... Matt Kassian, Eric Gryba and Joe Corvo were scratches for the Senators while Torrey Mitchell and Mike Rupp didnt dress for the Wild. 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