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WASHINGTON -- No, confetti didnt fall from the rafters, and theres no parade scheduled for Pennsylvania Avenue. Jordan Staal Jersey . But John Wall pumped his right arm and smiled broadly as he dribbled out the clock, and the first word out of Bradley Beals mouth when he addressed the crowd said it all: "Finally." The Washington Wizards celebrated what they hope is the end of mediocrity Monday night, moving above .500 for the first time in more than four years with a 100-90 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. "Its only one game over, but, yeah, its a big relief," said Wall, who has endured more than his share of Wizards frustration since his selection as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. "But the main thing is weve got bigger goals to try to keep winning games and try to keep getting better and try not to go back down -- so we wont have to have this talk again." Wall scored 22 points, and Trevor Ariza added 20 and had another solid defensive game for the Wizards, who hadnt had a winning record since beating the New Jersey Nets to improve to 2-1 on Halloween in 2009. Washington committed six turnovers while forcing 16 from Portland, and Wall and Co. didnt look back after Kevin Seraphin led a 12-0 run that put the Wizards up by 17 early in the fourth quarter. "Its great to finally get this team over the hump," Beal said. No one on the current Wizards roster was on the team when it was last above .500. They had lost this season at 0-0, 9-9, 14-14, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22, and the hurdle became such a bugaboo that players starting declaring the subject taboo when reporters asked about it. Coach Randy Wittman at one point cautioned against thoughts that "all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500." Sticking with that theme, Wittman wasnt about to consider having slightly more "Ws" than "Ls" as much of an accomplishment. "It aint out of the way. How many more games have we got to play?" Wittman said. "You act like that was the last daggum game. ... If were going to learn to be a good basketball team, we have to do this every night, no matter who youre playing." The Wizards are 120-236 since that Oct. 31 victory 51 months ago, a .336 winning percentage better than only Minnesota and Sacramento over that span. The streak of futility fell just a few days shy of spanning an entire Winter Olympiad. "Its great that were 24-23 now, but I dont want them to focus on a number," Wittman said. "I want them to focus on the act of why youre 24-23. Thats where you keep it going. I want this team to get on a run. They havent ever been on a run." Another way to put the quest to move above mediocrity in perspective: The Trail Blazers would have to lose their next 20 in a row just to fall back to .500. But the Wizards have now topped two of the Wests top teams in back-to-back games, having taken care of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Washingtons first playoff berth since 2008 is well within reach, especially in the watered-down East. The Trail Blazers arrived averaging a league-best 108.3 points and shot 61 per cent in the first half, but Portland was 6 for 17 from the field with seven turnovers in the decisive third quarter as Washingtons defence again held its own against a more celebrated lineup. Seraphin went 7 for 10 from the field and scored a season-high 19 points, making his mark by scoring the last four points of the third quarter and the first four points of the fourth. He followed a turnaround hook shot with a jumper to put the Wizards ahead 86-69. The Trail Blazers cut the deficit to six on a layup by LaMarcus Aldridge with 1:12 remaining, but Nene answered with a jumper to give the Wizards a 98-90 lead. Damian Lillard scored 25 points, and Aldridge had 20 to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost four straight road games. They could care less about Washingtons over-.500 benchmark, but they know one thing for certain: The Wizards are a better team these days. "Give Washington credit," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They are playing well, theyve beaten some good teams, and they are playing with a lot of confidence." Notes: G Garrett Temple committed three of Washingtons six turnovers. ... Wizards F Trevor Booker missed the game due to personal reasons. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys .J. -- The Houston Astros had the No. Justin Faulk Jersey . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. http://www.hockeyhurricanes.com/julien-gauthier-hockey-jersey/ . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench.OTTAWA – Carl Gunnarsson had a simple explanation for the sky-high shot totals peppered at Leaf goaltenders on a nightly basis and once more in the nations capital on Saturday evening. "You know what? I think its a conspiracy," Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report with a large, sarcastic grin in the bowels of the Canadian Tire Centre. "I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it." Two nights after Jonathan Bernier stopped 48 of 50 shots in an overtime win against the Stars did James Reimer stop 47 of 50 in a shootout victory against the Senators, one that also snapped the Leafs seven-game road losing streak. The primary force in the teams success so far this season (16-11-3,) goaltending, after a slight dip under increasing strain in late November, have re-emerged as the backbone of victory in the early days of December. "When we get those wins on a night like this its their win," Gunnarsson said of the goaltenders, Reimer on this particular night. "We need them right now and theyre really showing [up.]" While they raced out to a 3-1 lead on goals from James van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel and Jake Gardiner, the Leafs nearly fumbled victory away again on this night. Another late letdown, highlighted by continued discipline issues, saw the Senators push back with a pair of goals from Erik Condra and Erik Karlsson, the latter coming on a power-play midway through the third. "When we skate and we attack we can be a hockey club that can have success," said Randy Carlyle, pleased with the effort through two periods, but not so much in the third. "And when we sit back and receive the game, we allow the opposition to dictate the pace of the game." Only the efforts of Reimer kept Ottawa, now nine points back of Toronto in the Atlantic Division, from swiping the lead and two points entirely. "My job is to stop them, whether its 10 shots or 100 shots," said Reimer, who remains unbeaten in Ottawa. "We dont really care how many shots were giving up. Our job is just to stop the puck from going in the net." "We feel were fortunate to have the level of goaltending from Reimer and Bernier," said Carlyle. "We can go with either of them on any given night." Five Points 1. Challenges of a Busy Night Interestingly, Reimer explained that bloated shot totals arent what wear down a goaltender. "They threw a lot of pucks at the net," he said of the Senators, "but what tires a goaltender out on pretty much any team [is] their in-zone time. Its not necessarily the shots, its them working, cycling. Thats when youre in your crouch and youre looking at the pass across and youre moving trying to fight through traffic. Thats whats the most tiring." Regardless, the Leafs are forcing their goaltenders to be spectacular on too many nights. Theyve yielded 37 shots per game against this season, most in the NHL. 2. Reimers Capital City Dominance The unbeaten streak and brilliance for Reimer in the nations capital continued on Saturday. With the 47-save performance – and two more in a perfect shootout – Reimer improved to 7-0-0 lifetime at the Canadian Tire Centre with a .970 save percentage. The 25-year-old, for his part, had no explanation for his success in Ottawa, attributing it to simple randomness. Date Shots Faced Goals Against Jan. 11, 2011 33 1 Apr. 2, 2011 25 2 Feb. 4, 2012 49 0 Mar. 17, 2012 30 1 Mar. 30, 2013 31 0 Apr. 20, 2013 50 1 Dec. 7, 2013 50 3 3. Liles Season Debut John-Michael Liles hadnt played a game for the Leafs since Game 7 of a first round playoff series with Boston last May. He returned from the Marlies on Saturday, playing nearly 18 minutes alongside Mark Fraser against the Senators. &quoot;I thought he gave us a good game," said Carlyle of Liles. Jiri Tlusty Jersey. "He gave us what he does best. Hes a puck-moving defenceman. I thought he did a heck of a job for us." The 33-year-old, who has seen his role in the NHL dwindle in recent years, said he chose to assess his situation in the minors without negativity. "Theres an opportunity to dwell on it and maybe give the kind of woe is me but at the same time thats not really who I am," said Liles, recalled to help a struggling Toronto defence in their puck-moving pursuits. "That was something I tried to not let myself get caught up in." By all accounts, Liles had been terrific with the Marlies, totaling 13 points in 16 games. He credits Steve Spott, the Marlies head coach, for helping to ease his transition to the American League. "Spotter has been fantastic for me," said Liles. "He said he expected a lot of me [and] I expect a lot of myself." 4. Late Meltdowns Just as they did in near-defeat to the Stars on Thursday night, the Leafs very nearly let victory slip away against the Senators. Rather than attack with the lead, they simply sat back and saw it evaporate. "I guess its when we get a lead we freeze, do we freeze up or what are we doing?" said Carlyle, searching for answers himself. "Weve talked about it a lot. Were beating it to death. If we had the answer right now, we wouldve corrected it a long time ago." Ottawa cut the lead to one in the opening minutes of the third frame with Colin Greening outmaneuvering Gardiner for a puck in the Toronto zone, before feeding Condra high in the slot. Karlsson then tied it on the eighth Leaf minor penalty. "It seems we work hard for 40 minutes of the game and establish the type of game we want to play and then we take some penalties that change the momentum and we dont seem to be able to get it back," Carlyle said. "But we won the hockey game, found a way to win and thats the most important thing. Weve had some pretty down times here prior to the last two games, so no matter how you get the points, were going to take them and move on." "Its just a good feeling," said Gunnarsson. "We got the two points. Its not the way we wanted, but in the end the points matter so well take that." 5. Clarksons Production The first 20 games in a Maple Leafs jersey have passed rather quietly for David Clarkson. Clarkson has just two goals and five points, numbers that, while disappointing in the scope of his more recent production, align more closely to the bulk of his NHL career previously. On pace for just seven goals and 18 points this season, Clarkson averaged a not so dissimilar 12 goals and 24 points in his first four NHL seasons with the Devils. Though he played slightly less then – between 12-14 minutes – the 29-year-old garnered similar power-play time and a similar number of shots to those hes put forth this winter as a Leaf. His more recent outbursts,perhaps unsustainable, seemed to alter the conversation though as far as expectations for the Mimico, Ontario native are concerned. Two years ago, Clarkson posted career-highs with 30 goals and 46 points. That year he averaged a then-career-high of 2.85 shots per game, while shooting a career-high 13.2 per cent. While slightly less accurate the next year – a lockout shortened 48 games – Clarkson shot the puck with even greater frequency, establishing a new career-high of 3.75 shots per game. Also notable was the first unit power-play time he gathered in those two potent seasons, a fact of life thats diminished in Toronto to opportunity more closely aligned to those first four seasons in New Jersey. All of which is to say that Clarksons offensive production in the previous two seasons (120 games) may prove more exception than rule. Stats-Pack .970% - Career save percentage for James Reimer in Ottawa. 22 – Career goals for Phil Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 42 – Career points for Kessel in 44 games against the Senators. 17:51 – Ice-time for John-Michael Liles in his season debut. 0.47 – Goals per game for James van Riemsdyk, who scored his 12th this season on Saturday. 6 – Consecutive games with a point for Kessel, who has four goals and eight points in that span. 28:32 – Ice-time for Dion Phaneuf, a season-high. 4 – Goals from the Toronto defence this season, Jake Gardiner scoring his first this season against the Senators. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-6 Season: 24.7% PK: 6-8 Season: 78.2% Quote of the Night "You know what? I think its a conspiracy. I think the guys counting the shots, theyre doubling up on it, I think thats what it is." -Carl Gunnarsson, musing on the amount of shots the Leafs have given up this season. Up Next The Leafs return home to host Boston at the ACC on Sunday night. 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