ST. PAUL Florida Panthers T-Shirts Authentic , Minn. (AP) When Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold entered the team¡¯s new practice facility a couple of weeks ago, the organizational motto was staring him in the face.So was the advice he should make a change in the front office, despite his fondness of general manager Chuck Fletcher.¡±It¡¯s the first thing you see when you walk in the door: `Good is not good enough,¡±¡¯ Leipold said. ¡±I felt that was a signal for me.¡±The Wild split with Fletcher after nine seasons and only two playoff series wins, a decision ¨C ¡±very agonizing,¡± Leipold said ¨C that the 25-year veteran of NHL management would not have his contract renewed was delivered in a Monday morning meeting.¡±I wanted a new set of eyes on this team,¡± Leipold said.The Wild have six straight postseason appearances, matching the longest current streak in the Western Conference with the Anaheim Ducks, but they have not reached the second round since 2015. They were only 15-29 in playoff games during Fletcher¡¯s tenure, enough evidence that the roster wasn¡¯t built well enough for all the success the team has enjoyed in the regular season.¡±Right now I just don¡¯t see us with this team getting to the championship series. I just don¡¯t see it,¡± Leipold said. ¡±I think we¡¯re a good team. I really do, and I just talked to our players about this. They¡¯re a good team, but they¡¯re not good enough right now.¡±Since Fletcher stunned the NHL by signing left wing Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter, the market¡¯s most-coveted free agents in 2012, the Wild have been a runaway success on the business side with sellouts at Xcel Energy Center as routine as the aroma of mini donuts and the swish of the skates on the ice. The fans have been frustrated by the postseason plateau, though, and Leipold bluntly acknowledged he dismissed Fletcher in part to appease the customers.¡±The fans deserve to win one here Florida Panthers Hoodies Authentic ,¡± Leipold said. ¡±This is the state of hockey, and I¡¯m really confident that we¡¯re going to have candidates that are interested in coming here because of our fans, because of our market, because of our team. I¡¯m energized by the opportunity to talk to some of these people.¡±Leipold, who purchased the Wild the year before hiring Fletcher, said the move was unrelated to the Wild¡¯s early exit this year. They lost in five games in the first round to the Winnipeg Jets, after being ousted in five games in 2017 by the St. Louis Blues. Last year, Leipold declined to extend Fletcher¡¯s deal.¡±My antenna¡¯s been up,¡± Leipold said. ¡±Chuck and I have had numerous conversations all year. I wanted to wait until the end of the year to assess everything, to understand how I feel about where we¡¯re going. Are we still in the window to win the Stanley Cup? I believe we are. He believed we are. But my personal feeling was that I wanted someone new to come in and kind of shake it up.¡±Leipold said he won¡¯t order a significant rebuild, nor does he believe that¡¯s necessary for postseason progress. He added he would not hire a general manager who recommended a long-haul approach to hoisting the Stanley Cup.¡±We were sixth overall two years ago. We were eighth overall this year,¡± coach Bruce Boudreau said. ¡±We¡¯ve got an awful lot of good, moving parts there. We¡¯ll tweak it a little bit, and we¡¯ll be better.¡±The Wild haven¡¯t struggled enough to get a game-changer in the draft, with Matt Dumba in 2012 (seventh) and Mikael Granlund in 2010 (ninth) the only top-10 picks that Fletcher and his staff had. The rival Jets, for example, picked up Patrik Laine with the second overall selection in 2016 and watched him finish second in the NHL with 44 goals in 2017-18 while the team posted the second-best record in the league.In one way Florida Panthers Hats Authentic , the Parise-Suter signings for 13 years and $98 million each have worked against the Wild considering they account for 20 percent of their salary cap space and are on the books for seven more seasons. But Suter had a career-high 45 assists, before breaking his right ankle with four games left in the regular season, and Parise was one of the team¡¯s best forwards down the stretch with 12 goals in the last 19 games. He scored in all three playoff games before breaking his sternum.Trades that didn¡¯t pan out under Fletcher have hurt the Wild more than any free-agent signing or first-round draft pick. Charlie Coyle is all that¡¯s left from the deal that sent defenseman Brent Burns to San Jose in 2011, and Coyle didn¡¯t notch a goal or an assist in the series against the Jets. The trade last summer that sent Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella to Buffalo for Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis didn¡¯t wind up helping.So Fletcher¡¯s successor will eventually go to work on a roster that produced a goal-less streak of 141:27 to end the series with Winnipeg.¡±If you look at the teams moving on, the teams that are winning, they¡¯re scoring and playing at a pretty fast pace,¡± Parise said. ¡±We¡¯ve got to get to that level.¡±¡ª TORONTO (AP) ¡ª Garret Sparks had a lot of thoughts before his first start of the season earlier this month. He didn¡¯t have a chance to overthink his second outing.The backup goalie made 33 saves in place of the injured Frederik Andersen, Kasperi Kapanen scored twice and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 Monday night for their fifth straight win.Sparks allowed six goals on 31 shots in a wild 7-6 overtime triumph in Chicago on Oct. 7 against the Blackhawks ¡ª the team he grew up cheering for as a kid in the nearby suburb of Elmhurst. He was much sharper against Los Angeles in his first home appearance for the Maple Leafs since April 6, 2016.¡°When you¡¯re starting the season on the road, in Chicago, Stan Mikita night ¡­ there¡¯s a lot of stuff buzzing around,¡± Sparks said of the game at United Center. ¡°It was a really emotional day for me.¡±Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock announced Sparks as the game¡¯s starter ahead of No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen after the morning skate. Toronto then announced about 2 1/2 hours before puck drop that Andersen has a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, with Eamon McAdam getting recalled from Newfoundland of the ECHL on an emergency basis.¡°I wasn¡¯t anticipating playing when I went to bed (Sunday),¡± said Sparks, who was the AHL goalie of the year last season. ¡°But that¡¯s the nature of this position ¡ª having to be ready and being able to perform when you¡¯re called upon.¡±Babcock said after the game he expects Andersen to start when the Leafs host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner also scored to help Toronto win for the sixth time in seven games. Auston Matthews and Jake Gardiner each added two assists.Matthews leads the NHL in scoring (10 goals, six assists) and is just the fourth player in league history to start a season with seven consecutive multi-point games, joining Mario Lemieux (1992-93) Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys , Kevin Stevens (1992-93), Mike Bossy (1984-85) and Wayne Gretzky (1983-84).¡°I¡¯m just trying to play hockey, have fun and get those opportunities and try to cash in on them,¡± Matthews said. ¡°Fortunate they¡¯ve been going in. ¡­ The most important thing is we¡¯ve been winning games.¡±Ilya Kovalchuk scored for the Kings, who have lost four of six (2-3-1). Jack Campbell stopped 21 shots for Los Angeles.The Maple Leafs were back home after a perfect 4-0-0 road trip where they outscored their opponents 23-15, including a 4-2 victory over defending Stanley Cup champion Washington on Saturday.Toronto got on the scoreboard just 46 seconds in against the Kings when Kapanen banked a shot off Campbell from behind the net for his third goal of the season. The play started with Matthews fighting off Kings defenseman Drew Doughty before finding Gardiner at the point.¡°(Campbell) was scrambling a bit,¡± said Kapanen, adding with a grin: ¡°It looks good on paper when you get at least one shot.¡±Kapanen has all eight of his points (four goals, four assists) since moving into Toronto¡¯s top-6 alongside Matthews and Marleau during the Chicago game ¡ª occupying a spot originally pegged for William Nylander, who remains in Sweden as his contract impasse drags on.¡°He can skate fast, he¡¯s got skill,¡± Matthews said of Kapanen. ¡°Every game we¡¯ve been able to develop more and more chemistry.¡±The Kings, coming off a 5-1 loss at Ottawa on Saturday, nearly tied it moments later, but Tyler Toffoli¡¯s shot pinged off the post and stayed out.The Leafs made it 2-0 with 20.5 seconds left in the first on their second power play of the period when Marleau was given far too much time and space at the side of Campbell¡¯s net before sliding his first in off Doughty.The Kings cut the deficit in half at 3:38 of the second when Matthews mishandled a puck in front his own net before Alex Iafallo fed Kovalchuk, who beat Sparks between the pads for his second. The goal for the 35-year-old Kovalchuk, who spent the last five seasons playing at home in Russia¡¯s KHL www.officialkings.com , was his first against Toronto since Dec. 6, 2011, when he was with New Jersey.The Leafs regained a two-goal lead at 8:28. Zach Hyman stepped around Doughty before absorbing an attempted sandwich hit by the defenseman and Dion Phaneuf, leaving the puck for John Tavares to find a wide-open Marner at the side of the net to tap in his third goal and 11th point.Tavares also now has 11 points, while Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, who was held off the scoresheet Monday, has 13.¡°It seemed like a lot of bounces were going their way,¡± Doughty said. ¡°It¡¯s not like we played like crap or anything. I thought it was a pretty even game.¡±Sparks made a nice blocker stop on Toffoli right before Marner¡¯s goal. He then stopped Jeff Carter on the second of two Kings¡¯ power plays ¡ª dropping Los Angeles to 0 for 21 on the season.Toronto capped the scoring at 7:45 of the third when Matthews fed Kapanen on a 2-on-1 rush and he beat Campbell, who made his fifth straight start in place of the injured Jonathan Quick, on a backhand upstairs for his fourth.NOTES: McAdam got recalled after the Leafs lost both Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard to the waiver wire right before the season, while Kasimir Kaskisuo of the AHL¡¯s Toronto Marlies was injured over the weekend. Jeff Glass, Kaskisuo¡¯s backup with the Marlies, is on an AHL-only contract. ¡­ Kings starting G Jonathan Quick missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury.UP NEXTKings: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.Maple Leafs: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday night.