by TIM WHARNSBY , The Globe and Mail

The mood was light among his players on the ice surface below him, but Brian Burke was not about to crack a smile as he watched them play games such as dodge ball in coach Ron Wilson's attempt to relax the uptight team.

Burke, the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, was less than 24 hours removed from blaming his players for a miserable start to the season, a club record six losses in a row. Now he was about to enter the Leafs dressing room to address the players in the hopes his words would shake them out of their slump.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall. But it turns out Burke didn't yell, threaten, bully, intimidate or pressure his players to better results. The old softy merely proclaimed to this down-and-out bunch that he believes in them, that they need to stick together to work themselves out of 30th place and to ignore the panic-stricken atmosphere among the fickle fan base.

"Burke is straightforward," Toronto defenceman Mike Komisarek said. "Having him look us in the eye and deliver his message was awesome. We got ourselves into this mess and it's up to us to get through this and get ourselves out. ... We all could be better, and that starts with me first and foremost."

Before Burke assembled the players for his rah-rah communication, Wilson took them on the ice for practice. Last week, he put them through a hard-skating workout. But that resulted in three more losses. So he tried the fun route yesterday.

He divided the group into blue and white teams and the games began. There was a game of dodge ball with tennis balls and puck relays in which a team had to score in a two-on-none situation before the next twosome could carry on. The oddest scene was a gauntlet, in which players attempted to skate the length of the ice with a puck as half the players fired pucks at him, trying to knock the puck he was carrying off his stick.

Leafs centre Rickard Wallin received high marks for ingenuity, bouncing the puck on his stick as he skated down the ice, but he failed to put the puck past goalie James Reimer. The only one to score was 41-year-old assistant coach Keith Acton. He shielded his puck with his skates and fired a shot over the left shoulder of netminder Joey MacDonald. Acton is 15 years removed from his final NHL game, but having a coach outshine the players is another sign that not much has gone right for the struggling Leafs.

"It was all about having fun," Wilson said. "We just need to hit the reset button on the computer and away you go. We're under water right now and we have to find a way to get back to the surface."

The sky-is-falling mentality that has enveloped the Leafs is new to the players in their first season in Toronto and old to the veterans. Either way, defenceman Ian White is one of the few players who has performed well in this early-season heat. He welcomed the change of pace in practice yesterday.

"We needed to have a little bit of fun," said White, who joined the Leafs in the 2005-06 season.

Wilson hopes to see a more relaxed Niklas Hagman and a more inspired Matt Stajan back in the lineup against the New York Rangers at the Air Canada Centre tomorrow evening. The coach decided to scratch the two veterans from Toronto's loss to the Colorado Avalanche at home last Tuesday.

Wilson reasoned that Stajan played better last season after he was benched. Hagman, according to the Leafs coach, is pressing too much. He needs to calm down and play the way he did at times last season, Wilson said.

SCORESHEET

NOTES Injured Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel picked a good day for his first full practice with his new teammates because of the light nature of the workout. Kessel, who underwent off-season shoulder surgery, had been skating on his own for weeks. He has not been cleared for contact yet, but his return date still appears to be early-to-mid November. ... Leafs centre Wayne Primeau, who has missed the past four games with a shoulder injury, hopes to receive clearance to play against the New York Rangers at home tomorrow. ... Toronto coach Ron Wilson also expects to see Jonas Gustavsson (groin) back at practice today and hopes the rookie goalie will be healthy enough to play in Vancouver against the Canucks on Oct. 24. ... Centre Tyler Bozak was reassigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

NEXT Tomorrow, New York Rangers at the ACC, 7 p.m. EDT.

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Tim Wharnsby

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