COLUMBUS, Ohio -- David Clarksons debut was supposed to help the Toronto Maple Leafs establish an identity. Instead, he and his teammates were outworked by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a penalty-filled 5-2 loss Friday night at Nationwide Arena. Clarkson took the first of eight minor penalties in a choppy game that left players searching for answers. "We know weve got better, we know we have to do the right things to be an A-team in this league and we didnt do the right things tonight," said forward Dave Bolland, who scored the Leafs second goal and took two penalties. Special teams play was a major reason Toronto entered the game 7-3-0 despite coach Randy Carlyle lamenting his teams lack of an identity early this season. The Leafs only gave up one power-play goal to Columbus, but the parade to the penalty box still hurt them. They spent 11 minutes 32 seconds shorthanded, forcing goaltender Jonathan Bernier to take on a heavy workload and disrupting the flow of the game. Six of the minor penalties were stick infractions, in part the result of what Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards figured was his groups best skating game of the year. "Theyre a good team, they work hard, they had a good forecheck on us," said Bernier, who stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced. "We had some scoring chances, we just didnt put it in the net." The Blue Jackets got on the board on the power play, as defenceman Ryan Murray scored his first NHL goal just 39 seconds after Clarkson was penalized for hooking Nick Foligno. Marian Gaborik scored in the third not long after Nazem Kadri was released from the box after the second of his three penalties, and Brandon Dubinsky scored the game-winner with Columbus shorthanded later in the period. "The power plays were definitely lopsided, and then we get a break to go four-on-three and we give up a short-handed (goal)," Carlyle said. "Kind of set the table for what happened tonight." It was an uneven performance from the get-go for the Leafs, who were outshot 16-5 in the first period and didnt get on the board until Phil Kessel scored 40 seconds after the first intermission. Penalties piled up after that, and Bernier did his best to keep his team in the game. "Weve got to get a better effort," said Clarkson, who had four shots, two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating in 15:10 of ice time. "Especially Bernies been playing that well for us, and we kind of hang him out to dry there a little bit." Bernier said the Leafs didnt bring their "effort" against the Blue Jackets, but that wasnt lacking from Clarkson, who missed the first 10 games of the season while serving a suspension for leaving the bench to enter a pre-season fight. Carlyle figured Clarkson looked "rusty" but expected that after so much time away from game action. "Hes going to try, hes going to work," Carlyle said. "The other things as far as the stick-handling and the turnovers and stuff, I think youve got to give the guy some slack. He hasnt played any games this year. Everybody else is about 10 games ahead of him." Clarkson didnt feel rusty but wasnt giving himself any glowing reviews, in part because of the final result. "Any time you lose, you dont feel good," Clarkson said. "I felt like on the forecheck my jump was there, I felt OK. ... (But) its all about winning right now, and it doesnt matter how anyone feels weve got to find a way to win it, weve got to play better than that." After signing a US$36.75-million, seven-year deal with the Leafs in the off-season and taking on the expectations that went with it, Clarkson was anxious to make an impact. Weeks of bag skates prepared him for this moment, but once the puck dropped he tried to forget about all that. "I think Ive played in the league long enough that its not just another game, but when youve been out that long, you want to get out there and get some hits and get on the forecheck and make some plays," he said. "All that stuff, hopefully one down and now well get going." Clarkson wasnt to blame for the Leafs third-period meltdown, which included Gaboriks fifth goal of the season and Dubinskys shorthanded that came on a bad break. In his third straight start, Bernier faulted himself for not making enough saves, but the ex-New York Rangers forward made just about the perfect shot. "Youve got to give the shooter credit sometime," Bernier said. "He put it right under the bar. It was a good shot." Clarkson and his teammates must try to rebound quickly, with Sidney Crosby (18 points in 10 games) and the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting Air Canada Centre on Saturday night. Just like the Penguins after a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders, the Leafs have little time to dwell on this performance. "Were going to be fine, weve got to bounce back," Clarkson said. "This is the game of hockey, youre not going to win every game. I think we know what weve got to be better in." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES - Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, last years Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced. ... Foligno scored the Blue Jackets fifth goal against Bernier with seven seconds left after Ryan Johansen put the puck into an empty net 20 seconds earlier. ... Kessel left the game briefly late in the second period and went down the tunnel toward the locker-room but returned at the start of the third and finished with 16:20 of ice time. Joey Votto Jersey . 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Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. Curt Casali Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. ZURICH, Switzerland -- Cristiano Ronaldo couldnt hide how much it meant to him, finally being voted the worlds best player again. Having spent four years in the shadow of his great rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo broke down in tears after being elected the Ballon dOr winner for 2013 on Monday -- a rare display of emotion that showed just how important it was for the Portugal winger to lay his hands on the trophy again. Ronaldo first won footballs biggest individual prize five years ago, but then watched as Messi found a way of upstaging him each year despite consistently scoring at an unprecedented rate for Real Madrid. "There are no words to describe this moment," said Ronaldo, crying openly while his 3-year-old son, also named Cristiano, stood at his feet. The little boy had just been hoisted by Brazil great Pele to touch the golden trophy as dad gathered himself to speak. "People who know me know how many people helped me," Ronaldo said in Portuguese. "If I have forgotten anyone, I do apologize because I am deeply moved." Earlier Monday, Ronaldo was cautiously diplomatic at a news conference, facing media who mostly predicted his prolific 69-goal tally in 2013 would end Messis four-year victory run. Ronaldos stunning hat trick against Sweden in a decisive World Cup playoff in November also appeared to stand out as the years defining individual performance. "If I win, fine. If I dont, life goes on," he said, acknowledging that Messis sustained excellence for Madrid nemesis Barcelona had pushed him to improve. Ronaldo also said he has made peace with FIFA President Sepp Blatter, whose ill-judged comments in October stating a preference for Messi seemed to confirm a long-held belief in Portugal and Madrid that their player was destined to lose. "We talked over the telephone and everything was cleared," Ronaldo said before the ceremony. "This is no longer an issue, neither for us nor for football." In a tight race, Ronaldo received 1,365 points, Messi had 1,205 and Franck Ribery, the France and Bayern Munich winger, got 1,127. Voting was done by national team captains and coaches, plus selected journalists in each FIFA member country. Canada coach Benito Floro cast his first-place vote for Ronaldo, while captain Atiba Hutchinson had Messi first and Ronaldo second. On hearing his name called -- finally delivered by Pele after a dramatic pause and smile -- Ronaldo closed his eyes, grinned and dipped his head, then turned to kissed his girlfriend, model Irina Shayk, before walking to the stage.dddddddddddd Pele greeted Ronaldo with a hug minutes after he also cried on stage when collecting an honorary Ballon dOr for his own outstanding career. Ronaldos victory was fitting on an evening when FIFA paid tribute to another great Portugal forward, Eusebio, who died last week. FIFA also stressed that Ronaldos win owed nothing to an extension of the initial balloting deadline beyond the World Cup playoff. His display in Stockholm was so impressive it seemed certain to sway voters when Messi was sidelined by his third injury of the year. Still, FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio said Monday the standings were unchanged by the voting rules adjustment. Though Ribery lost, Bayern got one victory as Jupp Heynckes won the coaching award for leading the team to a Champions League, Bundesliga and national cup treble last season before he retired. Heynckes defeated Juergen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund and Alex Ferguson, who retired after winning another Premier League title for Manchester United. European champion Germany swept the womens awards. Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer was player of the year ahead of United States forward Abby Wambach, last years winner, and Marta of Brazil. Canadian captain Christine Sinclair and coach John Herdman both cast their first-place votes for Angerer. Sylvia Neid won the womens coaching award, beating Swedens Pia Sundhage and Ralf Kellermann, who led Wolfsburg to the Champions League title. Zlatan Ibrahimovic won a fans online vote to get the Puskas Award for best goal, a long-range bicycle kick for Sweden against England in a November 2012 friendly. Blatter gave his presidential award to Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee president for 12 years until reaching his term limit last September. The Afghanistan football federation got the fair play award. Pele received an honorary Ballon dOr trophy, which he could never get during his career when the original prize created by France Football magazine in 1956 was restricted to European players. "I promised my family I would not cry but I am emotional," said Pele, the only player to win the World Cup three times. ' ' '