Maple Leafs Defeat Florida 3-2
Posted January 5, 2010 10:23 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The busiest stretch of the Toronto Maple Leafs season is off to a winning start.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored the eventual winner and Jonas Gustavsson made 29 saves Tuesday as the Maple Leafs came from behind to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2.
It was the first of four games in five days for Toronto. The Maple Leafs visit Philadelphia on Wednesday, Buffalo on Friday and return home to face Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
The team is still clinging to hopes of making a playoff charge in the second half of the season and hopes to make some big strides with a good week.
Lee Stempniak and Tomas Kaberle also scored for the Maple Leafs (15-19-9), who have just three wins in their last 10 games.
Bryan McCabe had both goals in reply for Florida (17-19-7).
The former Leafs defenceman was booed whenever he touched the puck, just as he has been in other visits since being traded to Florida in September 2008. McCabe had an overtime winner here for the Panthers last season and added a little more salt to the wound with the first two goals of this game.
He wired a slapshot past Gustavsson on the short side at 5:32 before beating him again with a low wrist shot on a power play just under three minutes later.
Amazingly, it marked the 21st time in 43 games the Leafs trailed 2-0.
Unlike several other attempts this season, it was a hole Toronto was able to dig out of.
Stempniak got things rolling on a power play when he one-timed a Kaberle pass over Tomas Vokoun at 10:13. Kaberle, McCabe’s long-time defence partner, evened the score early in the second period with a low shot through traffic that beat Vokoun between the legs.
Ponikarovsky completed the comeback at 16:51, backhanding home a rebound after teammate Nikolai Kulemin won a race to the puck. He pumped his fists after scoring for the first time in eight games.
Toronto held a 3-2 advantage heading into the third period and Gustavsson was instrumental in preserving the victory. He turned aside a dangerous chance from Michael Frolik early in the final period and got his glove on a hard Dennis Seidenberg point shot that came through traffic.
The rookie goaltender also got some big help as defenceman Francois Beauchemin dove to break up a 3-on-1 with under three minutes to play in regulation.
John Mitchell returned to the Leafs lineup after missing 20 games with a sprained MCL and his timing couldn’t have been much better – centres Mikhail Grabovski (wrist) and Wayne Primeau (knee) were each injured on Saturday night in Calgary. Rickard Wallin filled the other empty roster spot.
Notes: Toronto is now 7-1-2 against Southeast Division … Defenceman Mike Komisarek sat out with an undisclosed upper-body injury … Leafs forward Phil Kessel has just one goal in his last nine games. It’s been 11 games since he had an assist … The Panthers recalled tough guy Steve MacIntyre and inserted him in the lineup for Nick Tarnasky … Former Leaf Dominic Moore also suited up for Florida … Toronto’s Jamal Mayers recorded his 100th career assist … Announced attendance was 18,984.
Photo by Abelimages / Getty Images
