Leafs Drop Heartbreaker To Lightning
Posted November 30, 2010 10:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Simon Gagne made an impressive return to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s lineup, scoring the winning goal 1:15 into overtime Tuesday in a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The winger also provided a screen when Martin St. Louis tied the game with just 8.7 seconds left in regulation.
It was quite a statement for Gagne, who had missed 18 games with a neck injury. The overtime winner came on a 2-on-1 rush with Brett Clark and was his first goal as a member of the Lightning.
St. Louis, with two, and Ryan Malone also scored for the Lightning (14-8-3).
Nikolai Kulemin, with two, and Kris Versteeg replied for Toronto (8-11-4).
It was the beginning of an important three-game homestand for a Leafs team that has dropped eight in a row away from Air Canada Centre. With the playoffs drifting further from view, this stretch of the schedule seems critical.
Toronto’s struggling offence got a nice gift just 1:25 into the game. Lightning goaltender Dan Ellis was unable to handle a long bouncing shoot-in, triggering a play that ended with Versteeg scoring his seventh goal after Tyler Bozak’s attempt went wide.
A familiar storyline developed from there as Gustavsson was called on to make a couple tough saves.
He kicked out his right leg to deny Dominic Moore and seemed to distract Dana Tyrell when he stacked the pads on a breakaway chance.
The Maple Leafs appeared to go ahead 2-0 before the intermission, but Luke Schenn’s goal was quickly waived off because Clarke MacArthur was deemed to have interfered with Ellis. Replays appeared to show Victor Hedman backing the Toronto forward into the crease.
Tampa tied the game 1-1 after a nice play by Gagne, who was in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 21. The winger stopped the puck behind the goal and got it quickly to Malone, who beat Gustavsson with a wraparound at 5:18 of the second period.
Kulemin put the Leafs ahead by two goals with a hard shot from the top of the circle on a power play at 11:51 before adding an insurance marker just over seven minutes into third, knocking in a loose puck after it had taken a funny bounce off the boards and fooled Ellis.
St. Louis took over from there, beating Gustavsson from in close just over a minute later before sending the game to overtime by blasting a shot past the Leafs goaltender.
The decision to shift Nazem Kadri to centre on Toronto’s top line with Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur didn’t yield any results. The unit appeared disjointed at times and Kadri struggled with the move back to centre — winning just three of 16 faceoffs through 40 minutes — before being replaced by Bozak late in the game.
On the bright side, the Leafs managed to contain NHL goal-leader Steven Stamkos. He was held without a goal, making it the first time all season he’s gone three games without scoring.
Notes:Kulemin took three minor penalties. He was called for two in the first 22 games … Toronto’s Joey Crabb played the 30th game of his NHL career after being recalled from the AHL Marlies … John Mitchell and Brett Lebda were healthy scratches for the Maple Leafs … The Lightning dressed seven defencemen … Stamkos has six goals and 14 points in 10 career games against Toronto … It was the sixth straight start in goal for Gustavsson … Announced attendance was 19,063.
