Leafs Beats The Ducks 5-2
Posted January 20, 2011 10:08 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Maple Leafs got J.S. Giguere a win he wanted more than most.
Mikhail Grabovski scored twice and linemate Clarke MacArthur added a goal and two assists Thursday as the Maple Leafs rallied to beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2.
It was a solid bounce-back performance just 24 hours after Toronto was hammered 7-0 by the New York Rangers. The game carried some extra importance for Giguere because he spent a decade with the Ducks organization before being dealt to the Leafs last Jan. 31.
Giguere didn’t need to be spectacular, but he made a nice save on Bobby Ryan early in the third period when it was still a one-goal game.
Carl Gunnarsson and Tyler Bozak also scored for the Maple Leafs (19-22-5), who ended a three-game winless slide.
Dan Sexton and Brandon McMillan replied for Anaheim (26-20-4).
The Maple Leafs had a pretty tentative start one night after getting embarassed at Madison Square Garden. Not wanting to make any mistakes with the puck, Toronto appeared a bit flat-footed early on and Anaheim dominated possession as a result.
Sexton opened the scoring at 7:55 after the Ducks cycled around the offensive zone for ages. He beat Giguere with a perfect wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.
As has often been the case this season, MacArthur gave the Leafs some life. He made a nice pass to Phil Kessel on a 2-on-1 before shovelling home the rebound at 11:43. It was MacArthur’s 15th goal of the season — leaving him just two shy of his career high.
McMillan put Anaheim back ahead 2-1 at 5:23 of the second period. With Maxim Lapierre causing havoc in front, the rookie threw the puck towards the net and beat Giguere for his fifth goal of the season.
The Leafs tied it with a nice wrist shot by Gunnarsson. He took a pass from MacArthur and beat Jonas Hiller at 13:10, pumping his fist in the air after his third goal of the season — tops among Toronto blue-liners this season.
Bozak’s first goal in nine games stood up as the winner. He ripped a shot coming off the wing that beat Hiller to the glove side at 14:15 to make it 3-2.
Anaheim showed some life to start the third period but a costly turnover by Ryan cost them a chance at a comeback. The puck slid off his stick to Grabovski, who promptly made it 4-2 at 5:57.
The Belarussian got his team-leading 20th of the season just under six minutes later by roofing a backhander. It made the final minutes pretty comfortable for Giguere and the Leafs.
