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With the impending return of defenseman Roman Polak and the end of Carter Ashton's suspension, the Maple Leafs were going to have to make a move to open up a roster spot and that move appears to be placing forward Brandon Kozun on waivers to be sent to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
The 24-year-old Kozun surprisingly made the club after being the star of training camp and registered an assist in five games before suffering a high ankle sprain against Detroit on October 17. After a six week recuperation and three-game conditioning stint, Kozun returned to the lineup in Detroit on December 10th, but did not play in any games during the Leafs recent three-game home stand.
The Leafs hope that the fact that Kozun has been off the radar for almost two months will aid in slipping through waivers and down to the AHL, but his skill set, penalty killing ability and $550,000 salary may be attractive to a team with a roster spot available.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their winning ways with a 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Air Canada Center on Tuesday, but it was hardly an effort that the club can feel completely content with, as the Leafs were outplayed for most of the first 40 minutes, relied on opportunistic offense and goaltender Jonathan Bernier to get and hold the lead until a four-goal third period outburst sealed the deal and ended the NHL-leading Ducks seven-game winning streak.
Phil Kessel led a balanced offensive attack with a pair of goals, Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul, David Booth and Nazem Kadri also scored for Toronto, who improve to 19-9-3 and extend their winning streak to six games, but were the beneficiaries of another stellar performance by Bernier, who made 40 saves for his 13th victory of the season.
“He made some big stops for us early in the hockey game.” Head coach Randy Carlyle said following the game. “It seemed like we’d weather a little bit of a storm and we’d get a chance and we’d score. So, it made us feel good about ourselves and he was the main reason that we put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
The Leafs led 2-1 after two periods in spite of being outshot 31-16. Bozak opened the scoring late in the first on a backhand that snuck through the pads of Ducks starter Frederik Andersen and the clubs traded goals in the middle frame, with Lupul scoring his seventh of the season and defenseman Sami Vatanen tallying short-handed.
Toronto widened their lead to 4-1 early in the third, as Booth scored on a wraparound and Kadri made a dazzling toe drag and shot.
The pair of goals 51 seconds apart chased Andersen from the goal in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov. Ryan Kesler narrowed the lead to 4-2 midway through the third, but Kessel iced the game away with his club-leading 16th and 17th goals of the season.
“I think we were very opportunistic tonight.” Head coach Randy Carlyle said following the game. “From an execution standpoint and from a defensive standpoint and an energy standpoint, we didn’t seem to have any energy in our forecheck. We were receiving and then we stopped skating. But we won.”
The breaks clearly went in Toronto’s direction in the last of their three-game home stand, as the normally solid Andersen allowed two bad goals to Lupul and Booth. As with last week’s shootout victory in Detroit, the Leafs were saved by their goaltending and did not put forth the kind of effort that has been present in many wins during their recent 10-1-1 streak.
“I feel that we are slipping....the last couple games.” Carlyle said. “We have to get back to that more energetic, more stop-and-go, more straight line hockey.”
Positives
Robidas/Rielly – The pairing of veteran Stephane Robidas and sophomore Morgan Rielly both eclipsed the 20-minute mark in TOI and were +2 on the night. Robidas has picked up the slack in the absence of the injured Roman Polak, with 17 hits over the last two games and the success of this tandem allows Carlyle to better manage the ice time of Phaneuf/Franson and decrease the exposure of Jake Gardiner and Korbinian Holzer.
David Booth – First goal for the speedy winger was a game-winner. The former top-six forward has gelled well with Richard Panik and Trevor Smith and that fourth line unit continues to provide key goals.
Jonathan Bernier – Bernier is 8-2-1 in his last 11 starts and the 40-save performance against Anaheim was his fourth win in a row at Air Canada Center.
Negatives
5 Shots – The total shot output from the Leafs in the second period, which included two power plays.
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