The Maple Leafs took a day away from the rink on Wednesday after completing a stretch of three games in four nights with 3-2 victory over Colorado at Air Canada Center on Tuesday.
Phil Kessel scored 34 seconds into overtime to give Toronto their second straight victory, which evened their season record at 2-2 and quelled(for the moment) the panic in Leafs Nation after opening the season with losses to Montreal and Pittsburgh.
James van Riemsdyk and Ryan O’Reilly exchanged goals in the opening period and Colorado took the lead late in the middle frame on a Matt Duchene wrister that beat Leafs goalie James Reimer just under the crossbar.
In spite of firing 40 shots on Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov and limiting Colorado to two goals on 24 shots, the Leafs did not display any consistent offensive pressure until midway through the third, as Joffrey Lupul tied the game at 2 after intercepting an errant clearing attempt.
Kessel was denied giving Toronto the lead moments later by the Avs netminder, when rookie defenseman Stuart Percy’s pass found the Leafs forward streaking down the wing, but potted the winning goal on a similar stretch play early in overtime.
Goaltender James Reimer made 22 saves for his second win in a row, which may alter who Leafs coach Randy Carlyle starts in the first of a home-and-home series with Detroit at Air Canada Center on Friday.
“We felt that James Reimer gave us an opportunity to win the game in New York the other night.… Carlyle said following the game. “With the double header coming against Detroit, that he had earned the opportunity for the next start.…
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TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs had discussed a potential deal with the Carolina Hurricanes last summer involving center Eric Staal and remain interested in the 29-year-old Canes team captain.
Carolina has been savaged by injuries in training camp and early in the season, with Eric currently out with an upper body injury, brother Jordan Staal out 3-4 months with a broken leg, forward Jeff Skinner suffering another concussion and losing defenseman Andrej Sekera in a 4-3 loss to Buffalo
While the elder Staal, Skinner and Sekera are all considered short-term injuries, the Canes 0-3-1 start might signal a willingness on the part of new GM Ron Francis and coach Bill Peters to rebuild the organization with younger players acquired in a deal for Staal, as well as entering the mix for prized prospects Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Dreger says that the cost for Toronto to acquire Staal would be extremely high and would likely have to include a center(either Tyler Bozak or Nazem Kadri), a first round pick and defenseman Jake Gardiner, the same names that were long linked to a potential deal for then Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.
Gardiner, in spite of being benched for two straight games, is a valuable commodity as an offensive puck-rushing defenseman, but continues to have difficulty playing in his own zone. The Leafs locking up Gardiner to a 5-year deal, $20.25 Million deal last summer makes the 24-year-old blueliner even more attractive to a fiscally conscious team like Carolina.
Kadri is a restricted free agent at the end of the 2014-15 season and may be a prime candidate for being dealt if the Leafs feel his contract demands won’t match his value as a player.
The biggest concern in any potential Staal deal is Staal himself. The Thunder Bay, ON native turns 30 later this month and is coming off the worst offensive year of his career, with 21 goals and 40 assists in 79 games.
As with the concerns about center Ryan Kesler prior to his being dealt to Anaheim, Staal’s hockey age may be older than his actual age based on wear and tear, including a serious knee injury suffered at the 2013 IIHF World Championships.
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