The Toronto Maple Leafs started their key five game road swing on the right foot, as Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak registered a goal and two assists and Jonathan Bernier made 43 saves in a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
Toronto registered their third straight victory and moved ahead of Montreal into second place in the Atlantic Division with the win. With consecutive road victories in New York and Anaheim, the Leafs now have an over .500 record on the road(13-12-7). Maintaining that status will be tough, as Toronto plays the second of back-to-back games against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The Leafs played an effective first 20 minutes, outshooting the Ducks 11-9 and setting a physical tone as David Clarkson and Tim Gleason dropped gloves with Ben Lovejoy and Patrick Maroon. Toronto’s power play finally broke an eight game slump on a 4-on-3 advantage, as Dion Phaneuf moved down from his point position and fed a pass to Bozak, who tipped the puck past Ducks goaltender Frederick Andersen.
Less than three minutes, Toronto increased their lead to 2-0 as James van Riemsdyk and Bozak stole the puck from Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf and sent Kessel on a breakaway. The Leafs sniper dashed by both Anaheim defensemen and backhanded a shot which deflected off of Andersen’s stick and into the goal for his club-leading 34th goal of the season.
The top line combo struck again early in the second, as Bozak’s lead pass out of the defensive zone found a streaking Kessel, who waited patiently for Paul Ranger to join the attack and fed a goalmouth pass to the defenseman for his fourth of the season.
“A lot of things went our way early in the hockey game and I think the frustration set in on their part.… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said following the game. “We had some real strong, offensive zone time shifts and that’s the type of hockey you’re gonna have to play down the stretch if you’re gonna qualify for the playoffs and make a statement.…
The Ducks got back into the game, as Bryan Allen’s check on Jake Gardiner drew Clarkson into his second bout of the night and seems to spark the home team. Anaheim outshot Toronto 19-7 in the middle frame and finally got on the scoreboard as Corey Perry scored his 35th of the season after Bernier had stoned rookie Hampus Lindholm and Getzlaf on point-blank opportunities.
“I thought Bernie made some big stops and we were able to box out and there wasn’t a lot of second and third opportunities.… Carlyle said.
The Anaheim domination continued in the third, as Toronto appeared content to dump the puck out of the zone keep the Ducks forwards out of the scoring areas. The Leafs were outshot 16-5 but were successful in holding on to a third period lead for the first time since the Olympic break.
The Sharks pose a similarly difficult challenge for the Blue and White, with an impressive 24-4-4 record at the SAP Center. San Jose trails the Ducks by four points in the race for top spot in the Pacific Division and have won three of their four games in March.
“They’ve got (Joe) Thornton, (Patrick) Marleau, (Joe) Pavelski and (Brent) Burns up front. They’ve got a lot of weapons, they have a mobile back end and Niemi’s a pretty good goalie.… Carlyle said. “There a team that plays an up tempo style, they got size and they skate.…
It is expected that the Leafs will resort to form and start James Reimer in San Jose, setting up Bernier to start in his return to Los Angeles on Thursday. Reimer was solid in a 31 save effort against Columbus one week ago.
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Winger Frazer McLaren was sent back to the Toronto Marlies after David Clarkson returned to the lineup on Monday. McLaren was on emergency recall and had to be sent down to the AHL club once Clarkson was able to return from his leg muscle pull. Winger Colton Orr took the morning skate and was scratched due to Carlyle’s choice to go with 11 forwards and seven defenseman.
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