The Toronto Maple Leafs are one team that may wish there wasn’t an 18 day break for the Sochi Olympics, as a three-goal third period rally resulted in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Air Canada Center Saturday night.
The victory was not only Toronto’s seventh consecutive win at home, but their 11th victory in a 14 game stretch that began with the Leafs falling out of playoff position and ends with them seven points ahead of ninth place Columbus.
Through 40 minutes, the Leafs had just 13 shots on goal and were unable to generate many chances against the struggling Canucks, whose only offense was a Ryan Kesler goal with just 22 seconds remaining in the first.
That changed in less than a five-minute span midway through the third, as Mason Raymond tied the game with a shot over the left shoulder of former teammate Roberto Luongo, Phil Kessel put Toronto ahead with a long wrist shot that eluded the screened Vancouver netminder and an insurance goal from James van Riemsdyk, who pinballed the puck off the face shield of defenseman Alex Edler into the net.
Toronto played the second half of the game without forward Jay McClement, who fell awkwardly in the Leafs end after being tripped by Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis. McClement had a gash over his eye and spent time in the quiet room according to Carlyle and was held out of the game for precautionary reasons.
While most of the Leafs will avail themselves of an opportunity to heal up from the normal bumps and bruises associated with an NHL season, Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Nikolai Kulemin flew out early Sunday morning to Newark, NJ, where charter flights were departing for the Olympic games in Sochi.
Leafs coach Randy Carlyle indicated that those not traveling to Russia should not get too complacent over the break.
“The break is here for you to rest and relax, but we’d be well advised to make sure that you have some form of exercise taking place a few times during the break, because when they come back we’re going to work.…Carlyle said following the game.
Due to a complete shutdown of hockey related activity, injured Leaf Dave Bolland will practice with the OHL’s London Knights during the hiatus and could be ready to return to the lineup when the Leafs play their next game on Long Island on February 27.
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Former Leaf Leo Komarov will be joining three former Toronto teammates on the world stage in Sochi the next couple weeks, but the 27-year-old member of Team Finland tells Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston that he can envision a reunion with them and a return to Toronto next season.
Komarov, who signed with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL last July, still carries the scars of his last moments as a Maple Leaf; Game 7 of their first round loss to Boston last May. "It’s like everything is black from that situation," Komarov said. "It was 4-1 and everything was good, everybody was happy, and then it’s just all wrong. I don’t know."
Komarov returned to Moscow not because of any animosity with the club or the city of Toronto, but because Dynamo offered him double the amount that the Leafs offered and more ice time, which would improve his chances of making the Finnish Olympic team for Sochi.
"It’s going to be fun," Komarov said regarding the Olympic experience. "We’re in the same group as Canada so we’re going to try to beat you guys. It’s been a lot of waiting for this and it’s going to be hard games."
The feisty Estonian born Finn, a fan favorite in his short stint with Toronto is an unrestricted free agent in July and indicated his desire to return to North America with the Leafs or some other NHL club.
"I really like it there man," Komarov said. "It’s probably the best city I’ve played in, the organization is huge and all the fans and players were nice to me. I really liked it there but things changed a little bit.… A return to Toronto may not be far-fetched, as Komarov could be someone that the Leafs would have interest in bringing back into the fold to replace Kulemin if they decide to trade or not re-sign the pending free agent this summer.
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