Edmonton Oilers left wing Taylor Hall (left) and Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (second left) of Switzerland end up in the net during the third period of their NHL game in Anaheim, California, yesterday.
TORONTO: Phil Kessel couldn’t have picked a better time to end his nine-game goal-scoring drought.
The veteran forward scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers yesterday to open an important home-and-home series between the Eastern Conference rivals.
Toronto remained fifth in the East but moved four points ahead of idle Ottawa with its fifth win in six games. The Leafs also lead ninth-place New Jersey by eight points as they look to cement their first play-off berth since 2003-04.
“It has been a while,” Kessel said. “You just learn they (goals) will come eventually.
“It was an important game for us, it moved us up a couple more points up in the standings. (A playoff berth) is still far away, we still have nine games left so we have to focus on these last nine games and play well and hopefully get in.”
The victory was also redemption for Toronto, which couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead against New York at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 26 en route to dropping a 5-2 decision.
And they did it in dramatic fashion as New York erased a 3-1 deficit with third-period goals from Rick Nash and Derek Stepan.
Stepan made it 3-3 at 9:00, converting a 2-on-1 break for his 14th of the season just as Toronto’s power play expired. Kessel put Toronto back ahead just 39 seconds later with his 12th of the season.
What really impressed Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle was his club’s ability to defend the one-goal lead late in the game.
“I thought in tonight’s hockey game and specifically in the last five or six minutes that’s probably as well as we’ve defended and played in a tense situation with a one-goal lead,” he said. “We did a lot of things right ... there were a few crazy bounces in our zone we’d like to have back but, hey, we won the hockey game.
“We’re not going to critique it, I just thought our group played extremely hard, they were determined and we had a contribution from everybody.”
Especially Kessel and linemate James van Riemsdyk, who also scored and added an assist.
“Anytime you can get your big guns going in a crucial game that’s a nice sign for your hockey club,” Carlyle said.
Van Riemsdyk would like to follow it up with another gritty performance today when Toronto visits New York.
“We got the first one here and that’s huge,” he said. “But we’ve got to make sure we finish the job today.
“It’s going to be a tough game, we know they’re going to be a desperate team and that’s the way we need to play if we want to be successful.”
The Rangers remain tied with the idle New York Islanders for seventh in the East with 42 points.
“I thought the most important part was when we tied it 3-3 we didn’t play with it,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “We can’t have a breakdown like that two shifts after we tie the game.
“I think if we play with the tie and keep going about our business as we were, we have a much better chance to win the hockey game. I actually didn’t think we were that bad. We had some breakdowns, but I don’t think we were that bad tonight.”
Ryan O’Byrne also scored for Toronto, now 11-7-2 at home.
Nash finished with two goals for New York, which fell to 7-10-2 on the road this season.
Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks already were enjoying an outstanding season, and then they added veteran Radek Dvorak to the mix.
Judging by what he’s contributed in such a short time, he could help put them over the top.
Dvorak scored two goals for the Ducks in a 2-1 victory over the sputtering Edmonton Oilers yesterday.
The 36-year-old right wing has three goals in his first five games since leaving his team in Switzerland and signing with Anaheim as a free agent on March 26.
“You never know. I mean, he’s 36 years old, it’s a shortened season and he’d already signed to play somewhere else,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.
“But I know he brings a wealth of experience, he knows how to play in a tight game and he can still skate. The goals are a bonus - and tonight they were a super bonus. But we’ll take them.”
Agencies
