The sweep of the NHL schedule starts in Toronto where the Maple Leafs broke out of their 11-game skid recently and were hosting the New York Rangers, a team whom they had beaten twice this season.
Mats Zuccarello scored twice in win over Leafs – File photo by Jack Lima
Tuesday night was the Mats Zuccarello show as he scored twice including the game-winner late in the third period.
“When you have Nash coming down the ice with you, and he has 30 goals and I have just seven (now 10), there is a better chance for our team [to score] if he gets the puck,” Zuccarello said. “Sometimes I shoot the puck and good things happen like tonight. I know I should shoot more and I have been trying to, but sometimes if I see a pass I am going to make the pass.”
Morgan Rielly scored twice for the Leafs who never led in the game but rallied three times to tie the score.
“We’re not happy with the way the game went in terms of the way the game was played,” Rielly said. “We didn’t play our style, but we didn’t give up and we gave ourselves a chance to win. We just weren’t able to execute at the end, but that’s hockey. Going forward I think we can be happy with the way we worked. That is important.”
The Rangers Dan Boyle opened the scoring with a shot from the high slot that beat James Reimer early in the first.
“We got off to a good start tonight, and then when they battled back we pushed back,” Boyle said. “It starts our trip off on the right foot and gives us something to build on. It builds the confidence and hopefully it is contagious and the confidence grows and we start playing better.”
In Montreal, the Canadiens needed a late goal and a marker in extra time to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1.
“Honestly, we had a slow start,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “But at the start of the second period I saw the intensity and the compete level was there for us, and we kept pressing the game and pushing, and this is a group of guys that refuse to lose. They’re going to push. They show a lot of character and again they found a way to win that game.”
Carey Price made 23 saves for the win.
Outshot in the first period, the Habs ramped up the offense in the following periods and OT.
“That’s been our philosophy these last few games, is just try and funnel pucks towards the net, just find ways to pick up those loose pucks,” Price said. “That’s been our bread and butter over the last couple of games and it’s been working.”
David Desharnais notched the game-winner with less than two minutes left in overtime.
In Boston, the visiting Dallas Stars handed the Bruins a tough 5-3 loss that hampered the B’s push up the east.
Three shorthanded goals were scored in the, two by Dallas.
“It was a different type of game when it comes to, you know, three shorthanded goals in the game,” Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. “It looked like Boston was making a push when Daley scored his shorthanded goal.
“It kind of turned the momentum back in our favor and I thought we played a pretty smart game after that.”
Boston rallied in the second period to erase a 3-1 first period deficit. But the Trevor Daley scored shorthanded to give the lead back to the Stars heading into the third.
“It was just a terrible effort, and you know it’s something that we need to get right and we don’t have that much time,” Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara said. “We have to turn this thing around really quickly. That’s unacceptable to be getting scored on twice [shorthanded] in one game. And it’s obviously in a crucial time in the game, so we need to be better.”
Erik Cole closed out the scoring with an empty net goal in the third.
“It’s just hard work and determination,” Jamie Benn said about Dallas’ shorthanded scoring. “I thought [Fiddler] had a great shot there and then Daley just didn’t give up on the play and found way to score that second one there.”
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