We start the three-game sweep of the NHL in Toronto where the Maple Leafs finally ended an 11-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. After weeks of raking the Leafs it’s an opportunity to get them in the win column here.
James Reimer made 31 saves to win for first time in a month.
James Reimer stopped 31 in win over Oilers – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“It feels really good, that feeling at the end of the game when you have battled for 60 minutes and you’re able to come out with a win — especially after the adversity we have faced — it’s a good feeling,” Reimer said. “It’s a relief, and you feel really good about yourself. I thought right from the get-go we came out to play.”
Reimer lost a shutout when Luke Gazdic scored with just under three seconds left in the game.
“I think the guys were fighting hard, especially in the final 10 minutes when the game is out of hand and the only thing you are playing for is the shutout,” Reimer said. “It’s too bad we didn’t get it, but that is a team stat. Obviously we’re just happy with the win. The guys wanted to get the shutout for me, but we’ll save that for another night.”
The Leafs are 2-11-1 under head coach Peter Horachek.
“Some of those games we felt like we should have won, and we did it to ourselves, so this is a good feeling,” Horachek said. “All four lines I thought played pretty well. We got a little loose at times when we got the lead. I thought the guys wanted a bigger lead, and sometimes that is good, but you’ve got to keep playing the same way. Reimer made some big saves.”
It was a disappointing effort for the Oilers.
“There was a lot of standing around, especially in the defensive zone,” Edmonton captain Andrew Ference said. “It was unbelievable how much gliding there was and letting them have extra seconds to make plays. We’re moving quicker in (the dressing room) now than we did on the ice.”
In Vancouver, the Pittsburgh Penguins were looking to sweep a western Canada road trip but stumbled out of Vancouver with a 5-0 loss hung on their necks.
Alexandre Burrows, Daniel Sedin (power play goals), Bo Horvat, Shawn Matthias and Zack Kassian scored for the Canucks.
“We have to realize we are a four-line team, every guy gets their minutes,” Daniel Sedin said. “If guys aren’t ready at the start of the game, it’s going to look like it did last game. If we are ready, we play like we did today. That’s the difference.”
Ryan Miller made 31 saves for the shutout.
“Really the turning point was we seemed to get momentum early in the second and didn’t get the goal and they come back the other way and make it 3-0,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “If we get that first one and make it 2-1, it might have been different.”
The Canucks were coming off a brutal loss to the Sharks who defeated them 5-1.
“The guys did a great job,” Miller said. “[We] really limited their shots.”
In Montreal, the New Jersey Devils were riding high and Habs were on a low note after losing to two of the lowest clubs in the league. The Devils got on the board first with a marker from former Canadiens Mike Cammalleri.
But from there it was all Montreal who outscored the Devils 6-1 from that point to win 6-2.
PK Subban picked up a cut lip and 3 assists in win over Devils – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
P.K. Subban took a stick to the lip in the first period, left for stitches and returned to record three straight assists as the Habs responded to Cammalieri’s goal with a 3-1 lead.
“It probably looked a lot worse than it was, but it was an accidental high stick,” Subban said. “It’s just tough. I hate when I get hit in the face, but I’m fine.”
But then Subban really sold the infraction too.
“It was off the faceoff and [Zubrus] was reaching,” Devils co-coach Lou Lamoriello said. “Whether he could have taken another stride or not, you still can’t get your stick up that high in that area, no matter what. You can’t accept those. Those are not good penalties.”
The Habs coaching staff got what they wanted out of the team, more aggressive play after two terrible losses.
“We asked our team to be aggressive [Saturday] and we worked on throwing pucks at the net this week,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “And I think the guys concentrated on putting pucks at the net, with the result we ended up scoring six goals, but I liked our aggressiveness.”
Keith Kinkaid was in net for New Jersey and made 38 saves in the loss.
“They were moving it around pretty good, moving to different places and finding those seams and those openings,” Kinkaid said. “Their power play was good.”
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