Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler were happy to take advantage of the Toronto Maple Leafs' weak spot. The Winnipeg duo both scored on the power play in a 3-2 victory over the Leafs on Saturday that extended the Jets' winning streak to three games. Toronto was ranked 30th in the NHL in penalty killing heading into the game, which was its third straight loss.
WINNIPEG - Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler were happy to take advantage of the Toronto Maple Leafs' weak spot.
Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler scored power-play goals and the Winnipeg Jets won their third straight, 3-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Andrew Ladd also scored for Winnipeg and the crowd gave the players a standing ovation after the victory.
The Leafs have now lost three straight.
Toronto goalie James Reimer stopped 32 shots.
Jets winger Antti Miettinen, claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay on Dec. 13, picked up two assists for his first points with his new club.
Clarke MacArthur and Phil Kessel scored for Toronto, which fired 24 shots at Ondrej Pavelec.
Despite not getting their first shot on net until 7 minutes into the game, the Leafs finished the first period with a 1-0 lead on MacArthur's power-play goal.
Ten seconds after Ladd was put in the penalty box for high-sticking, Carl Gunnarsson sent the puck across the crease to MacArthur, who caught Pavelec out of position at 13:59 for his 11th goal of the season.
The Jets outshot the Leafs 15-8 in the opening period and 13-4 in the second.
Winnipeg jumped out to a 2-1 lead early in the second on goals by Bogosian and Ladd.
Bogosian got things going when he scored on the power play at 2:51. Then just 4 seconds after a Toronto penalty expired, Ladd tapped in a Kyle Wellwood pass from behind the net to make it 2-1 at 5:26.
Toronto's top sniper quickly made it 2-2 when Pavelec couldn't snag Kessel's shot with his outstretched glove at 7:07. It was Kessel's 21st of the season.
Wheeler broke the tie on a power play at 10:50 when a screened Reimer couldn't make the stop.
The Leafs doubled their shots on goal in the third period, but Pavelec held the line in his 32nd start of the season.
The Jets, who only play four games at home in January, hit the road for a four-game trip that starts Wednesday in Montreal.
The Leafs host their next four games, beginning with Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Winnipeg on Thursday.
NOTES: Jets forward Bryan Little (lower body) was placed on the injured list earlier in the day. ... Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury.
Zach Bogosian and Blake Wheeler scored power-play goals and the Winnipeg Jets won their third straight, 3-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Andrew Ladd also scored for Winnipeg and the crowd gave the players a standing ovation after the victory.
The Leafs have now lost three straight.
Toronto goalie James Reimer stopped 32 shots.
Jets winger Antti Miettinen, claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay on Dec. 13, picked up two assists for his first points with his new club.
Clarke MacArthur and Phil Kessel scored for Toronto, which fired 24 shots at Ondrej Pavelec.
Despite not getting their first shot on net until 7 minutes into the game, the Leafs finished the first period with a 1-0 lead on MacArthur's power-play goal.
Ten seconds after Ladd was put in the penalty box for high-sticking, Carl Gunnarsson sent the puck across the crease to MacArthur, who caught Pavelec out of position at 13:59 for his 11th goal of the season.
The Jets outshot the Leafs 15-8 in the opening period and 13-4 in the second.
Winnipeg jumped out to a 2-1 lead early in the second on goals by Bogosian and Ladd.
Bogosian got things going when he scored on the power play at 2:51. Then just 4 seconds after a Toronto penalty expired, Ladd tapped in a Kyle Wellwood pass from behind the net to make it 2-1 at 5:26.
Toronto's top sniper quickly made it 2-2 when Pavelec couldn't snag Kessel's shot with his outstretched glove at 7:07. It was Kessel's 21st of the season.
Wheeler broke the tie on a power play at 10:50 when a screened Reimer couldn't make the stop.
The Leafs doubled their shots on goal in the third period, but Pavelec held the line in his 32nd start of the season.
The Jets, who only play four games at home in January, hit the road for a four-game trip that starts Wednesday in Montreal.
The Leafs host their next four games, beginning with Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Winnipeg on Thursday.
NOTES: Jets forward Bryan Little (lower body) was placed on the injured list earlier in the day. ... Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury.
from Joseph Hall of the Toronto Star, So, in the latest tally, three Maple Leafs, two Senators and an injured superstar would man the starting lineup for the NHL all-star game as voted for by the fans.
To paraphrase Homer Simpson, when will they figure out that democracy doesn’t work in hockey?
No less an authority than former NHL journeyman Rory Fitzpatrick says there has to be a better way than this to pick players who are truly deserving of an all-star nod.
“It’s obviously flawed,” says Fitzpatrick, a workaday defenceman who was the unwilling beneficiary of a ballot-stuffing campaign in Vancouver five years ago. “You get guys that are injured or haven’t played and they’re at the top of the voting.
“And this year you have all the Senators and Leafs. There’s obviously something wrong.”
continued
Very often, when a player leaves the Buffalo Sabres, He finds greener pastures elsewhere.
Case in point: Tim Connolly
While he has been with his normal injury ways, Tim Connolly has netted six goals and 11 assists in 25 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In contrast, Ville Lenio, who also has had some injury issues, has only netted three goals and seven assists for the Buffalo Sabres, in 29 games.
Facing injuries from both players, Tim Connolly would have been the better choice, and the Toronto Maple leafs did good to sign him, on a mishap from the Buffalo Sabres.
The Leafs put a capper on what has been a year of increased hopes and expectation with their first visit to Winnipeg since 1996. Manitoba native James Reimer is making his sixth straight start, in spite of being yanked after giving up three goals on eight shots in Florida on Tuesday and allowing three goals in the third period and overtime in Raleigh on Thursday.
Toronto will be without forw...
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed center Tyler Bozak on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Bozak has been having a solid season with seven goals and 18 assists in 35 games.
He has an assist in Thursday's overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Toronto plays at Winnipeg on Saturday night.
Just shy of 40 games into the 2011-12 season and the Toronto Maple Leafs are exactly where many pundits thought they would be.
For some, it was in a playoff position—which the Maple Leafs are. For others, it was fighting for a playoff spot—which after tonight’s tilt against the Winnipeg Jets, might just be where the Maple Leafs are.
Either way, as good as the Maple Leafs have been, what it amounts to are results that are just a little north of mediocre. Case and point, the average NHL team has earned about 41 points. Through 37 games, the Maple Leafs have earned 41 points!
So, what will it take for the Maple Leafs to have a successful 2012?
For some, a successful season will only be so should the Maple Leafs make the playoffs. For others, a successful season would have to see the Buds win a playoff round, never mind just making the playoffs.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five things the Maple Leafs must do to be successful in 2012.
James Reimer Must Step Up His Game:
They ...
Many Toronto Maple Leaf fans were left scratching their heads on Christmas Day when the club’s general manager Brian Burke confirmed he had given coach Ron Wilson a contract extension. This is Wilson’s fourth year coaching the NHL’s most valuable franchise and he’s missed the playoffs in each of the first three seasons. The Leafs were hanging onto a playoff spot when the news was announced with an 18-13-4 record, but were just three points ahead of the ninth-place Winnipeg Jets. In fact, there are seven teams behind Toronto that could possibly take their playoff spot as they’re all within nine points of them. As well as missing the playoffs with Toronto each year, Wilson’s clubs have had the worst penalty killing in the league since he took over behind the bench. They’re 30th and last again this year in that department and were 28th last season, and dead last in his first two seasons as well. As far as goals against go, the club is sixth-las...