Carolina Hurricanes edge past Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3
Patrick Dwyer scored in the dying minutes of the game, while Eric Staal chipped in with two goals, as the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Tuesday night. Hurricanes goalkeeper Cam Ward saved 34 shots to help his side break a three-game
losing streak.
Both teams started brightly and put together some brilliant attacking moves, and kept things tight in defence as well. It took the Hurricanes just eight minutes to take the lead, when Jeff Skinner opened the scoring for the visitors. Toronto responded quickly
and were on level terms in the 12th minute through Phil Kessel’s powerful strike.
The momentum continued to shift to and fro, and it was the Carolina Hurricanes who retook the lead through Eric Staal’s goal in the 15th minute. However the Maple Leafs leveled the scores again just a minute later, when Phil Kessel scored his second of the
night in the 16th minute. The Hurricanes finished the stronger of the two sides at the end of the opening quarter, when they scored in the final few seconds from Eric Staal’s powerful strike. The period ended with the Carolina Hurricanes leading 3-2, as they
made eight goal attempts, while the Toronto Maple Leafs had 11 goal attempts.
After a great start to the second period, the Hurricanes were unsettled by the strong offence of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carolina made a few attacks at the beginning, but the home team dominated in the middle and end of the period. Toronto was successful
in scoring what proved to be the only goal of the period, in the ninth minute through Mikhail Grabovski. The period saw the home team creating numerous scoring opportunities, but they were unable to take advantage. The second period ended with the scores level
at 3-3. During the course of the period the Carolina Hurricanes made seven goal attempts compared to Toronto’s 14.
During the final 20 minutes of play, both teams had their fair share of chances, as they made 12 goal attempts each. However, it was their finishing up front that was disappointing. The home team failed to score, while Carolina also kept on missing chances.
The away side was successful in scoring the only goal of the period in the 15th minute through Patrick Dwyer from a simple tip in shot. The period and the match ended with the Carolina Hurricanes winning 4-3. Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward was named the star
selection of the match, as he made 34 saves.
Tags: