Dion Phaneuf leads Toronto Maple Leafs to 3-1 win over Carolina Hurricanes
Defenceman Dion Phaneuf lit the lamp twice and James Reimer turned aside 36 shots, as the Toronto Maple Leafs thrashed the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at the RBC Centre on Wednesday night.
Phaneuf also dished out an assist, while Tyler Bozak tallied the other goal for Toronto, who are 5-0-2 in their last seven road games.
Phaneuf was pleased with his contribution in the victory. He said, "All year long I've been saying 'sometimes they go and sometimes they don't.' It was nice to get a couple in tonight and help the team take a big two points."
With this victory, the Maple Leafs moved into 10th place in the Easter Conference. They are now just two points behind ninth-place Carolina Hurricanes and four points adrift of eighth-place Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.
An excited Phaneuf said after the game, “They’re huge points for our team, and it’s a big win.”
Right winger Chad LaRose posted the lone goal for Carolina, who are just 1-4-1 in their last six games. Goaltender Cam Ward surrendered all three goals on 19 shots in the defeat.
Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice was disappointed that his side could not capitalise on the chances they had. He said after the game, "We're offensively frustrated out there right now. We have a bunch of chances at the net, but the pucks are sitting around
that crease and we just can't get them in."
Both teams notched power-play goals in the opening frame. The Hurricanes got the scoring started on the power-play in the 13th minute of the opening stanza when LaRose deflected a wrist shot from Brandon Sutter that beat Reimer.
With less than a minute left in the first frame, the Maple Leafs pulled even on the power-play, when Phaneuf ripped a one-timer from the high slot past Ward. Then Phaneuf broke the tie with his second power-play goal halfway through the middle stanza. He
fired a shot from the top of the right circle that went into the net for his seventh goal of the 2010-11 season.
Less than a minute later, the Maple leafs extended their lead to 3-1 with Tyler Bozak’s goal. The goal came when Darryl Boyce moved the disc into the zone down the left wing and passed to Bozak, who tucked the puck home.
The Maple Leafs held onto the lead the rest of the way. Reimer stopped 10 shots in the middle frame and 15 more in the final frame to seal the win.
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