Jonas Gustavsson the hero as Toronto Maple Leafs see off Winnipeg Jets with 4-0 win - NHL Recap
The Toronto Maple Leafs consolidated their position for the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets as goal tender Jonas Gustavsson got just the second shutout of his career at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are now seventh in the National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference with a 20-15-5 record and 45 points, two points shy of the Jets who are 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 19-16-5 record.
The 4-0 score-line makes it look as if the Maple Leafs got an easy win over their Canadian rivals but that was not the case with the Jets pounding Gustavsson goal repeatedly for a breakthrough. Gustavsson however, was on song throughout the game saving all
24 Jets shots to secure a shutout and with the Maple Leafs offense at the other end scoring four goals sealing the Jets fate.
The goal tender was modest about the performance after the game and said that he was just concentrating on performing well to keep his spot in the side.
"I don't try to think so much about it," said Gustavsson. "Just when I get the chance I try to make the most of it, have fun and enjoy it. Go out and play and try to get two points. If you do that and you play good, chances are you're going to play again."
Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson praised Gustavsson’s Man of the Match performance after the game.
"He was solid, very professional tonight," said Wilson.
Toronto dominated possession of the puck throughout the game but faced a few tense moments when the Jets caught them on the counterattack.
The Maple Leafs got first blood five minutes into the first period through Phil Kessel’s 23rd goal of the season with left wing Joffrey Lupul on the assist.
Toronto doubled the lead early in the second period with Tim Connolly doing the honours at 1:22 with his seventh goal of the season. Joey Crabb got the assist.
The Maple Leafs seemed to be cruising to a win but the Jets were not yet out and late in the second period created some dangerous moments as they looked for an opportunity to get back into the game. Gustavsson however, was not about to let that happen and
made some brilliant saves to keep the Maple Leafs two goal lead intact.
"They skated harder, we didn't have the puck enough," said Jets coach Claude Noel. "We didn't start with the puck enough and we chased them for half the game. ... We had too many turnovers in our zone. We created a lot of our own issues."
Toronto survived the onslaught and Mikhail Grabovski further secured his side’s lead with the third goal of the game. Grabovski scored at 3:38 in the third period and the Maple Leafs finished off the game at 10:37 with Clarke MacArthur scoring the fourth
and final goal on the powerplay.
The victory puts the Toronto Maple Leafs in a good position to continue their push for a spot in the playoffs round.
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