Phil Kessel helps Toronto Maple Leafs to 2-1 win over New York Islanders
Phil Kessel lit the lamp late in the final frame, as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Clarke MacArthur also found the net and James Reimer stopped 28 shots for Toronto, who have won three of four contests.
Maple Leafs head Coach Ron Wilson praised James after the game. He said, "I think the key to the game for us was definitely James in goal. He played great, made himself big, and the goal they scored, he had no chance on it."
Matt Moulson netted for the sixth time in his last three contests, but it was not enough to give New York a third straight victory. Al Montoya made 23 saves in the losing effort.
The game got off to a blazing start, as both teams repeatedly turned the puck over, but the sides were unable to create goal-scoring opportunities. Just a few seconds into the game, Montoya needed to stop a shot from Joffrey Lupul, who rushed in on a short
breakaway that was the result of a turnover.
That pace remained for the first 10 minutes, and the Maple Leafs got the scoring started shortly thereafter. The goal came when MacArthur led a 2-on-1 rush with Nikolai Kulemin into the New York zone. Kulemin then sent a pass to his right for MacArthur,
who fired a shot over the goalie's shoulder into the upper right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Islanders responded to tie the game at 1-1 just eight minutes into the middle session. While on the power play, Moulson stole the puck near the crease, moved into the slot and blasted a backhander into the net.
With time winding down, Kessel sealed the win at 2-1 when he skated with the disc into the Islanders zone along the left side of the ice. After crossing the blue line, he cut to the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Montoya, who did not seem to be screened
on the play.
A dejected Montoya said after the game, "We needed that one bounce to go our way. The puck wasn't going in the net for us tonight. I knew I was going to have to shut the door, and they came down and they got a good break."
Reimer then made nine saves in the final frame to seal the win for Toronto.
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