Phil Kessel shoots equaliser as Toronto Maple Leafs overtake Winnipeg Jets 4-3 -NHL Match Update
Toronto made a quick comeback nearly midway through the final period of regulation after being down, 3-1, in the second and made both shootout attempts as the Maple Leafs overtook the Winnipeg Jets, 4-3, Wednesday night at the sold-out Air Canada Centre
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Maple Leafs kept their near perfect record intact by winning their fourth matchup in a total of five contests. They have up until now, only lost against Colorado Avalanche, that too in an overtime extension.
"Things are really going our way right now -- we are getting some bounces, and we are playing well too", Joffrey Lupul said, who potted two points during the match. "But some of the goals we are getting now I don't expect to be getting throughout the entire
season. It's nice when things are rolling like this but there are still some things we can do better".
Coming out of their first win against a team like Pittsburgh Penguins after losing three straight, Winnipeg was expected to continue improving and showed resilience, which nearly paid off until the shootout.
For Jets head coach, Claude Noel, it is still too early to determine anything.
"I think it's a good thing, it gets us in a little rhythm", he said. "It's a little busy week for us -- we've got five games in eight days -- but that's OK, we didn't have too many games when we started”.
Tobias Enstrom scored the first putting Winnipeg ahead during the only penalty given by Toronto during the first. Joffrey Lupul fired off nearly two minutes later to level the match with his third of the season, set up by Phil Kessel.
Alex Burmistrov and Mark Scheifele gave the 19,000 plus crowd something to ponder about by ending the second period with Winnipeg having a 3-1 lead.
The crowd could not have been any louder when Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel scored back-to-back within 17 seconds of each other on two straight Winnipeg penalties as Zach Bogosian and Derek Meech went out with minors, giving Toronto a 5-on-3 man advantage
at one point.
Lupul and Matt Frattin scored on the last two Toronto attempts in the shootout after a scoreless overtime extension with Winnipeg missing on both to take the match.
Toronto will kick off its four-game road trip against Boston Bruins on Thursday, while Jets play their last game against Ottawa Senators on the road before returning home the same day.
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