Tim Connolly gets deciding overtime winner for Toronto Maple Leafs over Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 –NHL
Toronto continued to move up in the Eastern Conference while Carolina was pushed down to the bottom of the division at number 15 with 23 points as Tim Connolly lifted the Maple Leafs over the struggling Hurricanes, 2-1, by making the overtime deciding shot on Tuesday night, December 13, 2011, at the sold-out Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It is not surprise that Carolina has been struggling ever since the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season kicked off and now they are facing the consequences by being beneath the New York Islanders at the lowest position, even after the management fired their head coach, Paul Maurice, a few days ago.
"Over his career, when he is healthy he has been a very good player, and that's the goal here -- to keep him healthy [so] he doesn't have to play much, he plays 15 or 16 minutes," Wilson said, talking about Connolly. "Having him [Mikhail] Grabovski and [Tyler] Bozak in the lineup and playing with different people, we've got a little bit of balance in terms of scoring.
After two scoreless periods in the game, Tim Connolly potted his first of the night and fifth of the regular season with less than five minutes remaining in the third and final period of regulation, which triggered a wild roar from the home crowd as the Maple Leafs were preparing for victory.
However, as time passed and the last two minutes came into play, Alexei Ponikarovsky took advantage of a late power play and brought Carolina right back in the contest by forcing overtime.
Tim Connolly showed that he was not about to give up and came back with another, this time being the game-winner, 44 seconds into overtime, to take the match.
Toronto played well entering the overtime extension by having three attempts as soon as they came in and kept the puck in Carolina's defensive end.
The Maple Leafs will be looking to continue with this momentum when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, while the Carolina Hurricanes will be hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
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