Leafs Acquire Fabian Brunnstrom

The Maple Leafs have acquired right winger Fabian Brunnstrom from the Dallas Stars in exchange for prospect Mikhail Stefanovich.

The 25-year old Brunnstrom has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) and 16 penalty minutes in 37 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars. He is a former internet sensation who was pursued by over 25 NHL teams after tearing up the Swedish Elite League during the 2007-08 season.

Brunnstrom began his career with a bang by scoring a hat trick in his first NHL game. After posting a 29-point rookie campaign, he has bounced around between the Stars and their affiliate in Texas. In 99 career games, Brunnstrom has 19 goals and 40 points.

Heading to Dallas is 21-year old center Mikhail Stefanovich, who began the season with the Toronto Marlies, but was loaned to Minsk Dynamo of the KHL. He has only 1 goal in 15 games this season after going pointless in two games with the Marlies. The 6-foot-2 forward was once touted as a potential top six forward with finishing abilities, but his development has stalled in the Leafs organization.

At first glance, the trade appears to be fairly even for both teams in terms of player output this season and overall potential. Both players are capable of being serviceable NHL’ers, but some wonder if Stefanovich will ever return to North America, so this deal could end up paying long term dividends for Toronto.

Brunnstrom has one season left on his contract at $675,000 before becoming a restricted free agent next summer. Stefanovich has two more years remaining on his deal at $775,000 per year.

Kaberle Notches Four Assists in Rout of Thrashers

Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur each scored a pair of goals in the Leafs 9-3 routing of the Atlanta Thrashers at the Phillips Arena Friday night. Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong also added tallies, while Tomas Kaberle notched four assists from the backend.

Tobias Enstrom opened the scoring on a wrist shot past Leafs goaltender James Reimer for his eighth of the season. Toronto tied the game at 9:43 of the first period when Versteeg snapped his 12th from the top of the circle and went far side on Ondrej Pavelec.

Mikhail Grabovski extended his goal scoring streak – 12 goals in his past 14 games – late in the second period by tucking in his 16th at the side of the Thrashers net on the power play to give the Leafs a 2-1 advantage heading into the second period.

After a slow start to the season and injury troubles, Colby Armstrong has finally regained his form at the mid-point of the season. He buried his fifth of the season, with assists from Versteeg and Kaberle.

Armstrong’s goal was the beginning of the Leafs offensive supremacy over the Thrashers in the second period. Toronto scored five goals within a six-minute span, including three on the man advantage. Nikolai Kulemin finished off his 14th and 15th goals, respectively, with one coming on the power play. MacArthur also had two goals with the extra man and added an assist on Grabovski’s second goal.

Ben Eager received a match penalty for deliberate injury by sucker punching Armstrong in the Leafs defensive end when the Leafs were leading 5-1. On a negative note, Armstrong left the game and did not return. It gave the Leafs a five-minute power play and jumpstarted their dominance over the suddenly not-so ‘Hot’lanta. Eager took an astounding 17 minutes in penalties throughout the game.

Phil Kessel fired a wrist shot between the legs of Chris Mason – who was inserted into the game in relief of Pavelec – to put the Leafs up 9-1 early in the third period.

Atlanta pushed back in the third period with goals by Patrice Cormier and Andrew Ladd. However, it was far too late for any sort of comeback. Cormier sniped his first career NHL goal past Reimer at 14:09 on a turnover by Dion Phaneuf in the defensive zone. Ladd’s goal was his 14th, with assists from Bryan Little and Niclas Bergfors.

Francois Beauchemin recorded his second straight multi-point game with two assists. Carl Gunnarsson, Mike Komisarek and Tyler Bozak also tallied helpers.

The Thrashers outshot Toronto 44-34 overall, including a 20-6 advantage in the third period. Reimer turned aside 41 saves in another impressive appearance by the rookie. He is making a strong case to replace Jean-Sebastien Giguere as the Leafs backup goaltender to Jonas Gustavsson.

Toronto will have a well-deserved two-day break before taking on the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center on Monday night. The Leafs conclude their current four-game road trip next Saturday against the Calgary Flames.

Leafs Singing the Blues in Shootout Win Over St. Louis

The Toronto Maple Leafs looked to snap a four-game losing streak at home tonight as they welcomed the St. Louis Blues to town. It was the first meeting between the two teams since February 12, 2009 and the Blues first visit to Toronto since October 13, 2008. St. Louis has won the last two games by a combined score of 9-4.

Neither team is known for its offense, especially considering the Blues only have two players who have scoring in the double digits in goals. Both teams exploded for 10 goals in total, including the shootout winner by Tyler Bozak.

Phil Kessel regained his early season form with two goals on the night, while fellow forwards Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong had a goal and an assist each, and defenceman Francois Beauchemin had a pair of assists.

Armstrong opened the scoring 15 seconds into the game after Versteeg’s wrist shot deflected off his back. The goal won’t be appearing on the highlight reels anytime in the near future, but it gave the Leafs the early start that they have been struggling to accomplish this season. Darryl Boyce was also credited with an assist, to give him two helpers on the season and three points in total.

The Blues responded just three-and-a-half minutes later when ex-Maple Leaf Alex Steen fired a low, quick shot past Jonas Gustavsson for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.

Later in the first, David Backes built on the Blues lead by capitalizing on a rebound for his 11th goal of the season and second point of the game at 9:46. Matt D’Agostini created the play that led to a glaring rebound by Gustavsson.

Mikhail Grabovski continued his excellent play by sniping his team-leading 15th goal and his 10th goal in his past 13 games. Fellow forward Clarke MacArthur dished the puck to Grabovski in the slot to earn his 20th assist

The offense came in droves as Versteeg and Kessel scored within two minutes of one another midway through the second period to continue the Leafs hard fought comeback over St. Louis.

Armstrong won a battle behind the Blues net and set up a well-positioned Versteeg, who was untouched in the slot. Following Kessel’s goal, Jaroslav Halak was pulled after surrendering four goals on 20 shots. Backup goalie Ty Conklin — who stopped 11 of 12 Leafs shots in the contest — came in to relieve Halak.

The goaltending chance didn’t stop the Leafs’ offensive outburst. Kessel scored his second of the game and 16th of the season on a breakaway by snapping the puck under Conklin’s arm. Kessel has seven points in his past five games and his two-goal effort gives him the sole possession of the team lead.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson emphasized that the Leafs needed to built a multiple goal lead heading into the second intermission, so they could avoid suffering another comeback at the hands of sloppy third period play.

In a comeback reminiscent of the Team Canada breakdown last night at the World Junior Championships, the Leafs surrendered three goals — from Brad Winchester, Eric Brewer and Matt D’Agostini — in a seven minute span to force overtime.

After regulation, the Blues outshot the Leafs, 44-31. After a scoreless overtime, St. Louis took a 2-1 lead in the shootout on goals by Steen and Brad Boyes. Grabovski tied it with a spinorama move that will surely be talked about and replayed for days to come. Timely saves in the shootout by Gustavsson on D’Agostini and Boyes, along with goals from Versteeg and Bozak lifted the Leafs to their 15th win of the season.

Despite the meltdown in the third period, the Leafs had a strong start to tonight’s game and received balance scoring from all of its forwards. Luke Schenn and Mike Komisarek were solid on defence, with consistent physical play and shot blocking throughout the game. The Leafs managed to be physical without taking any undisciplined penalties as Dion Phaneuf took the Leafs only penalty of the game when he was called for hooking at 4:48 of the second period. Gustavsson looked shaky at times and appeared to fight the puck, but he stepped up when it mattered in the shootout.

Toronto flies out tonight following the game to Atlanta for a meeting with the Thrashers Friday night. The Thrashers won the last meeting between the two teams, 6-3, on December 20th in Toronto. Wilson has yet to announce his starting goaltender for the game.

Teams Lining Up for Versteeg

Speculation regarding Kris Versteeg's future with the Maple Leafs organization came in to question Saturday, when CBC insider Pierre Lebrun reported during the second intermission that Leafs management had received a “hard offer” for the young forward that forced them to strongly consider pulling the trigger.

Brian Burke declined the rumoured offer, but he has told other teams what was included in the initial trade proposal to determine the level of interest and market value for a player of his ilk. He is also putting feelers out to see if another team will exceed the shot-down deal and sweeten it for Toronto.

Burke told members of the Toronto media on Sunday that “We’re not shopping him.” But that doesn’t mean that other teams aren’t interested. It is believed that the Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers have also expressed their interest in acquiring Versteeg, according to ESPN.

Both teams are looking to upgrade their offense in hopes of gaining ground in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Atlanta currently sits in sixth in the east with 48 points in 42 games, while the Florida Panthers are only five games back with 38 points.

Atlanta and Florida have something very interesting in common, which could further propel rumors that Versteeg could be headed to either city. Both teams are managed by former Chicago Blackhawks executives, where Versteeg played last year.

Dale Tallon, the former Blackhawks GM holding the same position in Florida now, brought Versteeg to Chicago in a 2007 trade with the Boston Bruins. He gave him an opportunity to play in the NHL, after leading the Providence Bruins in scoring a year earlier.

Tallon has seen his progression from a one-time AHLer, all the way to a bona fide top six forward and Stanley Cup champion. The Panthers have some intriguing assets that could be offered up to Toronto, including the likes of David Booth and Toronto native Stephen Weiss. Considering the Leafs are seeking a number one centre, Weiss is a potential candidate to fit the bill. Weiss has more potential than Versteeg, so the Leafs would likely have to include one of their high end defensive prospects from the Toronto Marlies to make a deal happen.

The Atlanta Thrashers have more pieces in play which could interest the Leafs, including Niclas Bergfors, who has been on the trade block for several weeks.

Versteeg, who has 23 points in his past 26 games, is not likely to be traded by the Leafs. Although Burke has let it be known that he is open for business and willing to accept an offer if it blows him away. Versteeg is a very skilled, versatile winger who can inject offensive into a contending team.

At only $3.08 million, there are at least a dozen teams who are lining up for Versteeg. If the right price comes across Burke’s desk, the Leafs will pull the trigger and help restock the cupboard with prospects who can compete for roster spots down the road. If that doesn't occur, he will be an integral role in the Leafs mix of top six forwards during the rebuilding process.

Bruins Defeat Leafs 2-1 in Original Six Matchup

The Maple Leafs returned home to the Air Canada Centre tonight to face off against Original Six rival Boston Bruins. Toronto was looking to record its second consecutive win for the first time since December 14, 2010. Boston was coming off a disastrous 7-6 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

Each team traded chances in the first period, with quality goaltending from both teams shutting the door through the first half of the opening frame. Leafs’ goalie James Reimer made a superb sliding save on Bruins forward Michael Ryder early in the first to keep the score tied at zero.

Mikhail Grabovski opened the scoring at 14:08 of the first period after Luke Schenn fired a backhand past over the Bruins defence to spring the streaking Grabovski on a breakaway. He made no mistake by fooling Tuukka Rask on a nice move, before sliding the puck through his legs.

Nathan Horton tied the game at one at 7:56 of the second period after receiving a pass from Dennis Seidenberg and snapping a wrist shot from the slot over the shoulder of a screened Reimer. It was Horton’s 12th goal of the season and first of two points in the game.

Toronto outshot Boston 11-7 through the first period, but the Bruins dominated the Leafs in the second with a 17-8 advantage. Marc Savard was accessed with a roughing penalty at 10:35 of the second period, which Boston managed to kill off. Savard returned the next shift and one-timed his second goal of the season from the point, with assists from Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic.

Reimer was solid in defeat, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced, although Rask had the slight edge in net with 36 saves. The 23-year old continued his dominance against the Leafs over his career.

The Leafs defence trumped their Bruins counterparts in blocking shots with a 28 to 16 block edge. Toronto also edged the Bruins in shots with 37, compared to the Bruins 33.

Toronto’s record falls to 14-20-4 after tonight’s loss. They still sit in 13th place with 32 points in 38 games. They Leafs continue their homestand on Thursday when they host the St. Louis Blues, in their first matchup of the season. The Blues defeated Toronto 4-0 in their only meeting last season.

Leafs Victorious In the Nation's Capital

The Leafs began the new year on a positive note with a convincing 5-1 victory over their division rival Ottawa Senators Saturday night. Looking to erase memories from a disappointing year in 2010, Toronto received balanced scoring from its top two lines and excellent goaltending from an inexperienced freshman in James Reimer.

Clarke MacArthur opened the scoring at 1:57 of the first period, by launching a slap shot from the right circle over Senators goalie Brian Elliott. MacArthur capitalized on a rebound generated from a Tomas Kaberle point shot.

Tyler Bozak gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead midway through the first period on his sixth goal of the season. Phil Kessel started the play at the blueline in the Leafs zone after Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson coughed up the puck while entering the zone. Kessel forced a 3-on-2 break and initiated a skilful setup with line mate Joey Crabb.

Three minutes later, Bozak built on the lead with his seventh of the season and second of the game. It was the first multi-goal game of his young career. Joey Crabb and Phil Kessel were credited with the assists. The newly recalled Crabb has four points – all assists – in five games with Toronto this season. Kessel’s assist gives him 11 on the season, along with 14 goals. It was his sixth multi-point effort of the campaign and second time in the past three games.

Elliott was pulled from the Senators net after three Toronto goals within a span of 13 minutes in the first period. Mike Brodeur replaced him in his first appearance with the Sens this season. That did not stop the powerful Toronto attack, which posted two more goals in a two-and-a-half minute span in the second period.

Darryl Boyce banged his first career NHL goal past Brodeur on a rebound from Kris Versteeg. The 26-year old Boyce has only played in three games over his career, notching two points. Despite his injury troubles this season, Boyce earned a call up after Mikhail Grabovski was absent due to his expecting girlfriend.

“It’s just such a weight off my shoulders”, said Boyce. “I didn’t come in here expecting to score goals, but it’s just simple things like shot on net, drive the net, pick up a rebound, it was great.” When asked about playing with linemates Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong, Boyce said, “They are great guys to play with... Made it real easy out there.”

Luke Schenn scored his second goal on a point shot that beat Brodeur along the ice. There was traffic in front of the net, which fazed Brodeur on the play. Tomas Kaberle and Nikolai Kulemin earned helpers on the goal.

An ongoing feud between Colton Orr and Chris Neil throughout the game set the scene for a scrap between two hard-nosed players. Orr and Neil squared off at 12:26 of the third period, with the decision going to Orr after unloading a series of right fists on Neil. Both players received a 10-minute misconduct and were ejected from the game.

Senators powerplay quarterback Sergei Gonchar notched his fifth of the season with a solid one-timer from the point on the man advantage, with Erik Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson getting the assists.

The Senators outshot the Leafs 33-31, including 22-11 through the final 40 minutes. Reimer stopped 32 shots in his first appearance. Of those shots, 26 were even strength, while six were on the powerplay. He came within one save of recording his first shutout in his first career start in front of friends and family in attendance. Brodeur turned aside 12 of 14 shots after relieving Brian Elliott, who only had four saves in the first frame.

“It’s one of the best games I’ve been us play since I’ve been here”, Reimer said after the game.

The Leafs will tangle with the Boston Bruins on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre, in the third meeting of the season between the two teams. Jonas Gustavsson is likely to get the start in net, while Phil Kessel will look to get on the scoresheet against his former team.

Leafs End Calendar Year on a Losing Note

After experiencing a loss on Tuesday at the hands of Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes, the Maple Leafs welcomed another young team in the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are led by another Ontario-born player in Rick Nash.

Nash wasn’t as dominate in tonight’s performance as Staal on Tuesday, but he still managed to tally two assists, including one on the Jackets’ game winner scored by R.J. Umberger.

Nikolai Kulemin opened the scoring for Toronto with his 13th of the season on a beautifully set-up play by Clarke MacArthur, who picked up his 19th assist and team-leading 28th point of the season. Newly recalled forward Darryl Boyce capitalized on a pinching Blue Jackets defenseman and dished the puck to Kulemin, who play give and go with MacArthur and eventually tapped in the goal. The assist was Boyce’s first career NHL point.

“It was a great opportunity for me. I got lots of ice time tonight”, remarked Boyce after the game. “All around, I thought it was a good effort for the guys. [We] limited a couple chances on the PK and [had] a bad bounce in the corner, so just bad luck.”

Kristian Huselius evened the game at 16:46 of the second period with his seventh goal of the season by firing a wrist shot through the five hole of Jonas Gustavsson. Defenseman Jan Hedja and Antoine Vermette were credited with the assists on the play.

With 18 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Tyler Bozak snuck his fifth of the season over Steve Mason’s shoulder on the power play to give the Leafs a promising 2-1 lead going into the second period. Phil Kessel had the only assist, which was his fourth point in his last four games.

An unlikely break behind the net for Francois Beauchemin led to a quality scoring chance for Huselius, who capitalized on the play and scored his second of the contest. The puck deflected off of Beauchemin’s skate and slide to Huselius in front of the net, who backhanded a shot past Gustavsson. Rick Nash earned his first of two assists on the play, while Vermette was credited with the second assist to give him two points on the night.

The Blue Jackets outshot the Leafs 21-15 through two periods. Toronto had only three shots in the second. However, they managed to kill off two minor penalties to Joey Crabb and Dion Phaneuf. The Leafs scored on their only power play opportunity.

R.J. Umberger tipped in a Rick Nash shot from the hash marks for his 11th of the season and eventual game winner. The play was reminiscent of Patrick Dwyer’s game winning goal Tuesday versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson played a relatively solid game, stopping 29 of 32 shots, good for a 0.906 save percentage. He would have liked to have the first goal back, while the second one was the result of a fluky bounce behind the net. At the other end, Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason turned out 20 of 22 shots in a winning effort.

The Leafs displayed another good effort, but could not overcome the Jackets balanced offense. Tonight’s game summed up the entire season to date, which has been filled with more downs than ups.

A dismal 3-7-0 record in their past 10 games has many observers questioning whether another losing streak could spell the end to Ron Wilson’s tenure in Toronto. Regardless of a possible coaching chance, some type of transaction is on the horizon, according to GM Brian Burke, who has stated that he needs to give Wilson more skill to work with.

Toronto faces off against the provincial rival Ottawa Senators in a Saturday night showdown on the first day of 2011. The Senators are currently six points out of the playoffs with a 16-18-4 record, so it will represent the best opportunity for the Leafs to gain some ground in the Eastern Conference.

Leafs Storm Past Devils to a 4-1 Win

The Leafs snapped their three game winless streak tonight with a 4-1 decision over the New Jersey Devils in front of a small crowd, due to the heavy snow storm that hit New Jersey earlier today. The Devils announced that only 5,329 people were in attendance at the Prudential Centre. The PA Announcer in the building informed the fans in attendance that they were permitted to move down to seats closer to ice level.

Colby Armstrong opened the scoring for Toronto at 13:50 when he snapped his second of the season over the shoulder of Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur. John Mitchell was accessed with two consecutive infractions for high sticking and interference in the first period, but made up for it with his second of the season on a rebound created by Kris Versteeg. Carl Gunnarsson was credited with the second assist of the play.

A big hit by Dion Phaneuf in the defensive zone sparked Ilya Kovalchuk to initiate a rare fight with the aggressor. Phaneuf and Kovalchuk had been agitating one another throughout the game.

Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin gave his team a demanding 3-0 lead by firing a shot past Martin Brodeur for his 12th goal of the season. He is on pace for a career-best 29 goals and 54 points, far exceeding his previous best of 16 goals and 36 points one year ago. Devils backup goaltender Johan Hedberg entered the game in relief of Martin Brodeur, who surrendered 3 goals on 14 shots.

After killing off a penalty committed by Mikhail Grabovski, the Leafs had a 32-second 5-on-3 advantage with two Devils' forwards in the box. They managed to kill off both infractions to remain within three goals of Toronto.

Rod Pelley scored his first of the season on a powerplay, but Colby Armstrong's second of the game at 16:47 of the third period silenced the Devils. His shot squeeked through the legs of Johan Hedberg, who was in position to stop the shot, but left his five-hole open.

Jonas Gustavsson proved up to the task as the Leafs starting goaltender, stopping 29 of 30 shots he faced. The defense in front of him made several defensive zone errors, including reoccuring turnovers in the slot. However, the Leafs secondary scoring continued their consistent play. Kris Versteeg added two assists, while Clarke MacArthur earned one assist to give him 27 points in 34 games this season.

Toronto's next game is against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in Toronto. They are expected to stay over in New Jersey until tomorrow and return to Toronto once the Newark Airport re-opens following the torrid snowstorm that hit the entire area.

Game Day: Leafs vs. Devils

After enduring a disappointing 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Monday, the Maple Leafs (12-17-4) will look to snap their three-game losing streak when they face the struggling New Jersey Devils (9-23-2) tonight.

The last time these two teams met, on November 18th, Phil Kessel and Jonas Gustavsson led the Leafs to a 3-1 win over the Devils during their early-season slide, where they went winless in 11 of 13 games. Toronto is expecting those two players to step up tonight, with their playoff hopes quickly fading.

Speaking of the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils are on pace to miss the post-season for the first time in 13 seasons. They fired head coach John MacLean last Thursday and replaced him with former coach Jacques Lemaire, who will bring stability to the franchise and help patch the holes until a new coach is found.

Nazem Kadri returns to the Leafs lineup tonight, after being a healthy scratch for two straight games, and will play on the second line alongside Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. Jonas Gustavsson takes over the starting reins, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere watching from the sidelines with a tweaked groin. James Reimer got a taste on action last Monday, when he came in relief of Gustavsson. He is expected to start his first NHL game at some point this week.

Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has heated up recently, 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in his past 7 games. Despite his improved play as of late, Kovalchuk has only 18 points in 33 games, along with a league-worst -25 rating this season.

Dion Phaneuf and the rest of the Leafs defenseman will also focus on containing the Devils first line of Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and Jamie Langenbrunner. The trio has combined for 55 points this year.

Here are tonight’s lineups, courtesy of AM640 reporter Jonas Siegel:

Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards
Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Nazem Kadri – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Nikolai Kulemin – Tim Brent – Kris Versteeg
Fredrik Sjostrom – John Mitchell – Colton Orr

Defense
Francois Beauchemin – Dion Phaneuf
Tomas Kaberle – Luke Schenn
Carl Gunnarsson – Mike Komisarek
Ex. Brett Lebda

Goalies
Jonas Gustavsson
James Reimer

New Jersey Devils

Forwards
Patrik Elias – Travis Zajac – Jamie Langenbrunner
Ilya Kovalchuk – Jason Arnott – Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby – Brian Rolston – David Clarkson
Rod Pelley – Tom Sestito – Adam Mair

Defense
Colin White – Henrik Tallinder
Andy Greene – Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov – Anssi Salmela

Goalies
Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg

Puck drop is set for 7:00pm and can be seen on Leafs TV.

Leafs Drop Final Game of Western Road Trip to Canucks

After defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Tuesday and falling 5-2 to the Calgary Flames on Thursday, the Maple Leafs were looking to go 2-and-1 on their western Canadian road trip tonight against the Vancouver Canucks.

Entering the game, the Canucks were undefeated in their previous seven games against Toronto, dating back to 2003. The consistent play of Jonas Gustavsson, and secondary scoring from Clarke MacArthur and Mikhail Grabovski, gave Leaf fans some hope that their team could pull out a surprising win versus one of the league’s most dominant teams.

Both teams had a number of quality scoring chances in the first period, with the Leafs edging the Canucks 11-9 in shots through the first 20 minutes. It was a penalty filled affair – six minor penalties combined – that was capped off with a tap-in goal by Alexandre Burrows, for his sixth of the season. Kevin Bieksa earned his 4th of the season on the play, while Henrik Sedin was credited his 22nd assist of the campaign.

Toronto forward Kris Versteeg took an undisciplined slashing penalty at 11:33 of the second period. On his way to the penalty box, he expressed his frustration by mouthing off the ref. Versteeg was issued an unsportsmanlike penalty to give the Canucks a four minute powerplay and a prime opportunity to take a commanding lead. The 29th rank Toronto penalty kill managed to kill off the penalty and stay within one goal midway through the second period.

However, a giveaway by Phil Kessel at the Vancouver blueline caused an odd-man rush led by Jeff Tambellini, which eventually led to a beautifully set-up goal by Jannik Hansen. His third of the season was assisted by Ryan Kesler and Jeff Tambellini.

As the Canucks appeared to be pulling away, Mikhail Grabovski snapped home his 11th of the season and sixth goal in seven games to bring the Leafs within one. Clarke MacArthur dropped a pass to Grabovski in the high slot to set up a stoppable goal on Roberto Luongo. MacArthur’s assist evens his offensive totals to 16 assists and 25 total points in 32 games this season. Not bad for making only $1.1 million this season.

Christan Ehrhoff buried his 5th of the season on a shot from the point that squeaked through the five hole of Jonas Gustavsson. Jannik Hansen picked up an assist on the play for his second point of the game and ninth point of the season. Alexander Edler was also credited with an assist.

The Canucks ended any hope that the Leafs still had on an empty net marker by Henrik Sedin, who fought off two Leaf players to find the net. Despite scoring 27 points, only six of which are goals.

Roberto Luongo received first star honours in a 27-save performance. Ryan Kesler was tonight’s second star with an assist and an outstanding 66.7% success rate at the faceoff circle. A two-assist performance by Kevin Bieksa made him deserving of third star honours.

Toronto struggled mightily on faceoffs tonight, with Tyler Bozak recording the best success rate at only 37%. On a positive note, Clarke MacArthur continued his point streak with another assist, while Phil Kessel appears to be getting back on track. He led all Leaf shooters with six shots on net.

The Leafs will fly back to Toronto tonight and prepare for a Monday night matchup against the Atlanta Thrashers, who are 6-2-2 in their last ten games and currently sit in 2nd in the Eastern Conference. With Jean-Sebastien Giguere currently day-to-day with a pulled groin, Jonas Gustavsson will once against start between the pipes.