Mikko Koivu registered a goal and two assists,
and the Minnesota Wild continued their recent strong play with a 4-2 win over
the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
Marek Zidlicky tallied a goal and an assist for the Wild, who have won four of
their last five games and recorded their first-ever victory in Toronto. Greg
Zanon and Martin Havlat also scored in the win, only Minnesota's second out of
10 road games this season.
"The first game of a road trip is always huge," Koivu said of the start to the
team's four-game trip. "It's easier to move on. We'll enjoy this one and head
to Tampa and get ready for the next one."
Niklas Backstrom made 37 stops for the Wild in the victory.
Alexei Ponikarovsky and Phil Kessel scored for Toronto, which had a seven-game
point streak (3-0-4) come to an end. Jonas Gustavsson allowed four goals on 30
shots in defeat, Toronto's first in three games.
"We played like it was Tuesday night," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "We
seem to struggle when it's not a Saturday night game at home. Emotionally, we
came out a little flat -- we were just content to move along. We got called
for a couple penalties in the first period; I thought their goal in the first
period was a little lucky."
The Wild got the game's first goal with 2:18 left in the opening period.
Havlat took a rebound and attempted a wraparound shot, and the puck bounced
off Gustavsson's leg and bounced into the net.
Toronto answered 26 seconds later on Ponikarovsky's wrist shot that beat the
netminder up high for a 1-1 game after the first period.
Minnesota got a 5-on-3 advantage early in the second period, and Zidlicky gave
the Wild a 2-1 lead on a slapshot from the point at 5:44.
Then, two goals in 26 seconds by the Wild gave the visitors a commanding 4-1
lead heading to the third. Koivu's fifth tally of the year made it a two-goal
game at the 17:29 mark, and Zanon netted his first of the season at 17:55 to
extend the advantage.
Kessel added a goal with just under two minutes to play to bring the Maple
Leafs to within two, but after pulling the goaltender with a 5-on-3 advantage
already in progress, Toronto was unable to get any closer.
Game Notes
This was the only meeting for these two teams this season...The Leafs are just
1-5-2 at home this season...Toronto defenseman Michael Komisarek left the game
with a lower body injury...The Leafs have still taken five of the eight all-
time meetings between the two clubs...Toronto's Tomas Kaberle had two assists.
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