GAME THREAD: NHL: NY ISLANDERS (3-1) at TORONTO (1-3)

By Jeff Lieberman
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


TORONTO (Ticker) -- On an historic night for captain Mats Sundin,Matt Stajan and the Toronto Maple Leafs had redemption on theirminds.


Two days after getting embarrassed by the Carolina Hurricanes,Stajan recorded a goal and three assists as the Maple Leafsrolled to an 8-1 triumph over the New York Islanders onThursday.


In the victory, Sundin became the franchise leader in goals andpoints, passing Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler in both categorieswith a tally in the third period.


Toronto came out with much more intensity than in its 7-1 losson Tuesday, recording 15 shots in the first period and 12 morein the middle session. It built a 2-0 lead less than eightminutes into the contest on tallies by Nik Antropov anddefenseman Ian White and never looked back.


The Islanders halved the deficit on a power-play goal by RuslanFedotenko with 6:17 to go in the first, but defenseman TomasKaberle began a string of six consecutive tallies by the MapleLeafs at 7:15 of the second that put away the game.

Stajan netted a shorthander and Alex Steen scored on a breakawayin the final minute of the session. Defenseman AndrewWozniewski tallied 2 1/2 minutes into the third to make it 6-1,but the biggest ovation came at 9:54, when Sundin secured a fewspots in the franchise's record book.


Needing one goal and one point to pass Sittler for first placein club history in both categories, Sundin accomplished the featwhen his backhand pass attempt from along the left wing boardscaromed off New York defenseman Brendan Witt and past goaltenderWade Dubielewicz. Sundin, who has 390 tallies and 917 pointsas a Maple Leaf, was given an assist on Kaberle's goal but hadit correctly removed early in the third period.


Simon Gamache, who also had an assist, capped the scoring with apower-play goal later in the final session.


Darcy Tucker and defenseman Pavel Kubina had two assists apieceand Andrew Raycroft made 30 saves for Toronto, which snapped athree-game losing streak against New York.

 

NHL: NY ISLANDERS at TORONTO

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
NY ISLANDERS 1
TORONTO 8</div>

 

NHL: NY ISLANDERS at TORONTO

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Ny Islanders 1 0 0 --1
Toronto 2 3 3 --8
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Nik Antropov 3 (power play) (Pavel
Kubina, Darcy Tucker), 2:51. 2, Toronto, Ian White 2 (Darcy Tucker,
Matt Stajan), 7:49. 3, Ny Islanders, Ruslan Fedotenko 2 (power play)
(Bruno Gervais, Mike Comrie), 13:43. Penalties: M Sillinger, Nyi
(hooking), 1:04; M Comrie, Nyi (tripping), 8:38; W Belak, Tor
(roughing), 11:44; J Tambellini, Nyi (interference), 13:51; S
Bergenheim, Nyi (tripping), 17:17.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 2 (Jason Blake),
7:15. 5, Toronto, Matt Stajan 3 (shorthanded) (Nik Antropov, Pavel
Kubina), 17:33. 6, Toronto, Alex Steen 1 (Unassisted), 19:21.
Penalties: B Witt, Nyi (high sticking), 5:41; D Tucker, Tor (holding),
6:40; S Gamache, Tor (interference), 9:41; J Tambellini, Nyi
(hooking), 12:41; A Steen, Tor (hooking), 16:28; M Sundin, Tor
(holding), 18:39; M Comrie, Nyi (unsportsmanlike cond), 19:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 7, Toronto, Andy Wozniewski 1 (Matt Stajan,
Simon Gamache), 2:28. 8, Toronto, Mats Sundin 2 (Alex Steen, Hal
Gill), 9:54. 9, Toronto, Simon Gamache 1 (power play) (Matt Stajan,
Bryan Mccabe), 13:22. Penalties: A Sutton, Nyi (major fighting),
11:00; W Belak, Tor (major fighting), 11:00; K Newbury, Tor
(unsportsmanlike cond), 11:00; B Gervais, Nyi (slashing), 12:35; A
Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 18:26; I White, Tor (hooking), 19:38.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Ny Islanders 11 7 13 --31
Toronto 15 12 15 --42
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Ny Islanders - 1 of 8, Toronto - 2 of 7.
Goalies : Ny Islanders, Wade Dubielewicz (42 shots, 34 saves; record:
0-1-0). Toronto, Andrew Raycroft (31 shots, 30 saves; record: 1-0-1).
A: 19,319. Referees: Fred L'Ecuyer, Mike Hasenfratz. Linesmen: Thor
Nelson, Tim Nowak.</div>

 

NHL: NY ISLANDERS at TORONTO

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
NY ISLANDERS 1 0 0 --1
TORONTO 2 3 3 --8
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Nik Antropov 3 (power play) (Pavel
Kubina, Darcy Tucker), 2:51. 2, Toronto, Ian White 2 (Darcy Tucker,
Matt Stajan), 7:49. 3, Ny Islanders, Ruslan Fedotenko 2 (power play)
(Bruno Gervais, Mike Comrie), 13:43. Penalties: M Sillinger, Nyi
(hooking), 1:04; M Comrie, Nyi (tripping), 8:38; W Belak, Tor
(roughing), 11:44; J Tambellini, Nyi (interference), 13:51; S
Bergenheim, Nyi (tripping), 17:17.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 2 (Jason Blake),
7:15. 5, Toronto, Matt Stajan 3 (shorthanded) (Nik Antropov, Pavel
Kubina), 17:33. 6, Toronto, Alex Steen 1 (Unassisted), 19:21.
Penalties: B Witt, Nyi (high sticking), 5:41; D Tucker, Tor (holding),
6:40; S Gamache, Tor (interference), 9:41; J Tambellini, Nyi
(hooking), 12:41; A Steen, Tor (hooking), 16:28; M Sundin, Tor
(holding), 18:39; M Comrie, Nyi (unsportsmanlike cond), 19:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 7, Toronto, Andy Wozniewski 1 (Matt Stajan,
Simon Gamache), 2:28. 8, Toronto, Mats Sundin 2 (Alex Steen, Hal
Gill), 9:54. 9, Toronto, Simon Gamache 1 (power play) (Matt Stajan,
Bryan Mccabe), 13:22. Penalties: A Sutton, Nyi (major fighting),
11:00; W Belak, Tor (major fighting), 11:00; K Newbury, Tor
(unsportsmanlike cond), 11:00; B Gervais, Nyi (slashing), 12:35; A
Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 18:26; I White, Tor (hooking), 19:38.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
NY ISLANDERS 11 7 13 --31
TORONTO 15 12 15 --42
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NYI - 1 of 8, TOR - 2 of 7. Goalies : Ny
Islanders, Wade Dubielewicz (42 shots, 34 saves; record: 0-1-0).
Toronto, Andrew Raycroft (31 shots, 30 saves; record: 1-0-1). A:
19,319. Referees: Fred L'Ecuyer, Mike Hasenfratz. Linesmen: Thor
Nelson, Tim Nowak.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NY ISLANDERS TORONTO
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
R Park 0 0 -1 4 A Steen 1 1 +2 4
A Hilbert 0 0 -1 1 M Sundin 1 0 +2 4
B Guerin 0 0 -3 2 M Stajan 1 3 +4 4
C Campoli 0 0 -3 2 T Kaberle 1 0 +2 1
J Tambellini 0 0 -2 0 D Tucker 0 2 +2 1
M Sillinger 0 0 even 0 C Kilger 0 0 even 1
S Bergenheim 0 0 -1 1 J Pohl 0 0 even 2
R Martinek 0 0 -1 4 B Devereaux 0 0 even 3
A Sutton 0 0 -1 1 B McCabe 0 1 +2 1
R Fedotenko 1 0 -2 2 H Gill 0 1 +3 1
B Witt 0 0 -1 1 W Belak 0 0 even 1
B Berard 0 0 -3 1 P Kubina 0 2 +1 0
M Bergeron 0 0 -1 2 S Gamache 1 1 +2 3
J Vasicek 0 0 -3 1 K Newbury 0 0 even 2
T Hunter 0 0 even 4 J Blake 0 1 +2 4
B Gervais 0 1 -2 2 A Wozniewski 1 0 +1 4
M Satan 0 0 -1 3 I White 1 0 +3 1
M Comrie 0 1 -2 0 N Antropov 1 1 +1 5
C Simon SUSPENDED NHL B Battaglia HEALTHY
D Bootland HEALTHY A Ponikarovsky LEG INJURY
A Johnson HEALTHY A Stralman HEALTHY</div>

 

By Jeff Lieberman
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


TORONTO (Ticker) -- On an historic night for captain Mats Sundin,Matt Stajan and the Toronto Maple Leafs had redemption on theirminds.


Two days after getting embarrassed by the Carolina Hurricanes,Stajan recorded a goal and three assists as the Maple Leafsrolled to an 8-1 triumph over the New York Islanders onThursday.


In the victory, Sundin became the franchise leader in goals andpoints, passing Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler in both categorieswith a tally in the third period.


"It's nice to get it over with in the start of the season,"Sundin said. "It's important to focus on winning hockey games,and that's what we've got to do."


Toronto came out with much more intensity than in its 7-1 losson Tuesday, recording 15 shots in the first period and 12 morein the middle session. It built a 2-0 lead less than eightminutes into the contest on tallies by Nik Antropov anddefenseman Ian White and never looked back.


"We know we have a great team here and we have to bring it everynight," said Toronto's Alex Steen, who had a goal and anassist. "Tuesday was a flat night for us, but right after thegame, you knew, you could tell on everybody's faces that comeThursday, the Islanders are going to have a tough night. Ithought we went out, we worked hard, we did the little thingsright that we wanted to change."


The Islanders halved the deficit on a power-play goal by RuslanFedotenko with 6:17 to go in the first, but defenseman TomasKaberle began a string of six consecutive tallies by the MapleLeafs at 7:15 of the second that put away the game.

Stajan netted a shorthander and Steen scored on a breakaway inthe final minute of the session. Defenseman Andrew Wozniewskitallied 2 1/2 minutes into the third to make it 6-1, but thebiggest ovation came at 9:54, when Sundin secured a few spots inthe franchise's record book.


Needing one goal and one point to pass Sittler for first placein club history in both categories, Sundin accomplished the featwhen his backhand pass attempt from along the left wing boardscaromed off New York defenseman Brendan Witt and past goaltenderWade Dubielewicz.


"I've been fortunate to play for a great organization all theseyears and you see the way the league is now, not too many guysget a chance to play for an organization this long," saidSundin, who has been with Toronto since the start of the 1994-95season.


"A big thanks from my end to the Toronto Maple Leafsorganization, all the players I've played with over the yearsthat have given me all these points that I've had and, mostimportantly, the fans sticking with this team that hasn't won achampionship since '67."


Sundin, who has 390 tallies and 917 points as a Maple Leaf, wasgiven an assist on Kaberle's goal, drawing a raucous ovationfrom the crowd at the Air Canada Centre. But the point wascorrectly removed early in the third period, forcing the fans toagain erupt when Sundin tallied.


"Not too many times you can get two ovations in one night,"Toronto's Darcy Tucker said. "It's thrilling to be able to be apart of it, but at the same time get to be a part of a bigvictory in a bounce-back game for us."


Simon Gamache, who also had an assist, capped the scoring with apower-play goal later in the final session.


Tucker and defenseman Pavel Kubina had two assists apiece andAndrew Raycroft made 30 saves for Toronto, which snapped athree-game losing streak against New York.


"You've got to enjoy yourself when you have nights like this,"Stajan said. "And having Mats break the record. All teams havenights like this, and the main thing is, we got the win. Razorplayed well in net, and now we've got to come back, we've got abig game (against Pittsburgh) on Saturday."


Antropov opened the scoring during a power play at 2:51 of thefirst period, deflecting Kubina's slap shot from the right pointpast Dubielewicz for his third goal of the season. Whitedoubled the lead at 7:49, beating the netminder with a blastfrom the left point after Stajan won a faceoff in the leftcircle.


Fedotenko drew New York within 2-1 later in the session, tippingdefenseman Bruno Gervais' wrister from the blue line byRaycroft. But Kaberle received a pass from former IslanderJason Blake and deked Dubielewicz before sliding in a backhanderin the second period to begin the Maple Leafs' rout.

Stajan fired the puck between Dubielewicz's pads from the leftcircle with 2:27 left in the session, and Steen capitalized onNew York defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron's turnover at the blueline with 39 seconds to go, pushing the advantage to 5-1.

"Tonight, the puck was following me and it was just going in thenet," Stajan said. "It's just the way the game goes sometimes.... But the only thing that matters is that we responded bigtime on home ice."


Despite allowing eight goals, Dubielewicz did make 34 saves forthe Islanders, who surrendered only nine tallies over theirfirst four games.


"We just weren't ready," New York's Sean Bergenheim said."There's no reason for it, why we played the way we played.Maybe were were too happy about the win (over the New YorkRangers on Wednesday). That's something that should neverhappen."


Islanders captain Bill Guerin did not want to hear anysuggestions the Islanders were exhausted from playing for thesecond time in as many nights.


"We were brutal tonight," Guerin said. "It's too early in theseason to be putting 'tired' on us. We played bad, that's it."