GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: TORONTO (14-19) at CAROLINA (17-17)

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafsheld a two-goal advantage with less than 90 seconds left inregulation, but could not come away with a victory.

Cory Stillman scored a goal and set up another in a span of 58seconds late in the third period and Scott Walker tallied thegame-winner in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes posted a 3-2comeback victory over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

Walker deflected Eric Staal's slap shot from the left point withjust 33 seconds left in the extra session as the Hurricaneshave won back-to-back games after regulation following athree-game losing skid.


It marked Walker's first game-winning goal of the season.

After Stillman forced a turnover in the defensive zone, ErikCole led a rush up the ice and sent a cross-ice pass to RayWhitney, who blasted a one-timer past Toronto netminder VesaToskala to tie the game at 2-2 with just 27 ticks left in thethird period.


It was the fifth time this season that the Maple Leafs havesquandered a third-period lead.


Stillman had tied the game less than a minute earlier, notchinghis 17th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 85seconds remaining.


The goal ended Toskala's bid for his third shutout of the seasonand 11th of his career. The Finn made 35 saves on Tuesday.

Boyd Devereaux opened the scoring just 22 seconds after leavingthe penalty box. After defenseman Tomas Kaberle's attempt hitthe side of the net and bounced in front, Devereaux chipped thepuck into the vacant net with 2:10 left in the first period.

The Maple Leafs doubled their advantage with 96 secondsremaining in the second period when Kaberle grabbed a puckbehind the Hurricanes' goal and and tucked it around the post byJohn Grahame. It was Kaberle's sixth goal and fourth on thepower play this season.


Grahame stopped 34 shots, including all 16 he faced in the thirdperiod and a backhanded shot by Toronto captain Mats Sundin inovertime.


Carolina played without captain Rod Brind'Amour, who missed thegame with the flu. He was supposed to play his 1,300th game butthat will have to wait until at least the club's next game onThursday at the Florida Panthers.

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
TORONTO 2
CAROLINA 3</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">CORRECTION

NHL FINAL IN OT 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TORONTO 1 1 0 0 2
CAROLINA 0 0 2 1 3 FINAL IN OT

GOAL SCORING:

1ST PRD: TOR - BOYD DEVEREAUX 6 (TOMAS KABERLE, CHAD KILGER) 17:50
2ND PRD: TOR - (PP) TOMAS KABERLE 6 (UNASSISTED) 18:24
3RD PRD: CAR - CORY STILLMAN 17 (FRANTISEK KABERLE, JUSTIN WILLIAMS)
18:35
CAR - RAY WHITNEY 15 (ERIK COLE, CORY STILLMAN) 19:33
OT: CAR - (PP) SCOTT WALKER 4 (ERIC STAAL, ERIK COLE) 4:27

POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: TOR - 1 OF 5, CAR - 1 OF 8.

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TOR 9 10 16 1 36
CAR 13 4 15 6 38

GOALIES: TOR - VESA TOSKALA
CAR - JOHN GRAHAME

OFFICIALS: REF - DAN O'ROURKE, DEAN WARREN
LIN - BRIAN MACH, TIM NOWAK

ATT: 17,045</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------------
Toronto 1 1 0 0 --2
Carolina 0 0 2 1 --3
------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Boyd Devereaux 6 (Tomas Kaberle,
Chad Kilger),17:50. Penalties: M Bell, Tor (hooking), 2:49; P Kubina,
Tor (holding), 14:13; B Devereaux, Tor (slashing), 15:28; T Letowski,
Car (hooking), 18:25.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 6 (power play)
(Unassisted)18:24. Penalties: A Wozniewski, Tor (hooking), 3:04; S
Walker, Car (cross checking), 8:23; S Walker, Car (high sticking),
17:05.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 17 (Frantisek
Kaberle, Justin Williams),18:35. 4, Carolina, Ray Whitney 15 (Erik
Cole, Cory Stillman),19:33. Penalties: W Belak, Tor (tripping), 4:50;
M Cullen, Car (slashing), 7:11; A Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 12:38; C
Adams, Car (high sticking), 16:05.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Scott Walker 4 (power play) (Eric
Staal, Erik Cole)4:27. Penalties: A Ponikarovsky, Tor (tripping),
1:40; N Antropov, Tor (hooking), 2:51.

Shots on goal:
--------------------------------------------
Toronto 9 10 16 1 --36
Carolina 13 4 15 6 --38
--------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Toronto - 1 of 5, Carolina - 1 of 8. Goalies :
Toronto, Vesa Toskala (38 shots, 35 saves; record: 12-11-3). Carolina,
John Grahame (36 shots, 34 saves; record: 4-4-1). A: 17,045.
Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Dean Warren. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Tim Nowak.</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------------
TORONTO 1 1 0 0 --2
CAROLINA 0 0 2 1 --3
-----------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Boyd Devereaux 6 (Tomas Kaberle,
Chad Kilger),17:50. Penalties: M Bell, Tor (hooking), 2:49; P Kubina,
Tor (holding), 14:13; B Devereaux, Tor (slashing), 15:28; T Letowski,
Car (hooking), 18:25.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 6 (power play)
(Unassisted)18:24. Penalties: A Wozniewski, Tor (hooking), 3:04; S
Walker, Car (cross checking), 8:23; S Walker, Car (high sticking),
17:05.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 17 (Frantisek
Kaberle, Justin Williams),18:35. 4, Carolina, Ray Whitney 15 (Erik
Cole, Cory Stillman),19:33. Penalties: W Belak, Tor (tripping), 4:50;
M Cullen, Car (slashing), 7:11; A Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 12:38; C
Adams, Car (high sticking), 16:05.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Scott Walker 4 (power play) (Eric
Staal, Erik Cole)4:27. Penalties: A Ponikarovsky, Tor (tripping),
1:40; N Antropov, Tor (hooking), 2:51.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------------
TORONTO 9 10 16 1 --36
CAROLINA 13 4 15 6 --38
---------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: TOR - 1 of 5, CAR - 1 of 8. Goalies : Toronto,
Vesa Toskala (38 shots, 35 saves; record: 12-11-3). Carolina, John
Grahame (36 shots, 34 saves; record: 4-4-1). A: 17,045. Referees: Dan
O'Rourke, Dean Warren. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Tim Nowak.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

TORONTO CAROLINA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
A Steen 0 0 -1 5 J Williams 0 1 even 3
M Sundin 0 0 -1 2 E Staal 0 1 +1 6
M Stajan 0 0 even 2 R Whitney 1 0 +1 8
T Kaberle 1 1 +1 6 T Letowski 0 0 even 1
D Tucker 0 0 even 0 G Wesley 0 0 even 0
C Kilger 0 1 +1 0 S Walker 1 0 -1 2
B Devereaux 1 0 even 3 E Cole 0 2 even 2
A Ponikarovsky 0 0 -1 0 C Adams 0 0 even 1
H Gill 0 0 -1 1 D Seidenberg 0 0 +2 1
W Belak 0 0 even 0 T Gleason 0 0 even 1
P Kubina 0 0 -1 5 D Tanabe 0 0 even 0
A Stralman 0 0 even 0 F Kaberle 0 1 even 2
K Wellwood 0 0 even 0 J Hamilton 0 0 +1 3
J Blake 0 0 even 5 C LaRose 0 0 -1 2
A Wozniewski 0 0 -1 1 B Hedican 0 0 even 0
I White 0 0 even 2 C Stillman 1 1 +2 3
N Antropov 0 0 -1 4 N Wallin 0 0 even 0
M Bell 0 0 even 0 M Cullen 0 0 +1 3
J Pohl HEALTHY R Brind'Amour FLU
J Tlusty HEALTHY M Commodore FINGER INJURY
A Ladd HEALTHY</div>

 

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafsheld a two-goal advantage with less than 90 seconds left inregulation, but could not come away with a victory.

Cory Stillman scored a goal and set up another in a span of 58seconds late in the third period and Eric Staal tallied thegame-winner in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes posted a 3-2comeback victory over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

"The one that got us going there and got us on the board wasjust a simple shot to the point and Stillman was there for therebound," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "We were ableto get some life, it's 2-1, the building comes alive and all ofa sudden there's energy out there."


Eric Staal's slap shot from the left point deflected off thestick of Maple Leafs defenseman Pavel Kubina and went past VesaToskala with just 33 seconds left in the extra session as theHurricanes have won back-to-back games after regulationfollowing a three-game losing skid.


It was Staal's fourth game-winning tally of the season, whichmatches his career high.


After Stillman forced a turnover in the defensive zone, ErikCole led a rush up the ice and sent a cross-ice pass to RayWhitney, who blasted a one-timer past Toskala to tie the game at2-2 with just 27 ticks left in the third period.


"We played a pretty good game. We just didn't get anything outof it until the end," Whitney said.


Toronto defenseman Alexei Ponikarovsky, who had the puck stolenfrom him by Stillman, said he made the wrong play.

"I didn't know the guy was coming behind me," Ponikarovsky said."I took a little bit more time than I should have and helifted my stick up and caused the turnover. It's not acceptableto do that kind of stuff at that time of the game with 20 or 30seconds left. I probably should have put the puck deep andtried to stop them on the rush."


It was the fifth time this season that the Maple Leafs havesquandered a third-period lead.


"It's a tough loss for us because we played a solid game exceptfor the last two minutes," Kubina said. "With two minutes (togo), I thought it was game over. We had a couple of chances toshoot the puck in from the red line, but I don't know why wedidn't shoot it in. We just made a mistake. Unfortunately,their pucks went in."


Toronto coach Paul Maurice was disappointed with the outcome.

"There's no other plays that needed to be made at that point,"Maurice said. "You've got to sense the urgency of the backpressure and get the puck in deep."


Stillman had tied the game less than a minute earlier, notchinghis 17th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 85seconds remaining.


"To come back from two goals down with a minute-and-a-half left- we've got to get momentum after that," Stillman said.

The goal ended Toskala's bid for his third shutout of the seasonand 11th of his career. The Finn made 35 saves on Tuesday.

Boyd Devereaux opened the scoring just 22 seconds after leavingthe penalty box. After defenseman Tomas Kaberle's attempt hitthe side of the net and bounced in front, Devereaux chipped thepuck into the vacant net with 2:10 left in the first period.

The Maple Leafs doubled their advantage with 96 secondsremaining in the second period when Kaberle grabbed a puckbehind the Hurricanes' goal and and tucked it around the post byJohn Grahame. It was Kaberle's sixth goal and fourth on thepower play this season.


Grahame, who's played sparingly so far, stopped 34 shots,including all 16 he faced in the third period and a backhandedshot by Toronto captain Mats Sundin in overtime. Grahame earnedwins in back-to-back games for the first time this season afterpulling out a shootout victory over Philadelphia in his lastouting.


"It's great win and a momentum-builder for us and hopefully wecan keep it going," Grahame said.


Carolina played without captain Rod Brind'Amour, who missed thegame with the flu. He was supposed to play his 1,300th game butthat will have to wait until at least the club's next game onThursday at the Florida Panthers.

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
TORONTO 2
CAROLINA 3</div>

 

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafsheld a two-goal advantage with less than 90 seconds left inregulation, but could not come away with a victory.

Cory Stillman scored a goal and set up another in a span of 58seconds late in the third period and Eric Staal tallied thegame-winner in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes posted a 3-2comeback victory over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

Staal's slap shot from the left point deflected off thestick of Maple Leafs defenseman Pavel Kubina and went past VesaToskala with just 33 seconds left in the extra session as theHurricanes have won back-to-back games after regulationfollowing a three-game losing skid.


"The one that got us going there and got us on the board wasjust a simple shot to the point and Stillman was there for therebound," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "We were ableto get some life, it's 2-1, the building comes alive and all ofa sudden there's energy out there."


It was Staal's fourth game-winning tally of the season, whichmatches his career high.


After Stillman forced a turnover in the defensive zone, ErikCole led a rush up the ice and sent a cross-ice pass to RayWhitney, who blasted a one-timer past Toskala to tie the game at2-2 with just 27 ticks left in the third period.


"We played a pretty good game. We just didn't get anything outof it until the end," Whitney said.


Toronto left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky, who had the puck stolenfrom him by Stillman, said he made the wrong play.

"I didn't know the guy was coming behind me," Ponikarovsky said."I took a little bit more time than I should have and helifted my stick up and caused the turnover. It's not acceptableto do that kind of stuff at that time of the game with 20 or 30seconds left. I probably should have put the puck deep andtried to stop them on the rush."


It was the fifth time this season that the Maple Leafs havesquandered a third-period lead.


"It's a tough loss for us because we played a solid game exceptfor the last two minutes," Kubina said. "With two minutes (togo), I thought it was game over. We had a couple of chances toshoot the puck in from the red line, but I don't know why wedidn't shoot it in. We just made a mistake. Unfortunately,their pucks went in."


Toronto coach Paul Maurice was disappointed with the outcome.

"There's no other plays that needed to be made at that point,"Maurice said. "You've got to sense the urgency of the backpressure and get the puck in deep."


Stillman had tied the game less than a minute earlier, notchinghis 17th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 85seconds remaining.


"To come back from two goals down with a minute-and-a-half left- we've got to get momentum after that," Stillman said.

The goal ended Toskala's bid for his third shutout of the seasonand 11th of his career. The Finn made 35 saves on Tuesday.

Boyd Devereaux opened the scoring just 22 seconds after leavingthe penalty box. After defenseman Tomas Kaberle's attempt hitthe side of the net and bounced in front, Devereaux chipped thepuck into the vacant net with 2:10 left in the first period.

The Maple Leafs doubled their advantage with 96 secondsremaining in the second period when Kaberle grabbed a puckbehind the Hurricanes' goal and and tucked it around the post byJohn Grahame. It was Kaberle's sixth goal and fourth on thepower play this season.


Grahame, who's played sparingly so far, stopped 34 shots,including all 16 he faced in the third period and a backhandedshot by Toronto captain Mats Sundin in overtime. Grahame earnedwins in back-to-back games for the first time this season afterpulling out a shootout victory over Philadelphia in his lastouting.


"It's great win and a momentum-builder for us and hopefully wecan keep it going," Grahame said.


Carolina played without captain Rod Brind'Amour, who missed thegame with the flu. He was supposed to play his 1,300th game butthat will have to wait until at least the club's next game onThursday at the Florida Panthers.

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------------
Toronto 1 1 0 0 --2
Carolina 0 0 2 1 --3
------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Boyd Devereaux 6 (Tomas Kaberle,
Chad Kilger),17:50. Penalties: M Bell, Tor (hooking), 2:49; P Kubina,
Tor (holding), 14:13; B Devereaux, Tor (slashing), 15:28; T Letowski,
Car (hooking), 18:25.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 6 (power play)
(Unassisted)18:24. Penalties: A Wozniewski, Tor (hooking), 3:04; S
Walker, Car (cross checking), 8:23; S Walker, Car (high sticking),
17:05.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 17 (Frantisek
Kaberle, Justin Williams),18:35. 4, Carolina, Ray Whitney 15 (Erik
Cole, Cory Stillman),19:33. Penalties: W Belak, Tor (tripping), 4:50;
M Cullen, Car (slashing), 7:11; A Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 12:38; C
Adams, Car (high sticking), 16:05.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Scott Walker 4 (power play) (Eric
Staal, Erik Cole)4:27. Penalties: A Ponikarovsky, Tor (tripping),
1:40; N Antropov, Tor (hooking), 2:51.

Shots on goal:
--------------------------------------------
Toronto 9 10 16 1 --36
Carolina 13 4 15 6 --38
--------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Toronto - 1 of 5, Carolina - 1 of 8. Goalies :
Toronto, Vesa Toskala (38 shots, 35 saves; record: 12-11-3). Carolina,
John Grahame (36 shots, 34 saves; record: 4-4-1). A: 17,045.
Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Dean Warren. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Tim Nowak.</div>

 

NHL: TORONTO at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------------
TORONTO 1 1 0 0 --2
CAROLINA 0 0 2 1 --3
-----------------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Boyd Devereaux 6 (Tomas Kaberle,
Chad Kilger),17:50. Penalties: M Bell, Tor (hooking), 2:49; P Kubina,
Tor (holding), 14:13; B Devereaux, Tor (slashing), 15:28; T Letowski,
Car (hooking), 18:25.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Toronto, Tomas Kaberle 6 (power play)
(Unassisted)18:24. Penalties: A Wozniewski, Tor (hooking), 3:04; S
Walker, Car (cross checking), 8:23; S Walker, Car (high sticking),
17:05.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 17 (Frantisek
Kaberle, Justin Williams),18:35. 4, Carolina, Ray Whitney 15 (Erik
Cole, Cory Stillman),19:33. Penalties: W Belak, Tor (tripping), 4:50;
M Cullen, Car (slashing), 7:11; A Wozniewski, Tor (holding), 12:38; C
Adams, Car (high sticking), 16:05.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Scott Walker 4 (power play) (Eric
Staal, Erik Cole)4:27. Penalties: A Ponikarovsky, Tor (tripping),
1:40; N Antropov, Tor (hooking), 2:51.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------------
TORONTO 9 10 16 1 --36
CAROLINA 13 4 15 6 --38
---------------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: TOR - 1 of 5, CAR - 1 of 8. Goalies : Toronto,
Vesa Toskala (38 shots, 35 saves; record: 12-11-3). Carolina, John
Grahame (36 shots, 34 saves; record: 4-4-1). A: 17,045. Referees: Dan
O'Rourke, Dean Warren. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Tim Nowak.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

TORONTO CAROLINA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
A Steen 0 0 -1 5 J Williams 0 1 even 3
M Sundin 0 0 -1 2 E Staal 0 1 +1 6
M Stajan 0 0 even 2 R Whitney 1 0 +1 8
T Kaberle 1 1 +1 6 T Letowski 0 0 even 1
D Tucker 0 0 even 0 G Wesley 0 0 even 0
C Kilger 0 1 +1 0 S Walker 1 0 -1 2
B Devereaux 1 0 even 3 E Cole 0 2 even 2
A Ponikarovsky 0 0 -1 0 C Adams 0 0 even 1
H Gill 0 0 -1 1 D Seidenberg 0 0 +2 1
W Belak 0 0 even 0 T Gleason 0 0 even 1
P Kubina 0 0 -1 5 D Tanabe 0 0 even 0
A Stralman 0 0 even 0 F Kaberle 0 1 even 2
K Wellwood 0 0 even 0 J Hamilton 0 0 +1 3
J Blake 0 0 even 5 C LaRose 0 0 -1 2
A Wozniewski 0 0 -1 1 B Hedican 0 0 even 0
I White 0 0 even 2 C Stillman 1 1 +2 3
N Antropov 0 0 -1 4 N Wallin 0 0 even 0
M Bell 0 0 even 0 M Cullen 0 0 +1 3
J Pohl HEALTHY R Brind'Amour FLU
J Tlusty HEALTHY M Commodore FINGER INJURY
A Ladd FLU</div>