Jonathon Bernier stood strong on 40 of 42 shots while the Leafs managed to convert six of their 27 on two different goalies. Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul, David Booth, and Nazem Kadri each scored one for the Leafs while Phil Kessel lit the lamp twice. The Ducks got a short handed goal and an odd-man chance, but only the first kept it close. Your game in six:
The first five minutes of the game looked bad for the Leafs, as the Ducks kept Toronto pinned in. The Leafs' offensive zone opportunities seemed to come in bursts, alternating with "can't go anywhere." After Lupul's second period goal, the gap began widening in Anaheim's favor, and the burden became increasingly placed on Bernier to make saves.
The Ducks spent a lot of time in the Leafs' zone, largely at the expense of the fourth line and the Stephane Robidas - Morgan Rielly pairing. They struggled to clear the defensive zone and it led to a lot of opportunities against. It also led to single-digit zone starts for Peter Holland's line, which still actually managed to do pretty well despite this - I mean, the Leafs as a whole started in the offensive zone just 19 percent of the time.
The Mumps' coverage of Francois Beauchemin and Corey Perry certainly helped the Leafs out in this one, but stellar individual performances helped even more. The Leafs shouldn't make a habit out of winning like this, since you can't expect a .952 every night, but boy oh boy is it fun when they do.
The Maple Leafs take on the Carolina Hurricanes this Thursday, who are desperate to climb out of the basement. It'd be nice for the hot streak to get some more legs under it, but points are points.
Oh, and garbage time or not, washout-goalie or not, watching Phil Kessel score simply warms the soul. Phil Phorever.
