|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Mar. 11 7:00pm ET
Leafs win, but lose Berard to injury | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
KANATA, Ontario (AP) -- Even with a seven-point lead, coach Pat Quinn is not ready to claim the Northeast Division for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yanic Perreault scored twice in a 22-second span early in the second period to lead the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. "The only lock we have is one to put on the dressing room door so nothing gets taken," said Quinn, after his club moved farther ahead of the second-place Senators. Steve Thomas also scored twice for the Leafs in a game billed as the biggest of the season by both clubs. Andreas Dackell and Sami Salo had goals for the Senators. Curtis Joseph made 40 saves to earn his 32nd victory. "Their goaltender was the difference tonight," Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. "They're a team with a lot of momentum. We competed but now we just need to regroup." The game was overshadowed by a serious injury to the right eye area of Toronto defenseman Bryan Berard, who was clipped by the stick of Ottawa's Marian Hossa at 15:20 of the second period. Berard, in his fourth NHL season, crumpled to his knees with his forehead on the ice as a pool of blood grew until medical personnel could reach him. Canada's TSN reported that Berard was undergoing emergency surgery early Sunday morning. "We expect there will be an update (Sunday)," said Casey Vanden Heuvel, the Leafs' director of hockey operations. Hossa received a double minor for the infraction. "Of course, if it's serious, I'll call and apologize," Hossa said. The much-anticipated, emotional meeting between two of the league's hottest teams is key to the outcome of the Northeast Division race. The teams have one more meeting on March 23. The Senators trail the Maple Leafs by seven points with a game in hand. Ottawa had a season-high, seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) snapped. "There is lots of hockey left," Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden said. "Anything can happen." Toronto has 13 games remaining, while Ottawa will play 14 more. The Leafs have won five straight and have only one loss in nine games. Toronto is trying to capture its first division championship in 37 years. "The first period was really intense," said Perreault, who also set up a goal by Thomas. "We wanted to make sure we didn't have too many turnovers." Thomas wheeled out of the corner and beat Ottawa goalie Ron Tugnutt on Toronto's second shot at 3:29. Defenseman Dimitri Yushkevich assisted, earning his ninth point in 10 games. "We're really happy with our effort on the road," Thomas said. "We're a pretty confident bunch right now. Our penalty killing was tremendous. Our game started from the first shift." Perreault was left unattended twice early in the second period and scored both times. He one-timed a Sergei Berezin pass at 2:14, then beat Tugnutt from close range at 2:36 for his 15th and 16th goals. Dackell got the Senators back in the game 10:48 into the period, drilling a rebound past Joseph. Thomas struck again during a two-man advantage, with 3:20 remaining in the period, on a pass from Perreault. Salo cut the Leafs advantage to two goals with a power-play goal at 7:41 of the third. Ottawa outshot Toronto 42-25. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Toronto Clubhouse Ottawa Clubhouse Maple Leafs' Berard suffers serious eye injury
RECAPS Anaheim 1 St. Louis 1
Toronto 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   Marian Hossa draws blood from Bryan Berard.avi: 1224 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||