Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – James Reimer made 45 saves and Peter Holland
scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, leading the Toronto Maple
Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have
won three in a row.
Reimer had 26 saves in the third period, including one when he slid across the
crease to keep Patrick Kane’s shot out and preserve Toronto’s lead in the
final minutes.
“It keeps you in the game, that’s for sure,” Reimer said of his busy night.
Holland’s winner came 2:21 into the third on a one-timer from the slot after
Leo Komarov stole puck behind the Chicago net.
Brad Richards and Brent Seabrook scored power-play goals for the Blackhawks,
who have gone 2-4-0 since starting the season on a five-game points streak
(4-0-1).
Chicago had some good news. No. 1 goaltender Corey Crawford returned after
missing six games with an upper-body injury and had 24 saves.
“The third period might have been one of our best periods all (season),” said
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. “We had the chances and good opportnities
and had pucks around the net. If you play like that, you’ll find ways to score
goals.”
Late in the first period, Seabrook was in between Daniel Winnik and Kadri in
the low slot when Winnik received Phil Kessel’s pass from the point. Winnik
slipped the puck past Seabrook and over to Kadri, who scored his fourth goal
of the season for a 1-0 Toronto lead.
Richards scored his first goal as a Blackhawk on a slap shot from the top edge
of the left circle with Andrew Shaw screening Reimer, tying the score at 1-1
with 3:32 left in the first period.
Seabrook scored on a slap shot from the point 4:18 into the second period
after Toronto failed to clear the zone on a Chicago power play, but the Maple
Leafs tied it just 64 seconds later when van Riemsdyk scored from the slot on
a giveaway.
Game Notes
Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson suffered a couple of blows during the
game. He was hit in the face by a deflected pass late in the second period and
was bleeding from below his left eye as he skated off. He returned for the
third and took a shot off the knee midway through the period … The
Blackhawks play Winnipeg at home on Sunday … The Maple Leafs start a two-
game road swing Tuesday against Arizona … The Maple Leafs recalled forward
Sam Carrick from the Toronto Marlies and assigned defenseman Stuart Percy to
the AHL team.
