Reimer won’t let Penguins slide
Maple Leafs goalie gets revenge for team’s 5-4 shootout loss with 25-save shutout
It was only a week ago when Clarke Macarthur was demoted to Toronto’s fourth line. Now he’s scoring big goals again as the Maple Leafs make a push for the playoffs.
Macarthur scored late in the third period and James Reimer stopped 25 shots to give Toronto a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
Macarthur has four goals and six points in three games since being reunited with Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. Prior to that, he played a season-low 9:58 on Jan. 23 as coach Ron Wilson tried to deliver a message.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call and he’s responded very well,” said Wilson.
The win gave the Maple Leafs a split of a home-and-home set with Pittsburgh one night after the Penguins erased a 4-1 deficit in the third period before pulling out a 5-4 shootout win.
“I thought it was a harder-fought game tonight,” said Macarthur. “It felt like a playoff game. There wasn’t much given up on either side. You know, it was just nice to see our team (stick) with it. It’s easy to get frustrated. We stuck with it and got the win.”
The game was low on style points but the Leafs managed to move past the New Jersey Devils into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
“That was a playoff game,” said Leafs defenceman Cody Franson. “That’s tight-checking, hard-hitting, a lot of chip and run. It was fastpaced out there and it stayed tight right until the end. That’s playoff hockey in a nutshell.”
Stars 6 Ducks 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. / Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists in his return from a five-game absence, Michael Ryder also had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars slowed Anaheim’s roll with a win in its first game back from the all-star break.
Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and defencemen Stephane Robidas and Sheldon Souray also scored for the Stars, who beat Anaheim in back-toback meetings eight days apart.
Those two wins are Dallas’ only victories since Jan. 12 and the Ducks’ only games without earning a point since Jan. 4. The Stars have won four of five against their Pacific Division rivals this season.
Kings 3 Blue Jackets 2
LOS ANGELES / Drew Doughty scored a power-play goal with one second remaining in the game, lifting Los Angeles over last-place Columbus after an eight-day break.
The Kings also got goals from Dustin Penner and Justin Williams to win their second straight. Jonathan Quick, the lone King to play in last weekend’s all-star game, picked up where he left off before the break, making 20 saves for his 22nd victory.
The Kings have won eight of their last 10 games against the Blue Jackets, who always seem to give them fits despite being the worst team in the NHL.
Rangers 1 Sabres 0 (SO)
BUFF ALO, N. Y. / Ryan Callahan scored the decisive goal in the shootout and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots to lead New York over Buffalo.
Callahan scored in the fifth round of the shootout by driving in on Ryan Miller, leaning to his right and snapping a shot into the open left side.
Marian Gaborik had scored in the first round of the shootout and the Sabres’ Jason Pominville answered in the third round, beating Lundqvist on the stick side.
Both goalies earned a shutout, with Miller stopping 29 shots through overtime.
Panthers 4 Capitals 2
SUNRISE, Fla. / Mikael Samuelsson had two goals to help Florida beat Washington and move into first place in the Southeast Division.
Stephen Weiss and Shawn Matthias also scored for Florida, and Scott Clemmensen stopped 26 shots. Tomas Fleischmann had a pair of assists for the Panthers, who moved one point ahead of the Capitals in the division.
Brooks Laich and John Carlson scored for the Capitals, and Michal Neuvirth had 35 saves.