FINA IN CAROLINA

Maple Leafs hold off a late charge from the Hurricanes for a 5-4 road win.

> MAPLE LEAFS 5 > HURRICANES 4

RALEIGH, N.C.— When Patrick Marleau scored the Maple Leafs’ fifth goal of the night, it didn’t look like it would be the 102nd game-winning goal of his career. But it was. Marleau put the Leafs up by three goals, but only the heroic goaltending of Frederik Andersen held off a furious comeback by the Carolina Hurricanes as the Leafs won 5-4, taking three of a possible four points on their road trip.

“He was pretty impressive,” Marleau said of Andersen, who faced 90 shots over two nights on this trip.

“They came back, had a hard push and Freddie held us in.”

It was an evening filled with some interesting names getting goals, as the Leafs meted out their revenge for a 6-3 loss to these same Hurricanes a few weeks back at the Air Canada Centre. The most interesting among them was Josh Leivo, who got his first of the season. He was inserted into the lineup when Matt Martin was scratched.

“It feels good, but it feels better to get the win,” Leivo said. “If we didn’t have Fred, I don’t know what the score would be.

“That first period was an onslaught, they just kept coming. We were lucky to get out with no goals on us.” Zach Hyman and Ron Hainsey contributed to a three-goal lead as part of a four-goal second period, as the Leafs’ biggest names took a while to get onto the scoresheet. They got there eventually with James van Riemsdyk and Marleau pitching in with goals.

They needed Marleau’s power play goal 5:27 of the third, a goal that gave the Leafs a 5-2 lead, as Carolina never relented. The Hurricanes outshot the Leafs 47-25 and scored twice late in the third, forcing Toronto to hang on while they played with an empty net for two minutes.

In scratching Martin, the Leafs gave themselves a roster of four lines that can score. There was speed and skill on every line, and if you can name a fourth-line centre from among Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak and Marleau, then good for you.

“We’re balanced on the road with four lines,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “I can’t tell you which is best and which isn’t.”

Sure enough, each of the lines contributed in their own way, even if some unusual suspects did the scoring.

It was Hyman, in his usual spot on Matthews’ line, taking a feed from Gardiner to open the scoring. Leivo, playing with Marleau, converted a breakaway. And Hainsey scored from the point with Bozak screening Carolina goalie Cam Ward.

“Josh got himself a goal, that’s positive,” Babcock said. “You’ve got to take someone’s job.”

Van Riemsdyk, Hainsey and Gardiner had two-point nights.

Andersen had a terrific night in goal, and is now 6-1-1 in his last eight games. He’s played the last five in a row, and will probably back up Curtis McElhinney on Saturday when Washington comes to town.

Outside of Andersen, there didn’t seem to be a Leaf that knew what to with the puck. The Hurricanes forechecked but the Leafs were their own worst enemy at times. Easy chances to clear the zone, or gain the Carolina zone turned into icings. Jake Gardiner was particularly woe- ful, bumbling three zone exits over two shifts.

“Some nights, they’re ugly,” said Babcock. “(Wings GM) Kenny Holland used to say it will be a Picasso in the morning when you look at the standings.