Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, left, skates by as the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate their first goal during second period NHL action on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009 in Toronto.NATHAN DENETTE
All eyes may have been on Phil Kessel's debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, but it turned out to be the goaltenders who stole the show.
In a surprising duel between two relatively unheralded European netminders, the Tampa Bay Lightning's Antero Niittymaki came out on top, making 40 saves - including 19 in the second period - in a 2-1 win and stoning Kessel 10 times in his first game back from off-season shoulder surgery. At the other end of the rink, Toronto rookie Jonas Gustavsson played well, too, but was beaten on a bit of a controversial goal by Ryan Malone in overtime as the Leafs picked up one point in the standings for the fourth consecutive game.
Malone's winner, his ninth of the season, drew a fair amount of protest from the Leafs, who remained on the bench calling for a review after the big Lightning winger crashed the net and Gustavsson fell backward as the puck hopped over him. Officials eventually ruled the goal was good, making for an unjust end for Toronto after they had carried the play for much of the game - including a John Mitchell shot that nearly beat Niittymaki early in the extra frame.
"We have to persevere - we can't change what we're doing because we're right there knocking on the door," Leafs head coach Ron Wilson said after the game. "We've just got to find a way to knock the door completely down."
Despite being tagged with the loss, the Leafs in many ways carried over the momentum from a solid five-game road trip (1-1-3) in their first game back at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto has progressed considerably on defence in the past 10 days, improving their goals against average from 4.57 in the first seven games to 3.17 over the last six. The Leafs entered the game mired in dead last in the NHL in both goals against and penalty killing, but were relatively stingy in both regards last night, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 when down a man and holding red-hot snipers Steve Stamkos and Martin St. Louis off the scoresheet.
A big reason for the improvement in goals against has been Gustavsson, who proved to be a stabilizing force for the Leafs in making 30 saves. The Monster made several strong stops last night, mostly early in the second period, and couldn't really be faulted for either of the pucks that beat him.
As for Kessel, he looked remarkably spry for someone who hadn't played in an NHL game since May 14. Wilson had cautioned prior to the game against putting too much pressure on the 22-year-old sniper, saying that he would likely limit Kessel's minutes to 14 or 15, but he played nearly 24 and proved capable enough of sparking offensive chances alongside linemates Matt Stajan and Jason Blake. His 10 shots on goal, meanwhile, were a career high.
"I felt pretty good out there," Kessel said after the game. "The hands weren't there, though. I had a lot of chances tonight and I've got to bury those."
"I had to keep putting him out there," Wilson said of Kessel. "He had some great opportunities. I think his timing is off a little bit, putting the puck exactly where he wants in a stressful environment, but I think he'll catch on to that pretty quick."
The only real cause for concern for Kessel came on his fifth shift of the game when he was leveled coming over the Lightning blueline by defenceman Mattias Ohlund and briefly left the ice. He returned soon after, however, no worse for wear.
"I don't remember the last time I got hit like that," Kessel said. "I was more worried about my head than my shoulder. I feel pretty tired now, but other than that, I feel pretty good. I'll get a little treatment. I started to feel better as the game went on."
"You could kind of see it coming," Wilson said. "He was dancing through a minefield and I could see Ohlund behind the other defenceman ... but he came back. You've got to give him a double thumbs up for taking a hit like that, a massive hit and coming back and still being a dominant player every shift."
The hit on Kessel spurred some truculence in the Leafs from unexpected sources, as Stajan scuffled with Ohlund and received a double-minor for roughing to put his team down a man. Soon after, Leafs winger Niklas Hagman dropped the gloves to take on Lightning defenceman Lukas Krajicek after Hagman was tripped going to the net. It was the first NHL fight for both.
On the Lightning side of things, captain Vinny Lecavalier snapped his cold streak of only one goal in his past 19 games to open the game's scoring in the second period. Leafs defenceman Ian White then evened the score early in the third on the power play, slapping home a shot from the faceoff circle to finally end Niittymaki's shutout bid.