Maple Leaf Offense Comes To Life

The Maple Leafs marched into Phoenix with a great deal of confidence that they gained in their tight 3-1 victory over Dallas on Wednesday. They came out in the first period showing a lot of enthusiasm with hard forechecking and good puck pursuit. Their offensive game was finally at the level Leaf fans expected from the beginning of the year.

Despite the solid showing offensively, undisciplined penalties, once again, almost led to the surrendering of the lead. Mikael Tellqvist, who started his first NHL game, played very well especially late in the third and early in the first when the Leafs got down two men for two minutes. During that penalty kill, he made a number of strong stops preserving the 1-0 lead for the Leafs.

Owen Nolan scored two goals and recorded an assist along with displaying some of the characteristics that are often attributed to his name. Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts also showed some of their magic combining on a play to record the Leafs third goal on the evening.