Mogilny Returns, Tucker Wins It

Alex Mogilny’s three month absence from the Maple Leaf lineup after undergoing and recovering from hip surgery finally came to an end last night as the star forward made his long awaited return. Playing a more limited role on the fourth line along with Matt Stajan and Tom Fitzgerald, Mogilny was eased back into game action by Coach Pat Quinn. In total, Mogilny saw just over thirteen minutes of ice time.

Bryan McCabe gave the Leafs the lead in the first period with a power play goal on a good shot from the point set up by Joe Nieuwendyk. From that point on until the Hurricanes scored midway through the third period, the game was extremely tight checking. Darcy Tucker won the game for the Leafs in overtime after going hard to the net to jam in a centering pass from Drake Berehowsky.

Mikael Tellqvist, who made his second start in the last three games, was exceptional making thirty four stops including numerous saves that were of the difficult variety. Just prior to Tucker scoring the game winning goal, Tellqvist came up with a huge stop off of Jarret Stoll who was all alone infront of the net.

The Leafs will take on the struggling Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and then will play the Carolina Hurricanes again on Monday.