|
CHICAGO -- Toronto Marlies goalie Drew MacIntyre knew a 3-0 lead wouldnt hold against the increasingly desperate Chicago Wolves on Saturday. But MacIntyre and defenders in front of him withstood a late Wolves push to claim a 4-2 victory and 2-0 advantage in the Western Conference semifinal series. "They were buzzing, they were more desperate after (our) 3-0 lead and really dominated us at times," said MacIntyre, who was provided with a three-goal first period cushion. "I think we sat back and let them come a We have to be better when were having that lead and still play like its a 0-0 game." Still, the club heads home with a chance to clinch the American Hockey League series on home ice with three scheduled games at Ricoh Coliseum. "You come into these series and hope to find a way to get into overtime one night and steal a game and to come out with two is great," Marlies coach Steve Spott said. "I give Chicago a lot of credit. They threw everything they had at us and we had to weather the storm." It took just 64 seconds for Torontos first strike. Centre Peter Holland picked up a loose puck following a Wolves turnover behind their net and dumped a shot past Chicago goalie Jake Alllen for a 1-0 lead. Toronto made it 2-0 at 7:38 mark when Brandon Kozun lined up for a shot on goal but found centre Trevor Smith open to Allens right. Kozun instead send a feed and Smith had an easy tap-in. Three minutes later, right winger Kenny Ryan swept towards Allen, who moved to block an opening. Ryan then spun and slipped a feed to winger Josh Leivo, who sent a shot over Allens shoulder for a 3-0 lead at 14:46. The Wolves finally scored as right winger Shane Harper broke MacIntyres shutout at 1:46 of the third. Chicago narrowed the margin to 3-2 on left winger Dmitrij Jaskins power-play goal at 17:21, but Marlies left winger Jerry DAmigo secured the win with an empty netter with 57 seconds to play. "We became a harder hockey club, a more seasoned hockey club," Spott said. "Its really the first time we had to deal with big-time adversity, so its nice that we dealt with it." MacIntyre made 22 saves for the win while Allen turned away 18 shots in defeat. "Theyre goalie played good and he blocked a lot of our shots but you cant make four or five horrendous errors early in the game to get down like that," said Wolves coach John Anderson. "Other than that we came along, we regrouped and had a pretty decent game after that. But 3-0 against a team like that is pretty tough." The series shifts to Toronto for games on Wednesday and Friday and, if necessary, next Saturday. . However, the 38-year-old is in no hurry to sign with another team. "Im not in a rush. This will be my last contract, so I want to do it right," said Burris on Thursday. . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. .1 million contract. The club said that Boll will earn $950,000 in 2012-13 and $1.15 million in 2013-14. The 26-year-old Boll had two goals and one assist with 126 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Blue Jackets in 2011-12. .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. .Y. -- Nothing seems to phase No.Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Boston Bruins defeated the New York Rangers 3-0 on Thursday. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Loui Eriksson all scored and Torey Krug supplied two assists for the Bruins, who have won five straight games. Cam Talbot allowed all three goals on 32 shots for the Rangers, who have dropped their last two games on the heels of a five-game winning streak. Boston is now 6-0-2 in their last eight meetings with New York. Bergeron put the Bruins on the board four minutes into the game after he whacked the rebound of Dougie Hamiltons shot through Talbots legs. Boston increased their lead to 2-0 on Krejcis redirection of Krugs slap pass 2:49 into the middle stanza. Each team had good scoring chances following the goal during the second. Rick Nash wasted a prime opportunity as his shot went wide on a breakaway less than seven minutes in, then Krejci had his shot in tight stuffed by Talbots pad almost two minutes later.dddddddddddd Eriksson made it a 3-0 game with 10:11 remaining as he settled the rebound of Zdeno Charas point shot down in front and lifted it into the top of the net. Meanwhile, Rask stopped seven shots in the first period, made 14 saves in the middle frame and turned aside nine offerings over the final 20 minutes for the win. Game Notes Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced during the first intermission that rookie forward David Pastrnak will stay with the team for the rest of the season ... Rask posted his 25th career shutout ... Boston also won five straight games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 10 ... Talbot is the first Rangers goaltender other than Henrik Lundqvist to start against the Bruins since Kevin Weeks did so on April 8, 2006, ending a string of 35 straight games, which includes the postseason ... The two teams will continue their season series at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 4. ' ' '
|
