Reimer, Maple Leafs beat Canucks for 3rd straight victory
TORONTO (AP) - Toronto coach Mike Babcock looked beyond the Maple Leafs' season-best three-game winning streak.
"I think if I'm not mistaken we've got points in six of seven," Babcock said Saturday night after Toronto's 4-2 victory over Vancouver.
The Leafs indeed have points in six of seven games after just four points in their first 10 games. James Reimer has started in goal in seven consecutive games, and again was crucial to the victory.
Reimer made 43 saves and got breaks when two goals were disallowed, one for a kicking motion and the other for an offside play.
"I feel like the boys upstairs made more saves than I did," Reimer said. "It was a wild one, really. I don't even know what all transpired, but having those two goals called back, that's real nice. It kind of makes up for some of the bad bounces we had earlier in the year."
James van Riemsdyk, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Shawn Matthias and Joffrey Lupul scored to help Toronto improve to 5-8-4. The Maple Leafs last won three straight during a six-game streak last December.
"I thought in the third we looked like a team that isn't used to winning, so we got on our heels instead of on our toes and playing well," Babcock said. "When you're a team that knows how to win, you come out and play the game like it's tied and you just keep going for the next one and you just keep playing. When you don't, you get on your heels and you stop making plays and you start flipping it out in the neutral zone so they can come again and come again and come again."
Jannik Hansen and Alexandre Burrows scored for Vancouver, and Ryan Miller made 36 saves.
Nazem Kadri set up Toronto's first goal, dropping the puck to van Riemsdyk for a wrist shot at 7:23 of the first period. In the second period, Toronto's tic-tac-toe passing on the power play got Miller out of his net, and Peter Holland found Parenteau in front for a goal at 8:51.
Miller kept the Canucks in it penalty-shot save. With Vancouver again short-handed, Michael Grabner earned the penalty shot when Alexander Edler impeded him at center ice.
Hansen beat Dion Phaneuf and ripped a shot past Reimer late in the second to make it 2-1.
A Canucks turnover just outside the blue line sparked a 2-on-none chance for the Leafs. Tyler Bozak fed Matthias for Toronto's third goal 1:49 into the third.
It looked like Hansen had scored again 4:53 into the third, but after a lengthy review, the NHL determined there was a distinct kicking motion and his goal was disallowed.
"It's a guessing game," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "I mean Jannik's kicking motion, is that a distinct kicking motion or is it just him moving his skate? I learned that it is a big guessing game, and whenever it goes to those guys you never know."
Burrows scored a power-play goal on a deflection 10:36 into the third on a goal that did stand, and the Canucks got another power play with the chance to tie it.
When they didn't, Lupul added the insurance goal with 3:37 left, and it was upheld after the Canucks challenged arguing goaltender interference.
NOTES: After a moment of silence to honor victims of the Paris attacks, anthem singer Mason Greer did his entire rendition of "O Canada" in French as another tribute. ... Canucks center Brandon Sutter missed his second game with an undisclosed injury.