Kessel scores in OT for Maple Leafs

TORONTO — The youth movement has injected some life into the
Toronto Maple Leafs.

The pieces fit together brilliantly Thursday night in a 4-3
overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, with rookies
Viktor Stalberg, Tyler Bozak and Luca Caputi doing the heavy
lifting in regulation and Phil Kessel, himself just 22, sealing
the deal at 3:33 of the extra session.

It was the third win in four outings for the Maple Leafs
(22-33-12), who have looked like a different club since general
manager Brian Burke’s housecleaning prior to the trade deadline.

“It’s putting together a string of games, which we’ve done now
since the trade deadline shed everything and brought a lot of
young people in,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. “We’ve competed
hard in every game … we just want a fresher attitude and
different sense of culture, a different sense of it’s special to
be a Toronto Maple Leaf, and these young guys are taking
advantage of it right now.”

There was plenty of determined play most of the game, but
especially in a spirited overtime session, when the teams traded
back-and-forth chances.

Matters were settled when Bozak intercepted a pass in the
Toronto end, broke in on 2-on-1 with Kessel, deked around
exhausted Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier, and slipped the
slick winger a pass that he deftly tucked around a sprawling
Mike Smith.

“You’re always pretty nervous having your first year and we
haven’t played the full season,” Bozak said. “But playing with
the guys we are, every shift you get a lot better and you get
more experience and more comfortable with the puck.”

Bozak scored in regulation, fellow rookie Stahlberg had two
goals, and Luca Caputi, another rookie, added two assists.

Steven Stamkos, extending his points streak to 18 games with his
42nd goal of the season, Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie replied
for the Lightning (27-27-12), who lost for the seventh time in
eight games.

“We play hard, but hard’s not good enough right now,” Lightning
forward Martin St. Louis said. “For us it’s about results right
now and we just can’t seem to find that.”

Tampa Bay – fighting for the final playoff spots in the Eastern
Conference with Montreal, Boston, the Rangers and Atlanta -
struggled to contain the Leafs’ kids all night and eventually
paid for it.

Bozak put the Leafs ahead 3-2 just 3:37 into the third when he
picked up a loose puck to Smith’s right and fired it over the
prone goalie.

But Downie fired home a rebound past Jean-Sebastien Giguere just
1:13 later, setting up the exciting finish.

NOTES: D Garnet Exelby and F Frederik Sjostrom were scratched
for the Maple Leafs, while F Todd Fedoruk, tough guy Zenon
Konopka and D Matt Smaby sat out for the Lightning. … Leafs D
Luke Schenn twice drilled Lightning F Alex Tanguay.