Music: {allcanada} New York (4-4-1) at Toronto (5-3-1)

Friday, October 29, 2010

{allcanada} New York (4-4-1) at Toronto (5-3-1)

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Game info: 7:00 pm EDT Sat Oct 30, 2010
TV: CBC, NHLN

A scoring outburst was a big reason the Toronto Maple Leafs were the biggest surprise in the NHL just two weeks ago. Now, their offensive play is contributing to their funk.

The Maple Leafs attempt to re-establish themselves offensively and win for the second time in six games when they meet the New York Rangers on Saturday night for third time this season.

Toronto (5-3-1) opened 2010-11 with a four-game winning streak and scored 16 goals. The stretch was capped with a 4-3 victory at New York (4-4-1) on Oct. 15, giving the club promise after finishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference last season.

The Maple Leafs, however, followed that impressive start by going 1-3-1, including a 2-1 defeat to the Rangers at home Oct. 21.

Toronto has been limited to seven goals in its last five games, a sluggish stretch that continued Thursday with a 2-0 loss at Boston.

"I don't think guys are pressing," defenseman and captain Dion Phaneuf (notes) said. "We had opportunities, but we ran into a hot goalie. We didn't have enough shots, so we were passing the puck too much. The main thing is; you want to score goals, you've gotta shoot the puck."

Phil Kessel (notes) can't be blamed for Toronto's recent offensive shortcomings. The right wing leads the team with seven goals and nine points with three goals coming in the last five games. He was held without a point for just the third time this season against the Bruins—his former club—despite a team-high six shots.

Kessel went without a point in the last meeting with the Rangers after getting two goals and one assist in the first matchup.

Perhaps re-inserting Jean-Sebastien Giguere (notes) in net will provide a spark for the Leafs. He's 4-1-1 with a 2.30 goals-against average, including a 21-save performance at New York two weeks ago.

Jonas Gustavsson (notes), 1-2-0 with a 2.36 GAA, made 30 saves in the loss to the Rangers on Oct. 21.

Giguere, though, has won two of his last three games against the Rangers behind a 1.97 GAA.

New York may be relieved to get back on the road after concluding a 1-2-0 homestand with a 4-3 loss to Carolina on Friday. The Rangers are 3-1-0 away from Madison Square Garden.

"We have to keep on fighting here and you can't break apart," coach John Tortorella said. "We need to stay consistent and I think things will bounce our way, home or away."

Things are going pretty well for Ryan Callahan (notes), who leads the Rangers with 10 points and is looking to match a career-high six-game points streak from March 12-22, 2009. The right wing got closer to that mark by scoring a goal and assisting on Brandon Dubinsky's (notes) team-leading fifth of the season Friday.

Callahan has accumulated three goals and four assists during his current run. He had an assist at Toronto on Oct. 21 after getting only one goal in the previous four visits.