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Maple Leafs beat Oilers for third straight win

Mar 14, 2010 - 5:13 AM TORONTO(AP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing everything they can to stay out of the NHL basement.

Toronto linemates Tyler Bozak, Nikolai Kulemin and Phil Kessel combined for eight points in the Maple Leafs' third straight victory, 6-4 over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night in a meeting of last-place teams.

Kessel had two goals and an assist, Bozak finished with a goal and two assists, and Kulemin had a goal and an assist. Jamie Lundmark and Mikhail Grabovski also scored for Toronto, last in the Eastern Conference with 58 points.

"We're fighting hard to get points," Bozak said. "We're on a little roll here. I hope that we can keep that going."

Andrew Cogliano, Gilbert Brule, Dustin Penner and Aaron Johnson scored for the Oilers, last overall in the NHL with 49 points.

"It was the first time in a long time we played a team below us in the standings," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "It was a test for our young guys."

After Cogliano cut it to 2-1 early in the second period, Mitchell, Kessel and Grabovski scored in a 1:26 span - the last two coming on a power play that hadn't struck since before the Olympics.

"It's not the result we wanted," Oilers goalie Jeff Deslauriers said. "Every time you go out there, you're always trying to win the game."

A fairly lifeless game perked up during a scrum around Deslauriers midway through the second period. The frustrated goalie hit tough guy Colton Orr with a couple punches before trading a few more with Dion Phaneuf.

"I didn't really know what he was doing," Phaneuf said.

Oilers coach Pat Quinn was upset at his own team because no one other than Deslauriers ended up throwing any punches.

"Your goaltender shouldn't have to protect his area," Quinn said.

Phaneuf found himself back in the Oilers bad book after taking the feet out from under Ryan Potulny in the third period, getting tackled by Theo Peckham shortly after.

Edmonton continued its parade to the penalty box as the period wore on and Kessel scored the Leafs' third power-play goal at 15:38.

It was another long night for Quinn, who was behind the bench for an NHL game at Air Canada Centre for the first time since being fired by the Leafs after the 2006 season. He was featured in a small tribute video during the first period that ended with the saying: "Welcome back, Pat."

NOTES: A group of Olympic gold-medal winners were honored before the game ... Garnet Exelby and Fredrik Sjostrom were scratched again for the Leafs ... Ladislav Smid, Patrick O'Sullivan, Ryan Jones and Fernando Pisani sat out for Edmonton.