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Sundin scores twice as Maple Leafs whip Bruins

Jan 2, 2007 - 4:40 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Mats Sundin did his part to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a much-needed win.

Sundin scored twice and set up another tally as the Maple Leafs coasted to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Bruins.

Sparked by Sundin, the Leafs won for just the second time in their last seven games.

"We need to win hockey games right now, we can't wait for guys to get back from injuries," Sundin said. "There's no time for excuses, we need to be better defensively,and as a whole, tonight was a step in the right direction."

"Tonight we didn't work as hard, and we got what we deserved," Boston defenseman Jason York said. "They played a solid game tonight."

Sundin - the Toronto captain - scored a power-play goal at 8:09 of the first period, tying the game at 1-1. He redirected defenseman Bryan McCabe's pass past Tim Thomas from the corner of the crease.

"Mats is putting us on his back and it's fun to watch him play," said Toronto goaltender Andrew Raycroft, who made 27 saves. "It's a lot of fun to be around him."

Less than two minutes into the third period, Sundin skated down the right side and blasted a shot between Thomas' pads from the top of the faceoff circle for his 18th goal, giving the Leafs a 4-1 bulge.

"Sundin's shot was a pretty good shot, but it's one that I save almost every time," Thomas said.

Defenseman Hal Gill, rookie Kris Newbury and Jeff O'Neill also scored for Toronto. Sundin had the primary assist on O'Neill's power-play goal, which capped the scoring.

Defenseman Zdeno Chara scored the lone goal for Boston, which has been outscored by a lopsided 9-1 in losing its last two games.

"I hope I don't see it too often, we had no energy, no legs, and Toronto outworked us in all areas," Boston coach Dave Lewis said. "They had a few unfortunate goals, but that didn't have a huge impact on the game. It looked like we were skating in sand."