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Maple Leafs-Stars Preview

Oct 27, 2009 - 7:50 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Toronto (1-7-1) at Dallas (5-2-4), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally earned their first win of the season, but they still have plenty of work left to do if they hope to climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar.

They'll hope to use the momentum from their breakout performance as they continue their road trip with Wednesday's visit to Dallas, where the Stars will be trying to reverse a trend of problems at home.

Toronto relieved some of the pressure from its franchise-worst 0-7-1 start with a 6-3 win at Anaheim on Monday night, using a hat trick from Niklas Hagman to surpass its offensive output from the previous four games combined.

The Leafs (1-7-1) hadn't scored so many goals since an 8-6 win over Calgary on March 14, and their five power-play goals were their most since they equaled the feat against Florida on April 11, 2006.

"Hopefully we'll remember next game how good it feels, and we'll get another lead," Hagman said. "We had quite a few opportunities on the power play, and most of them were obvious penalties. It's fun to score, but today, getting the win felt real good."

Hagman had plenty of help, as Tomas Kaberle notched a goal and four assists while Lee Stempniak added a goal and three assists. Toronto's offense had been scuffling as the team awaits the debut of Phil Kessel, who was acquired from Boston but is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Leafs had also been dealing with major problems in net, but rookie Jonas Gustavsson returned from a groin injury Monday and stopped 25 shots to earn his first NHL win. It's unclear when struggling starter Vesa Toskala will be ready to play following a knee injury.

There are no questions in net for Dallas, with Marty Turco boasting a 1.80 goals-against average in his last five starts. He stopped 27 shots in a 4-1 win at St. Louis on Saturday.

"It was the best I've felt all year," Turco said.

The Stars (5-2-4) went 2-0-1 on a recently completed road trip, but they are just 1-2-1 in Dallas, where they play four of their next five. They've been outscored 7-1 in their last two home games, losses to Boston and Los Angeles earlier this month.

"I think we should be having success at home as well and I believe we will," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "We haven't been able to initialize our plan of attack when we've had a game home. If you can play well on the road, you should be able to play well at home."

Dallas' offense, which has scored four or more goals seven times in 11 games, should present a challenge for the Leafs. The Stars' line of young wingers James Neal and Loui Eriksson and veteran center Brad Richards has been especially productive, as each player already has at least 11 points.

The Stars have won three straight against Toronto, including an 8-2 road win Dec. 23 in their only meeting last season, but they will try not to look past the Leafs despite the team's dismal start.

"There is no team that you can take lightly anymore," winger Brenden Morrow told the Stars' official Web site. "... They have a lot of talent and we'll be ready to go."

Center Steve Ott will be out of the lineup for Dallas as he begins a two-game suspension for an illegal hit on St. Louis' Carlo Colaiacovo.