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Pohl scores in shootout as Maple Leafs continue road success

Feb 4, 2007 - 5:28 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- John Pohl used the extra time to his advantage and helped continue a highly successful trip.

Pohl netted deciding goal in the shootout and captain Mats Sundin and Jeff O'Neill tallied in regulation as the Toronto Maple Leafs posted their fourth straight win, a 3-2 triumph over the Ottawa Senators.

Playing the third contest of a five-game road trip, Toronto has won seven of its last eight away from home and defeated Ottawa for just the third time in the last 14 encounters between the teams.

"It feels great to help the team get two points," Pohl said. "Whether it's scoring a goal in regulation or scoring in a shootout, I want to be a contributor. It means a lot to me personally to be able to help the team win like that. I take a lot of pride in that."

"It's the middle of a long road trip with two more games to go, so we need to keep doing what we're doing," Sundin said. "We're doing a lot of good things right now. All we need to do is look at where we are in the standings to realize the urgency of each hockey game."

With the shootout tied at 1-1, Pohl opened the fifth round with a backhander that beat goaltender Ray Emery under the crossbar.

"My fake wasn't as good as it could have been, but I got lucky and it went through his armpit," Pohl said. "I'm a righty, and the last two lefties were stopped, so who knows what the reasoning was. You've got to have a couple of moves in this league. It worked last time and it worked this time."

"I watch highlights on television sometimes to see what guys do," Emery said. "I didn't have a lot of info tonight on the guys shooting, especially Pohl. You get your information wherever you can."

Jason Spezza's attempt to prolong the game for Ottawa but was thwarted by netminder Andrew Raycroft's pad save.

"I pretty much knew what I wanted to do," Spezza said. "I faked a wrist shot and he bit on the shake. He went down and I kind of whiffed on it a little bit. It was obviously disappointing, but we get away with one point."

Toronto opened the scoring at 6:03 of the second period, when O'Neill redirected Matt Stajan's centering feed from the left wing boards past Emery's right pad for his 18th goal.

Sundin scored his third tally in four games with 5:08 left in the middle session, lifting the puck inside the right goalpost from the left faceoff circle.

Making his 14th consecutive start, Raycroft stopped 30 shots to help Toronto raise its road record to 15-9-3.

"It's fun to a point," Raycroft said. "We got our point and, obviously at this point in the year as you go forward, there's more pressure. That point becomes a lot more important, but at the same time, you just go out and try to make saves and try not to look like a complete idiot."

"Before the shootout started, we were talking about how exciting a game it was," Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "There was good goaltending at both ends, some good hitting, some good passing, some strange plays. There were some good goals, so it was fun to be a part of."

Ottawa began its comeback from a two-goal deficit during a power play at 4:47 of the third period, when captain Daniel Alfredsson redirected Spezza's pass past Raycroft's left skate from the doorstep.

"I haven't been playing the point lately on the power play," Alfredsson said. "One of the good things Jason does is faking the shot. He committed Raycroft and I just had to tap it in."

Just 3:19 later, Mike Comrie netted his 12th goal when he split a pair of defenders for a breakaway and slid the puck between Raycroft's pads, tying the contest at 2-2.

Emery made 36 saves but lost for the third time in five appearances for Ottawa, which fell to 13-4-1 since December 23.

"They were the better team when it was 2-2," Alfredsson said. "Their forecheck was much more forceful than ours, and in the third, we got more pressure on their defense. Obviously, we've got to be very happy to take it to overtime and give ourselves a chance to win."