• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Maple Leafs silence Lightning

Jan 4, 2012 - 5:04 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Joffrey Lupul totaled a goal and three assists as Toronto ripped Tampa Bay, 7-3, at Air Canada Centre.

Matt Frattin, Dion Phaneuf and Mikhail Grabovski each added a goal and one helper for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a three-game slide by tying a season high for goals in one game.

Jonas Gustavsson needed to make just 19 saves for his 10th win of the season.

"The last time we played them, they weren't playing well, but this time we just had our foot on the gas the whole time," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson about his club's explosive performance. "Every time we managed to tie the game, we managed to bounce back within the next shift or two."

Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier and Pavel Kubina scored for the Lightning, whose three-game win streak came to a crashing halt.

Mathieu Garon was tagged in the loss for four goals on 21 shots, pulled just after the midway point of regulation. Dwayne Roloson allowed three scores on 21 shots the rest of the way.

In a hectic second period which featured five goals -- four of those coming in a span of less than two minutes -- the Leafs emerged with a two-goal lead.

Frattin provided a 5-3 margin with 37.8 seconds left in the second, when he managed to poke a Nazem Kadri rebound through the legs of a Tampa defender and into a half-open net.

Phaneuf's tap-in from the top of the crease on a power play gave the Leafs a 6-3 edge with 1:23 played in the third period. The rangy defenseman, who cheated deep into the zone on the play, was able to hit the net thanks to a blind backhand pass from Grabovski.

Gustavsson then stopped Adam Hall's short-handed breakaway chance with 8:15 remaining, and Kessel extended the Toronto lead to 7-3 during a 5-on-3 when he beat Roloson to an errant Lupul pass at the left post.

"I don't want to downplay their effort, but we've been horrible against everybody," said Bolts head coach Guy Boucher. "Sometimes I feel we could have four orange cones against us on the road and we still wouldn't get a shot off. We could certainly do better against anybody no matter what they do."

Lecavalier put the Bolts ahead just 57 seconds after the opening faceoff, but Lupul countered on a rebound at 3:24 and Gunnarsson made it 2-1 for Toronto at 8:46.

Tampa evened the game with 8:05 remaining in the second period, as Martin St. Louis managed to sneak a lead pass through a Leafs checker on the right side for Stamkos, who beat Garon to the far side.

The deadlock lasted all of 33 seconds, as Grabovski chased down a Lupul dump in on the left wing, settled the puck and lifted in under the crossbar. But the Bolts answered less than a minute later on Kubina's blast from the right circle.

Boyce put the Leafs up 4-3 only 17 seconds later thanks to a set up on the doorstep from Frattin.

Game Notes

Toronto also hit the seven-goal mark in a 7-1 win over Washington on November 19 and a 7-1 road triumph at Tampa three days later...After being swept in the season series last year, the Leafs have beaten the Bolts by a combined 14-4 count in two wins this season...Lupul tied a season high with four points, first accomplished in that blowout victory against the Caps...Prior to the contest, the Leafs acquired forward prospect Nicolas Deschamps from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Luca Caputi and assigned him to Toronto of the AHL.