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Toskala looks to continue recent strong play in goal

Oct 29, 2007 - 1:51 PM Washington (4-6-0) at Toronto (5-4-3) 7:30 pm EDT

TORONTO (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Vesa Toskala during the offseason to shore up their shaky goaltending. After a slow start, it appears to have been a solid move.

Toskala goes for his third consecutive win as he leads the Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals on Monday.

Toskala, who was brought in to challenge incumbent goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 22 along with troubled left wing Mark Bell, surrendered 24 goals over his first six starts, going 2-3-1 in that stretch.

However, the 30-year-old netminder has been much better over his last two appearances, allowing only three goals. He also collected 55 saves in posting a pair of road wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.

The recent play has complimented the NHL's second-highest scoring offense, which has benefited from the unexpected contribution of center Nik Antropov. The 27-year-old Russian, who has never had more than 45 points in his previous seven seasons with Toronto, ranks among the NHL leaders with 15 points.

Antropov's eight goals lead the team and his overall point total trails only teammate Mats Sundin, who has 18.

While Toronto struggled with its defense until just recently, the Capitals have played much better on that end. Despite dropping a 4-3 game on Saturday to the St. Louis Blues, Washington has held five straight opponents under 30 shots.

The play on the defensive end has not helped the team avoid dropping six of seven games though as the Capitals' highly-touted offense has managed more than three goals in a game only once this season.

While left wing Alexander Ovechkin leads the team in goals and assists and has scored seven points in his last three games, the Capitals' 24 goals so far this season is third-worst mark in the Eastern Conference.