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Wallin lifts Hurricanes in overtime

Nov 5, 2008 - 4:42 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Even with their sparkling play over the final 40 minutes of regulation, the Toronto Maple Leafs were haunted by the first period.

Defenseman Niclas Wallin scored 1:52 into overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes nearly ruined a torrid start in Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Maple Leafs.

Blue-liner Dennis Seidenberg netted a power-play goal and Tuomo Ruutu, Chad LaRose and Ryan Bayda also tallied as the Hurricanes jumped to a 4-1 lead after one period.

After dropping the first game of the home-and-home series on Sunday, Toronto rallied back as Mikhail Grabovski capped his second straight two-goal performance early in the third period to forge a 4-4 tie. Niklas Hagman and defenseman Mike Van Ryn also scored for the Maple Leafs.

"You have to be thinking about preventing opportunities and playing better defensive position, and we didn't," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "As a group, we have to be better. We just have to work on our defense."

Toronto outshot Carolina, 27-8, over the final 40 minutes of regulation and by a 42-24 overall margin.

"It wasn't very pretty, but we got it done," Ruutu said. "That's the most important thing."

Ruutu opened the scoring 2:20 into the first by capitalizing on a 2-on-1 rush with LaRose, and Seidenberg doubled the lead 2 1/2 minutes later by firing a wrist shot past goaltender Vesa Toskala with the man advantage.

The Hurricanes made it 3-0 when LaRose deflected defenseman Anton Babchuk's shot under Toskala's pads while on the doorstep. However, the Maple Leafs finally responded as Hagman beat netminder Cam Ward during a 2-on-1 rush with 70 seconds remaining in the session.

LaRose was bothered by the Hurricanes' shoddy play in the second.

"We stood around and watched them play, and they came out hard," LaRose said. "We knew they were going to. We were just flat-footed and they took it to us. They were quicker to pucks and we were just watching them play."

Grabovski netted his first goal of the game on the power play, taking a cross-crease pass from rookie Nikolai Kulemin and snapping the puck into the open left side of the net at 3:40 of the second period.

"We played a really strong first period and they played a much more aggressive second period," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "(They) took it to us pretty good."

Van Ryn cut the deficit to 4-3 with 5:28 remaining in the session, firing a slap shot from the point past Ward. Grabovski forged a tie by converting a passes from defenseman Tomas Kaberle 89 seconds into the third.

"It's got to get better," Van Ryn said. "We've got to get better with the offense and not taking care of the puck in our own end. (In) the second period, we moved the puck better and were able to move it to our forwards better."

Ward, who finished with 38 saves, kept the Maple Leafs at bay the rest of the way, and Wallin struck with a hard slap shot from just inside the blue line early in the extra session, giving the Hurricanes their third win in four games.

"We got two points. It's better than one," Wallin said. "They're hard to play against. We got the overtime, but they had chances to beat us in regulation."

Ward also was relieved the Maple Leafs did not take advantage of his team's lackluster effort in the second and third periods.

"It seemed like we were a completely different team in the second period," Ward said. "We sat back and let them do what they wanted to do in the second. They got some guys that can put the puck in the net. It wasn't the greatest game for us, but in the end, we got the two points. Hopefully, we can learn from this."

Thanks to Wallin, Laviolette notched his 239th career win. He is now tied with John Tortorella for first on the all-time list among American-born coaches.

"If you're fortunate enough to be around long enough, you'll probably reach some milestones," Laviolette said. "The biggest thing is the two points and the win, getting it done in overtime."