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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (AP) -- Curtis Joseph does what it takes to make the
Toronto Maple Leafs winners.
|  | | Curtis Joseph made 31 saves, including a point-blank stop on a shot by Adam Graves of the Rangers. |
Joseph proved his mettle Tuesday night, stopping 31 New York
shots as the Maple Leafs took a hard-fought 3-1 victory from the
Rangers.
"Curtis was good when he had to be," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said.
He had to be good from the opening whistle as the Rangers came out hard and fast. They outshot the Maple Leafs 10-1 during the first 11:30, including five shots on their only power play of the period. Joseph turned them all aside.
"We killed that penalty, and the shots were like 10-1 in their
favor and the ice seemed to be tilted in our direction," Quinn
said. "But that's what Curtis does -- he keeps us in there."
The ice shifted the other way for the rest of the period, as
Toronto took 11 of the last 13 shots of the period. One of them got
past Rangers goalie Mike Richter, and it was a former New York
player who scored it.
Tie Domi picked up his third goal of the season -- and second
against the Rangers -- at 18:22 when he back-handed the rebound of
Garry Valk's shot past Richter.
"Any time you get traded, even if it was years ago, you want to
come back against your old team and win," Domi said. "And it's
even nicer when you score."
Rangers coach Ron Low had a theory for the first period
turnaround.
"I thought we came out very well in the first period and then we started turning pucks over in the middle of the rink," Low said. "We have to be a hockey club that is going to use the walls and keep speed going. We played into their hands for the rest of the period."
The Maple Leafs played positional hockey for the second period,
and even though they were outshot 12-6, they still led by a goal.
Toronto capitalized early in the final period, on a Mark Messier
hooking penalty, to take a 2-0 lead at 1:28. Yanic Perreault took a
cross-ice pass from Sergei Berezin and fired a wrist shot from the
right circle past Richter.
"Even if Sergei doesn't score, he creates chances," Perreault
said. "He fed me a perfect pass."
The Rangers got back in it when Valeri Kamensky scored on a
power play at 4:43. Joseph stopped his right-circle slap shot, but
the puck had enough momentum to trickle over the goal line.
"I thought it shouldn't have counted," Joseph said. "I was
run over as I was making the save, and the puck was spinning and
just made it over."
The Rangers pressed for the rest of the period, and Toronto
found itself on a 2-on-1 break late in the game. Valk skated down
the right side and sent a pass across to Igor Korolev, who
hesitated and then fired a wrist shot to the short side with 53.5
seconds left in the game.
"We played positionally well," Quinn said. "A perfect example
was Berezin, who got the puck by being in the proper position to
send it up to Valk on that last goal."
Toronto remained tied for first in the Northeast with Ottawa,
which also won. The Rangers dropped to .500 (10-10).
Game notes
Before the game, the Rangers honored D Brian Leetch for
breaking the team's career assist mark. The first of Leetch's two
assists last Saturday at Calgary was his 616th with the Rangers,
eclipsing Rod Gilbert's mark. His teammates presented him a silver
hockey stick, while general manager Glen Sather represented the
team in giving Leetch a trip to Disney World. ... Domi's goal was
his second against his former team. ... Rangers D Rich Pilon was
injured in the second period, but returned in the third. ... When
the Rangers travel to the New York Islanders on Wednesday, captain Mark Messier is scheduled to play in his 1,500th NHL game. ... Rangers forward Eric Lacroix broke a finger, and will be out at
least four weeks.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
NY Rangers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 3
NY Rangers 1
Ottawa 2
Boston 1
Florida 4
Montreal 1
Vancouver 4
St. Louis 3
Chicago 4
Phoenix 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tie Domi's charge to the net pays off for Toronto in the first period.
avi: 1120 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sergei Berezin sets up Yanic Perreault for Toronto's second goal.
avi: 1140 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Rangers get one back with a power-play goal courtesy of Valeri Kamensky.
avi: 1030 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Igor Korolev seals the game for the Maple Leafs late in the 3rd period.
avi: 1120 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The crossbar denies Theo Fleury a chance at a short-handed goal.
avi: 807 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Goalie Curtis Joseph talks with ESPN's Brian Englbom after the Leafs victory.
wav: 301 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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