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BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- All it took was a simple line change to get
the Toronto Maple Leafs out of their offensive slump.
Sergei Berezin scored goals 3:34 apart and Curtis Joseph moved
into 15th place on the career victory list as the Maple Leafs beat
the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Wednesday night.
|  | | Sergei Berezin, right, scored twice in the second period to help the Maple Leafs come back and take the lead for good. |
Toronto had just 11 goals in seven games coming in, but Berezin
and Mats Sundin, who had a goal and two assists, provided enough
offense against the Hurricanes, who are suddenly slumping at home.
Berezin was moved up to the top line to play with Sundin and
Steve Thomas in an effort to jump-start the offense.
"We seemed fresh and had more energy," Sundin said. "This was
a very important game for us. All the teams behind us are winning
in our conference. You can call this one a four-point game."
Sundin and Berezin hadn't been on the same line in two years.
"I think they worked together better as the game went on,"
Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "A lot of us have been having
trouble (scoring), but Mats hasn't. He's been pretty darn good for
us."
Joseph posted his 306th win to move past Billy Smith. Ed Belfour
of Dallas is next at 327.
Carolina had its best January in franchise history with 18
points, but after starting with a nine-game unbeaten streak has
lost four of its last five at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Moments after Bryan McCabe hit the right goalpost with a slap
shot midway through the third, Jonas Hoglund scored his 16th on the
other side of the net to give the Maple Leafs a 4-2 lead.
Jeff O'Neill's second of the game and 27th of the season five
minutes later gave Carolina some hope, but Josef Vasicek took a
hooking penalty with 3:03 left to halt the Hurricanes' comeback.
Maurice and the Hurricanes were livid following what they
believed were a series of no-calls against Toronto in the third
period by referees Mark Joannette and Dean Warren.
"We're sitting here in the thick of things and it's frustrating
for us as a group, to play hard and have an outcome like that,"
Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley said. "But we've got to let this
go because we've got a big game against Atlanta."
Maurice waited on the bench for the referees after his players
had filed into the locker room, but got explanation for some of the
calls.
"That would be a kind way to put it," Maurice said when asked
in his postgame news conference if some of the calls were curious.
Carolina's Marek Malik and O'Neill scored 2:57 apart in the
second period to erase a 1-0 deficit.
The red-hot O'Neill missed two good scoring chances in the
first, but ripped a high slap shot over the glove of Joseph for his
career-best 26th of the season. O'Neill, who has 20 goals in his
last 24 games, had 25 last season.
O'Neill's two goals gave him 14 in January to break the
franchise record for a month. Mike Rogers had 13 in December, 1980,
and Kevin Dineen matched it in January, 1989.
But after O'Neill's first goal the Maple Leafs, who have
struggled offensively in their last seven games, got a pair from
Berezin over the final 3:53 of the period. He made it 3-2 with 18.6
seconds left with Sami Kapanen in the penalty box for tripping.
"He's a very slick player, a very intelligent player at finding
the holes," Maurice said of Berezin.
Sundin gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead when he took a perfect
centering pass from Tie Domi midway through the first to score his
18th.
Game notes
Sundin's three-point night gave him 500 points with
Toronto. ... Arturs Irbe started his 38th straight game in goal for
Carolina. ... Hurricanes defenseman Kevin Hatcher returned after
missing eight straight games with a knee injury. ... Domi's assist
on Toronto's first goal was his first point in 15 games. ... Rod
Brind'Amour's assist on Carolina's first goal extended his assist
streak to seven games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Carolina Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 4
Carolina 3
Detroit 3
Columbus 2
NY Rangers 4
Montreal 2
Florida 5
Buffalo 2
NY Islanders 3
New Jersey 2
Philadelphia 5
Pittsburgh 1
Edmonton 3
Chicago 2
Nashville 3
Anaheim 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mats Sundin wraps around the net and finds an open Sergei Berezin for the goal.
avi: 392 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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