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BOX SCORE
TORONTO (AP) – Curtis Joseph didn't mind taking a beating as
long as the Toronto Maple Leafs won.
Joseph, bumped throughout, made 38 saves and Sergei Berezin
scored his 20th goal of the season as Toronto beat the San Jose
Sharks 2-1 on Wednesday night.
|  | | Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph (not pictured) got some help in front of the net from some of his teammates vs. the Sharks. Joseph made 38 saves in the win. |
"It was rough in the crease, that's for sure, but I'll my lumps
if we get a win," Joseph said. "I could have retaliated, but that
would have meant a dumb penalty."
Joseph made 22 saves in the third period alone, including
several spectacular stops when the Sharks had four power-play
chances.
Tony Granato admitted San Jose wanted to crash the net.
"We lit a fire under him, and he was determined to shut us down
in the last period, and he did it," Granato said. "He's probably
a guy who thrives when he gets bumped because he certainly
responded well."
Toronto coach Pat Quinn didn't appreciate San Jose's treatment
of Joseph.
"They were jump-ons, it was that simple," Quinn said. "You
get angry with it because somebody is going to get hurt. And a
goalie is the most important player you've got."
Mike Ricci scored a power-play goal for the Sharks, who were
without Owen Nolan (suspension) and Vincent Damphousse (shoulder
surgery).
Nolan rejoins the Sharks on Thursday following an 11-game
suspension for violently hitting Dallas' Grant Marshall in the
head.
"They were fired up," Joseph said. "They had Owen and Vincent
out, two skilled guys, so they knew they had to go to the net and
bang."
Shayne Corson also scored the Leafs, 3-1 since a trade for
Philadelphia's Eric Lindros fell through last week.
Toronto, distracted by trade rumors for two months, has fallen
from first in the Eastern Conference to seventh since Lindros told
the Flyers he only wanted to play for his hometown Leafs.
"It was pretty desperate hockey for us tonight," Toronto's
Bryan McCabe said. "We needed the win. It's getting pretty tough
in the playoff race."
Corson's wrist shot beat goalie Steve Shields at 13:49 of the
first.
Ricci tied it just 46 seconds into the second, sweeping the puck
in before being checked into Joseph.
Berezin collected teammate Yanic Perreault's shot off the
boards, and put it past Shields at 3:44 of the third.
Game notes
Toronto's Igor Korolev is scheduled to return on Thursday
from Moscow where his mother died on Friday. His father died in
October. ... Nolan had 18 goals and 22 assists in 38 games before
the suspension. The Sharks are 5-4-2 without him. ... The Leafs
have won just three of 10 games. ... Toronto went 0-for-8 on the
power play, while San Jose went 1-for-9. ... Shields made 26 saves.
... Joseph has allowed just five goals in his last four starts.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
Nolan eager to rejoin Sharks after 11-game suspension
RECAPS
Columbus 5
Phoenix 2
Montreal 4
Pittsburgh 2
NY Rangers 4
Florida 2
Toronto 2
San Jose 1
Edmonton 5
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 5
Dallas 4
Detroit 3
Anaheim 1
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