Andreas Athanasiou scored his second goal Monday against the Dallas Stars in spectacular fashion, speeding into the offensive zone before toe-dragging around defenseman Johnny Oduya and roofing the backhand past goalie Antti Niemi.
His two-goal performance doubles his season total in his 18th game with the Red Wings.
The big performance from Johnson comes just one day after he was forced from a game against the Boston Bruins due to a puck to the head from an Adam McQuaid clearing attempt. The 28-year-old has three goals and two assists in his last six games.
The other story from the game came from a quartet of Maple Leaf rookies making their NHL debuts in William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Zach Hyman, and Nikita Soshnikov. All four impressed, but were ultimately kept off the scoresheet.
Player
TOI
SOG
Hits
Nylander
18:41
2
0
Kapanen
16:48
3
2
Hyman
15:58
2
1
Soshnikov
14:12
3
1
After Nazem Kadri scored with under three minutes left to make it a one-goal game, head coach Mike Babcock turned to Nylander, Kapanen, and Hyman for the game's final shift and the Maple Leafs kept considerable pressure before defenseman Jake Gardiner failed to keep the puck inside the blue line.
Though the result didn't go the way they'd hoped, it was clearly a dream come true for all four players to hit the ice at the NHL level.
"When you're standing in front of (Steven) Stamkos, you're like 'this is the NHL,'" Nylander told reporters, but admitted: "I just wanted to score, that's the only thing, and win the game. Otherwise it was lots of fun."
Kapanen: "It was pretty awesome I'm not going to lie."
The Leafs now head to Washington on Wednesday, where recent acquisition Brooks Laich will visit his old team. The Lightning, who have drawn even with the Florida Panthers at 78 points atop the Atlantic, will wrap up their three-game trip against the Ottawa Senators.
OWEN SOUND, Ont. - Petrus Palmu scored four times and added an assist as the Owen Sound Attack toppled the Niagara IceDogs 5-2 on Monday in Ontario Hockey League action.
Palmu put the Attack (28-21-10) on the board with a power-play goal in t...
TORONTO - Tyler Johnson scored twice as the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their win streak to seven games with a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Monday night.
Johnson, who took a Kevan Miller clearing attempt o...
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Derek Stepan wasn't interested in playing overtime.
The New York Rangers forward pounced on a loose puck after a miscue by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the neutral zone, then faked out goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with under three minutes left.
Stepan's 14th goal of the season came with seven seconds left in a tripping penalty to teammate Marc Staal, and helped the Rangers secure their third straight victory as they held on for a 2-1 win.
Servalli's source stressed Drouin's return is not a possibility, and Yzerman's offer is reportedly believed to only include the Syracuse Crunch, the club's AHL affiliate.
Even if the the offer included a chance to return to the Lightning before the playoffs, Servalli reports Drouin isn't believed to be interested.
The 20-year-old forward was suspended indefinitely without pay by the Lightning for failing to report to a game with the Crunch last month.
Yzerman elected not to trade Drouin, despite garnering plenty of interest from around the league, saying it "made no sense" to deal him for a rental player that he couldn't or wouldn't want to re-sign.
Drouin has been skating in the Montreal area with his former midget team while awaiting a deal. He could still be traded before the end of the season, but any team acquiring him wouldn't be able to use him in the playoffs.
The 2013 third overall pick could also be dealt at the draft, which takes place in Buffalo on June 24 and 25.
The 22-year-old made 15 first-period saves to keep the game scoreless, including the series of saves above, ending with a sprawling stick stop to rob Valtteri Filppula.
General manager Lou Lamoriello said he needed a better look at Sparks after trading James Reimer to San Jose ahead of the trade deadline, and the young goalie is certainly making a good impression so far.
EDMONTON - Jack Walker struck twice and Tyler Soy had a goal and three assists as the Victoria Royals toppled the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-1 on Monday to take over top spot in the Western Hockey League.
Joe Hicketts added a goal and an assist for...
The New York Rangers goaltender made a glove save while sitting helmetless on the bench as the backup netminder in the first period of Monday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.