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OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Alyn McCauley and Gary Roberts mirrored past playoff success in Ottawa to get the Toronto Maple Leafs back into their Eastern Conference semifinal series. McCauley scored a pair of second-period goals on assists from Roberts as the Maple Leafs evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece with a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. A product of the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League, McCauley lifted Toronto into a 1-1 tie just over six minutes into the second, then struck again on the power play with 2:43 left in the period to put the Leafs ahead. "That might be our most complete game of the playoffs," McCauley said. "That's exactly how we need to play against Ottawa. We were smarter, we conserved our energy and we took advantages of our opportunities." McCauley got Toronto on the board 6:17 into the second with his second goal of the playoffs. Roberts knocked a puck out of mid-air in the left faceoff circle and had his wrist shot turned away by Patrick Lalime. But McCauley charged the net and pushed the rebound under the goaltender's glove to knot it. Exactly 11 minutes later, McCauley scored again in similar fashion. He found a rebound of Roberts' wraparound alongside Lalime and chipped it over the sprawled netminder. "We definitely wanted more traffic and more shots," Roberts said. "That's key for us if we're going to win this series. We wanted more at Lalime. The way he's been playing, if he sees it, he stops it. So getting in front of him is what we have to do." It was the second postseason game-winner for McCauley. "It seems like every night someone new has to step up," McCauley said. "I guess tonight was my night. There is so much character on this team, any given night it could be somebody different coming up with the big goal." During his final season in juniors, McCauley had 56 goals in 50 games, then led the 67s with 14 goals in 22 playoff contests. Roberts, who also played junior hockey in Canada's capital, registered 109 goals in four seasons and appeared in one Memorial Cup with the 67s in the early 1980s. Curtis Joseph made 24 saves, including 11 in the final period for Toronto, which handed Ottawa its first regulation loss of the postseason. Joseph came up with his biggest save in the final minute of the third. Defenseman Chris Phillips tried to slide through the crease on a wraparound, but Joseph dove to cover the puck. It squirted loose briefly and Ottawa's Marian Hossa was pushed into the crease, but Joseph used his stick to keep out the puck. Although referee Kevin Pollock never signaled a goal, the play was reviewed and video goal judge Louis Therien deemed the puck never crossed the line. "I don't know where the puck went," Hossa said. "I thought it went in, but I wasn't sure. I guess (the officials) couldn't see it, either." "It didn't get through," Joseph said. "It was a wraparound that stayed in front. Their player dove at it, but it definitely did not go in." After being held to three shots in the first period, the Senators opened the scoring on defenseman Wade Redden's power-play tally 2:15 into the second. Redden took a pass from Hossa at the blue line and fired a wrist shot off Toronto defenseman Bryan McCabe and into the net. "Obviously, we need a better start," Redden said. "That's usually what gets us going. Tonight we didn't do the things we needed to do to win. Give them credit, they played a pretty stingy game, especially after their second goal. We just didn't have the same jump." The Senators, who had not given up a goal in the second period during the playoffs, also lost for the first time in six postseason games when scoring first. The Maple Leafs can take their first lead in the series on Friday, when they host Game Five. "We're confident playing on the road or at home, but we know they are, too," Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We knew it was going to be a long series. We knew it was going to be a tough fight, so we're not surprised." |
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