Jan. 21: Leafs 1 vs. Habs 3

(Jonas Gustavsson takes the loss in goal)
Leafs scorers: Lombardi (4)
Habs scorers: Bourque (14), Diaz (3), Eller (10)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Kadri-Connolly, Lombardi-Bozak-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Crabb-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Loss 58:48 minutes played, 20 saves, 3 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
At the Saturday morning skate, the Leafs players vowed not to take their opponents too lightly.

To a man Joffrey Lupul, Cody Franson, and anyone who played in Tuesday’s loss to Ottawa swore that he wouldn’t make “the same mistake” in underestimating a team that played the previous night.

So what happened? How did the rested Leafs falter 3-1 against a Montreal Canadiens team that played in Pittsburgh just 24 hours earlier? “We let those guys hang around,” said Matthew Lombardi, who scored Toronto’s only goal. “I think we came out the way we wanted to, and then got away from it a little bit.”

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Jan. 19: Leafs 4 vs. Wild 1

Joffrey Lupul collects 3 points
Leafs scorers: Kadri (4), Crabb (8), Kessel (25), Grabovski (15)
Wild scorers: Johnson (6)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Kadri-Connolly, Lombardi-Bozak-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Crabb-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win 59:55 minutes played, 20 saves, 1 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
With their forward lines reshuffled, the Maple Leafs ended their three-game losing streak with a convincing 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Joffrey Lupul, playing with new linemates Nazem Kadri and Tim Connolly, had three assists.

All four Toronto lines had a goal, with Kadri, Joey Crabb, Phil Kessel, and Mikhail Grabovski each finding the net.

Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson didn’t have a particularly busy night in making 20 saves, losing the shutout bid on a bad-angle goal with 2:27 remaining in the third period.

Jan. 17: Leafs 2 vs. Senators 3

Phaneuf clipped by Senators’ Foligno
Leafs scorers: Lombardi (3), Lupul (20)
Senators scorers: Alfredsson (15), Spezza (20), Turris (3)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Bozak-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Connolly-Lombardi-Crabb, Rosehill-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Aulie, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Schenn
Goaltenders: Reimer (Loss 59:16 minutes played, 18 saves, 3 GA), Gustavsson (0:00)

Recap
It’s been a few years since the Battle of Ontario featured a game with as much significance as the contest played at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. With both the Maple Leafs and the Senators in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the intensity livened to the level witnessed during the playoff battles from a decade ago.

The end result was a 3-2 Ottawa win, a bitter defeat for the hosts to endure, given that they dominated for most of the game, outshooting the Senators 39-21 and registering the first two goals on the evening.

“It’s frustrating for us,” said Matthew Lombardi, who opened the scoring with a goal that squeaked through the five-hole of Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson. “We had a couple of tough losses there. We’ve just got to get ready for the next game. We know we have a good team, we just have to stick with it and be a little more consistent.
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Jan. 14: Leafs 0 vs. Rangers 3

Rangers goalie gets second shutout of the season
Leafs scorers: (none)
Rangers scorers: Rupp (4), Boyle (3), Stepan (10)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Connolly-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-Crabb, MacArthur-Lombardi-Kadri, Boyce-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Aulie, Komisarek-Franson, Gunnarsson-Schenn
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Loss 60:00 minutes played, 27 saves, 3 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Jan. 13: Leafs 2 at Sabres 3

Gustavsson’s perfect win streak in 2012 ends
Leafs scorers: Grabovski (14), Crabb (7)
Sabres scorers: Ellis (3), Gaustad (4), Pominville (15)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Connolly-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-Crabb, MacArthur-Lombardi-Kadri, Boyce-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Aulie, Komisarek-Franson, Gunnarsson-Schenn
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Loss 58:57 minutes played, 22 saves, 3 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Jan. 10: Leafs 2 vs. Sabres 0

Goal, assist, and big hit highlight Kulemin’s night
Leafs scorers: Kulemin (5), Grabovski (13)
Sabres scorers: (none)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Connolly-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-Crabb, MacArthur-Lombardi-Kadri, Boyce-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Aulie, Komisarek-Franson, Gunnarsson-Schenn
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win 60:00 minutes played, 32 saves, 0 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
To be blunt, the first half of Nikolai Kulemin’s season was disastrous. Coming off a 2010-11 campaign when he collected a career high 30 goals, Kulemin had found the net only 4 times all year – once on a penalty shot – heading into Tuesday night’s game at the Air Canada Centre vs. Buffalo.

As if the midway point of the regular season marked some kind of revelation, Kulemin not only collected a goal and an assist in Toronto’s 2-0, but energized the Leafs with a decisive hit on Sabres’ pest Patrick Kaleta. “That’s one of the hardest hits we’ve seen all year,” said coach Ron Wilson. “It kind of crowned the whole night for him.”

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