Sundin gets shootout winner in return to Toronto
Emotional former captain takes a big bow following the game
Last Updated: Sunday, February 22, 2009 | 12:20 AM ET
CBC Sports
Mats Sundin blows a kiss to the fans at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto after scoring the winner and earning first-star honours in his return to the city he starred in for 13 years. (Chris Young/Canadian Press) Take a bow, Mats Sundin.
A few minutes after the former Toronto Maple Leafs' captain scored the winning goal in a shootout for his visiting Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, he stepped back on the Air Canada Centre ice as the game's first star.
The standing ovation must have taken his breath away.
Sundin, who played in Toronto for 13 years, emotionally blew kisses to the crowd, waved and then bowed before heading off with cheers, not boos, ringing in his ears.
"It was a special feeling," Sundin told Elliotte Friedman of CBC Sports, afterward.
Vancouver won the game 3-2 to give the club its eighth win in nine games and a 30-21-8 record overall, while the Leafs (21-26-12) went down for the third straight time.
But the memories of the night will revolve around Sundin, especially his outstanding final effort.
Mikhail Grabovski had just kept the Leafs alive in the shootout by beating Roberto Luongo when Sundin was sent out.
As has been his style in the past, the big Swede came in quickly on Vesa Toskala, faked a forehand and put a devastating backhand into the cage.
Sundin had raised the ire of some Leafs' fans last March when he refused to waive his no-trade clause and allow Toronto to get something for him before free agency.
That led to speculation he would be roundly booed Saturday, but despite a few jeers, it was mostly cheers, starting with a video tribute in the first period.
"I was probably crying a little bit ... 13 years in this city with a team that's been through a lot of ups and downs ... and a lot of great teammates," Sundin told Friedman.
"It's been a very emotional ride."
Backstops make big stops
Overtime belonged to the goaltenders, as Toskala and Luongo traded excellent saves.
The Toronto keeper's best effort was a two-stopper in short succession, the first off Daniel Sedin and the other when defenceman Kevin Bieksa snuck right in.
Luongo made a strong save on Pavel Kubina on a shot from the point just as a lane opened right up, and he also put the glove out and nabbed a Matt Stajan effort off a two-on-one.
Toronto almost won in regulation
It looked like this one was going the Leafs' way in regulation despite the third period efforts of the visitors, who came into the last frame down 2-1.
Toskala made a handful of difficult stops, including a three-on-two led by Sundin at the eight-minute mark of the third.
Sundin then had another great chance as he sat on the far post when a pass came across the crease. Toskala got there just before the puck arrived and was able to block the post and keep the lead.
Dominic Moore put an inadvertent stick tip into the forehead of Willie Mitchell halfway through the third and drew a double minor that seemed to give the Canucks the chance they needed.
Not only did the Leafs kill the chance, the visitors couldn't muster a single shot through the four-minute advantage.
Vancouver tied the game 2-2 thanks to some nifty work by the Sedin brothers and a tip out of the air by Alex Burrows.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin worked a give-and-go at the right point before Daniel fired one that went by a crush of bodies in front of him.
Burrows, battling with a defender in front of the net, then got his stick on the rubber about chest high and it went in for his career-high 15th of the season at 16:03.
Leafs strike first
Toronto opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 12:26 of the opening period.
Kubina took a pass from Lee Stempniak and fired a shot at the net that tipped off the shaft of Jason Blake's stick. It was the red-hot forward's 22nd goal of the year.
Canucks get even
The Canucks evened the game at 9:49 of the second period with a power-play goal of their own.
Sami Salo one-timed a puck from the left point that deflected off Toronto's Nicklas Hagman and by the outstretched blocker of Toskala to make it 1-1. It was his fourth goal of the year.
Toronto took the lead again on a short-handed goal by Matt Stajan at 16:11 of the second.
Stajan skated down the right wing and took a slap shot that squeaked between the legs of Luongo and dribbled across the goal line.
Just 29 seconds later, Dominic Moore had a chance to increase the lead in true soccer style.
Moore blocked a shot in the Leafs zone and broke his stick.
He skated down the ice kicking the puck toward the Vancouver net before passing it with a foot to a hustling Jason Blake who went in alone and was stopped by Luongo.
