Leetch posted three power-play assists in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut, a convincing 6-2 victory over the New York Islanders in front of 19,422 fans at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday.
The 18-year veteran was acquired Wednesday in a trade with the New York Rangers, the only NHL team he had played for.
"I was proud to be drafted by the Rangers and play my career there and it would have been great to win more games and been there for my whole career," Leetch explained. "But this is a great opportunity.
Brian Leetch, left, loosens up with Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin.(CP Photo/Frank Gunn)
"It's done with now and I'm a Toronto Maple Leaf. I'm lucky to be here and I'm lucky to be on a team that's got a great chance to do something in the post-season."
- RELATED:
- Islanders-Maple Leafs boxscore
"I expect four or five points from him every night," Maple Leafs head coach Pat Quinn quipped. "No, but I knew he had some butterflies and he had a real solid night."
With the win, Toronto pulled even with idle Tampa Bay and Philadelphia atop the NHL Eastern Conference standings.
All three teams have 86 points with the Lightning enjoying two games in hand, yet, on this night, all eyes were on Leetch.
"I agree with a lot of people here," Islanders captain Michael Peca said. "I think Leetch was a better pickup than (Sergei) Gonchar."
"As a player and as a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs my whole life, this is a great move," Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi said. "He's a true warrior – one of the truest professionals I've played with in my whole career."
Leetch made an immediate impact, setting up power-play goals from Mats Sundin and Bryan McCabe before the game was 13 minutes old.
"It feels good," said Leetch, who had three goals and nine points in six previous meetings between the Islanders and Rangers.
"Things went well."
McCabe scored twice with one assist and Gary Roberts notched one goal and two assists as the Maple Leafs (37-19-9-3) won their third straight following a three-game losing streak.
Both Sundin and Reichel had a goal and an assist while Darcy Tucker also scored in support of Ed Belfour's 16-save effort.
Alexander Mogilny and Karel Pilar, whose ice-time could be reduced to accommodate Leetch, added two assists apiece.
"He's an all-star defenceman and he's going to play a lot," Pilar said of Leetch, a two-time Norris Trophy winner.
"But hopefully, I'll play a little too. I don't think I've played bad this year."
Rookie Trent Hunter and Mark Parrish counted power-play goals for the Islanders (30-24-10-3), coming off an overtime loss and tie in a disappointing home-and-home series with the Pittsburgh Penguins – the worst team in the NHL.
Cliff Ronning contributed two assists.
Rick DiPietro made 18 saves in a losing cause.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead when Leetch's point shot was re-directed by Roberts directly to Sundin, who whisked it past DiPietro.
It was Sundin's 26th goal of the season and came 7:02 into the contest.
McCabe upped it 2-0 only 5:23 later, one-timing Leetch's cross-ice pass for his 14th.
"Everything went well right off the bat," Leetch recalled. "Getting the early lead made it easier for me.
"I was able to keep it simple. It was just a blur out there."
Reichel made it 3-0 by streaking down the wing and deking wide on DiPietro before flipping the puck into the open net for his ninth with 58 seconds left in the first period.
It remained 3-0 until Roberts neatly tipped Pilar's point shot between his legs and behind DiPietro for his 23rd at the 10:21 mark of the third.
Playing 5-on-3 for a full two minutes for the first time this season, the Maple Leafs went ahead 5-0 as Leetch fed McCabe for his 15th just 1:43 later.
"He made some real smart passes," Quinn said of Leetch.
After Hunter and Tucker swapped their 23rd and 20th in a 42-second span, Parrish completed the scoring with his 23rd and only 31 seconds remaining.
with files from CP Online
