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TORONTO — Not even the latest round of trade rumours involving Mats Sundin could wipe the smile off the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Tuesday night.
His Leafs had won their second game in a row, this time a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the result left the big Swede in a playful mood.
"Is it?" Sundin replied when informed that the latest scuttlebutt had him playing his final game in a Leafs sweater.
"Why would I?" was his response when asked whether he has started taking French lessons because one of the many rumours had him on his way to the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nik Antropov sends Columbus Blue Jackets' Jan Hejda into the boards during Toronto's 3-1 win on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
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- Buffalo Sabres
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Nik Antropov
- Carlo Colaiacovo
- Boyd Devereaux
- Tomas Kaberle
- Chad Kilger
- Pavel Kubina
- Pascal Leclaire
- Bryan McCabe
- Dominic Moore
- Rick Nash
- Michael Peca
- Matt Stajan
- Dick Tarnstrom
- Vesa Toskala
- Darcy Tucker
- Nikolai Zherdev
"Oh, is that it now?" Sundin continued. "As I've said before, I'm just a hockey player. I can't control the other stuff."
With three games to play and a week to elapse before the NHL trade deadline arrives on Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST, Sundin has yet to throw in the towel and waive his no-movement clause. Despite this necessary and important non-development, speculation still has him headed to the Detroit Red Wings, the Canadiens or the Anaheim Ducks.
There also was speculation that if Sundin is presented with a destination to his satisfaction, such as Detroit, he would agree to be moved.
But until then, Sundin had more pressing issues to deal with. Such as, did he see the blonde sitting across from the Leafs' bench in the second period tease the male fans at the Air Canada Centre by lifting up her sweater to show them her bra?
"I didn't know that," Sundin said. "I missed that."
Apparently, backup goaltender Andrew Raycroft saw the show that livened up the monotonous proceedings because all four goals of the game were scored in the opening 16 minutes 57 seconds, and he informed some of his teammates after the game.
While Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala, who made his 12th consecutive start, Nik Antropov and Carlo Colaiacovo were chosen as the game's three stars, it was Leafs line of Dominic Moore, Chad Kilger and Boyd Devereaux who combined to become an important part of the Leafs' victory.
Unfortunately for the Leafs, Devereaux suffered a right knee injury in the final minute, but the severity of the ailment will not be determined until he undergoes a magnetic resonance imaging examination Wednesday.
The setback to Devereaux notwithstanding, the energetic threesome continued their strong skating and fore-checking and their determination led to the game's opening goal, by Colaiacovo, which bounded in off Columbus defenceman Dick Tarnstrom, and Kilger's goal late in the first period to put the Leafs up 3-1.
For a couple of players (Moore and Kilger) plucked on waivers and another (Devereaux) picked up off the scrapheap, the three have been valuable contributors to the Leafs' sound play lately. They also kill penalties, and it was a good evening for the Toronto penalty killers because Columbus came up empty in four man-advantage situations.
"I think the three of us play a mature game," said Moore, who rooms with Devereaux on the road. "By that I mean we keep it simple and feed off each other.
"The three of us have good speed and skill and we complement each other."
Who would have thought with all the high-priced talent with no-trade contracts and the unfulfilled potential of some of the younger players that the three quiet, but professional veterans sitting in the southeast corner of the dressing room would become so significant?
The 14th-place Leafs didn't gain any ground in their uphill climb to make the playoffs in the NHL's Eastern Conference because the eighth-place Boston Bruins also won. So the Leafs remain seven points behind the final playoff spot in the East.
The Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Antropov scored on the power play. Nikolai Zherdev made the score 2-1 30 seconds later, but then Kilger's goal gave the Leafs enough of a cushion to enjoy the ride to another win.
Toskala made 26 saves for his 22nd victory of the season.
