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leafs beat

That unlikely quick-strike offence demonstrated by the Toronto Maple Leafs these past few games was at it again Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

Okay, it wasn't a nine (like they managed against the Atlanta Thrashers) or a six (which they put up against the St. Louis Blues).

But after a listless first period in which they managed just five shots and few legitimate scoring chances, the Leafs rattled off two goals in a 34-second span early in the second to turn the tables on the Kings and the momentum in their favor.





In the end, it was Nikolai Kulemin's 16th goal of the season that broke a third-period tie and gave the Leafs a 3-2 win over the Kings, marking the 599th coaching victory of Ron Wilson's career.

Wilson will get a chance to become only the seventh NHL coach with 600 victories tonight against his former team, the San Jose Sharks.

"The hockey gods are being a little bit ironic here," said Wilson. "I just told Burkie (GM Brian Burke), 'if this is the way it's going to be, we should have played San Jose a month earlier."

The victory extended Toronto's win streak to three games, the first time they've managed to string that many victories together since they went 4-0 to start the season.

Darryl Boyce and Phil Kessel also scored for the Leafs against Kings' goaltender Jonathan Quick, he of the sparkling 2.15 goals-against average. Wayne Simmonds and Michal Handzus replied for the Kings, as rookie James Reimer won for the third time in four decisions in the Leaf goal and played another strong game on behalf of the Leafs.

Reimer needed to be especially good in the final 100 seconds of play, when Dion Phaneuf was in the penalty box for slashing Ryan Smyth and Quick was on the bench for a sixth attacker. The Kings hemmed the Leafs in the zone for the better part of a minute, but couldn't jam the tying goal past the Leafs' defence.

"They came hard, dumping a lot of pucks in and going after it," said Reimer. "Kudos to the guys - they worked hard on the boards and in the corners and blocking shots.

"I feel pretty comfortable out there, but they're a good team and you've got to give them respect out there. I just focus on the puck."

Wilson said he might consider deviating from the plan and giving Reimer the start against the Sharks instead of Jonas Gustavsson. What he particularly liked about his game last night was his calm under pressure.

"Whenever we needed a whistle, he was cool and calm," said Wilson. "He doesn't give up many rebounds. He coolly and calmly settles stuff down when the other team is all over us. He did a great job."

KULEMIN SNAGS THE GAME WINNER

Kulemin's goal, his team-high fourth game winner of the season, came after Kings' defenceman Alec Martinez turned the puck over inside his own blue line. The Leafs worked it in tight, Kulemin getting to the loose puck ahead of Anze Kopitar. Quickly, he turned, spun and fired it home.

It meant the Leafs reached the midpoint of the season with 38 points and lifted them into an 11th-place tie with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, 11 points out of the final playoff spot.

ARMSTRONG PLAYS

Only three days after sustaining a scratched cornea, left winger Colby Armstrong was in the Leafs' line-up, without missing a single game. Armstrong received medical clearance Monday afternoon to play after taking a sucker punch from the Atlanta Thrashers Ben Eager last Friday that obliged him to wear an eye patch for three days. Eager was suspended four games for his indiscretion; Armstrong was in the starting line-up last night, playing with Kris Versteeg and Darryl Boyce.

Armstrong made a neat behind-the-back pass in the neutral zone to open up a lane Boyce that led to the first Toronto goal. Boyce finished it off by firing a shot through the legs of the Kings' defender, fooling goaltender Jonathan Quick.

At the other end, James Reimer received the start in goal for the Leafs, likely his last appearance in a while, if J.S. Giguere gets medical clearance to play Thursday.

COMMISSIONER IN THE HOUSE

Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game as part of his annual swing through California and will also be in San Jose tonight when the Leafs play the Sharks on the third stop of this four-game swing. In a lively 15-minute Q and A with reporters between periods, Bettman typically didn't stray too far off message.

He figured an outdoor game might eventually be played in Toronto, but it would be a Heritage Classic type in February, as opposed to the New Year's Day game, which will continue to be played by two U.S. teams in a traditional hockey climate. Sorry southern California.

Next year, because New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, Bettman acknowledged that they might move the game off of Jan. 1 so they don't go head-to-head against the NFL.

A more pressing scheduling issue is determining what to do with the season-opening games in Europe. Bettman needs to discuss that with Donald Fehr, the newly appointed executive director of the players association and figured a resolution might be needed in the next couple of weeks.

As for the ongoing controversy about head shots - and the fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby spoke out this past week to suggest the rule may need further tweaking - Bettman said he welcomed input from the players about where to take the matter next, although he thought the current rules were working pretty well.

"If a player has a good idea or a complaint about something, we encourage the communication," said Bettman. "Whether they choose to do it publicly or not is up to them."

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