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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- The Edmonton Oilers still haven't
solved Curtis Joseph.
Joseph made 18 saves as Toronto beat the Oilers 4-1 Thursday
night, giving the goalie his seventh straight win over his former
team since signing with the Maple Leafs in 1998.
|  | | Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph won his seventh straight game against his former team -- Edmonton. |
"He's not one of the best goaltenders in this league for
nothing," Oilers forward Todd Marchant said.
Mats Sundin had two goals and an assist as the Maple Leafs
stopped a two-game losing streak. Gary Roberts and Darcy Tucker
also had goals, Steve Thomas had three assists and Dimitri
Yushkevich added two.
"We still gave up a lot of chances, but that's certainly a step
forward for us," Sundin said. "You could tell we're still
searching as a team, how we're going to play and be successful. I
thought tonight was definitely a lot better than it's been in a
while.
"We didn't give up a lot of shots and we scored on the chances
we got."
Ryan Smyth scored the lone goal for the Oilers, who had a
four-game winning streak end as they lost for the first time at
home.
The Oilers did not get their first shot on Joseph until almost
nine minutes elapsed and also had difficulty clearing the puck out
of their own end, resulting in two Toronto goals.
"We got out of the gate slow," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish
said. "It looked like we were trying to feel our way into the
hockey game, and took three minors in the first period, which gave
them some momentum that they didn't have coming into this game.
"The second period, I thought we went out and played a really
good period, but couldn't beat Cujo. It was just a case of him
being in the right spot at the right time."
Though he wasn't too busy, Joseph made some big saves. When he
allowed a rebound, Toronto skaters were there to clear the puck.
"That's a prerequisite that I would like to have all the time --
make the first save and clear away the rebound," Joseph said.
"Every goalie would like that."
Toronto opened the scoring at 12:46 of the first when Sundin
beat goalie Tommy Salo on a power play. Danny Markov's shot from
the point went wide of the net, but the puck bounced back to
Sundin, who beat a helpless Salo.
The Leafs made it 2-0 in the second period on Roberts's first
goal since joining Toronto. The Oilers were unable to clear the
puck and Sundin found a wide-open Roberts in front of Salo.
Tucker scored his first of the season at 17:35 of the second and
Sundin added his second of the game early in the third for a 4-0
Toronto lead.
The Oilers broke Joseph's shutout bid at 9:21 of the third when
Smyth jammed a puck past Joseph for his fourth goal.
Each team took only 19 shots, including four each in the third.
Game notes
The Maple Leafs have allowed just three power-play goals in
34 disadvantages. ... Leafs center Yanic Perrault played his first
game of the season after returning from a knee injury sustained
last season. ... Edmonton was 0-for-6 on the power play and Toronto
1-for-5.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Edmonton Clubhouse
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 3
Ottawa 3
Montreal 3
Philadelphia 3
Washington 5
New Jersey 2
Nashville 2
Detroit 1
St. Louis 7
Los Angeles 1
Toronto 4
Edmonton 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Gary Roberts puts the Mats Sundin pass into the back of the net.
avi: 871 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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