Pohl, Sundin score two goals apiece as Maple Leafs down reeling Oilers 4-3

John Pohl was born 13 years after Toronto's last Stanley Cup triumph but still got a kick out of meeting the '67 Maple Leafs before Saturday night's game.

"It was really cool, they came to see us before the game in the dressing room," Pohl said. "It was really nice to meet the guys. And it was a nice ceremony. I think it did give us a boost."

Pohl and captain Mats Sundin scored two goals apiece to lift the Leafs to a 4-3 win over the reeling Edmonton Oilers, the present-day edition of the hockey club giving the 19,599 fans at Air Canada Centre reason to dream at least of a playoff berth with yet another strong effort.

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Pohl will return to Leafs tomorrow

Maple Leaf centre John Pohl says his back spasms have subsided, and he'll be ready to play Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

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Pohl 'absolutely' could play

John Pohl hopes his three-game absence from the Maple Leafs lineup comes to an end tonight.

Especially with his dad Jim sitting up in a Wachovia Center suite.

"It felt good out there. I have no complaints," Pohl said yesterday.

Had there been a game last night, Pohl said he would have been ready.

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Pohl back in lineup tonight

Maple Leafs centre John Pohl says his back spasms have subsided, and he'll be ready to play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Leafs can sure use him, because they've lost three in a row without him.

"If he can play, he's going in," coach Paul Maurice said. "We haven't won without him. He has quietly become an important part of our hockey club."

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Pohl cautious with tight back

John Pohl admits he hardly could walk on Friday, let alone skate.

And while his pesky back spasms have improved since then, the Maple Leafs forward isn't out of the woods yet.

Having missed the past two games, Pohl's leisurely skate at the Air Canada Centre yesterday lasted just three minutes before tightness in his back forced him to call it a day.

He'll test the back again at the morning skate today before a decision is made regarding his availability for the Leafs' game against the visiting New York Islanders tonight.

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Pohl, Leafs excel under Maurice

A return visit to St. Louis might not mean much to Maple Leafs forward John Pohl, while Toronto general manager John Ferguson Jr. may take a little more time to reflect.

When Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment hired the former Blues assistant general manager as its hockey GM in 2003, many Toronto fans knew of Ferguson more as the son of John Ferguson Sr. than as a promising front office type.

But after being criticized for not foreseeing how a big-market team would be affected in the new NHL under a salary cap system, Ferguson is starting to see the fruits of some of his moves.

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Pohl's shootout goal lifts Maple Leafs over Senators

Mats Sundin steered coach Paul Maurice in the right direction as the Toronto Maple Leafs started to go deep in their shootout list.

John Pohl scored on Toronto's fifth attempt and the Maple Leafs matched their longest winning streak of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Andrew Raycroft, who made 30 saves, stopped Jason Spezza's shot after Pohl scored on his first career shootout attempt with a backhand over Ray Emery's right pad.

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Pohl nets SO winner as Leafs edge Sens

Andrew Raycroft is feeling relaxed and confident in the Toronto Maple Leafs' goal, and it shows.

Raycroft stopped 30 shots in regulation and four straight shootout attempts as the Maple Leafs earned a 3-2 win over the rival Ottawa Senators.

Raycroft has been excellent in goal since the all-star break as the Maple Leafs have built a four-game winning streak. His recent confidence has not been lost on his coach.

''He looks different,'' said Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice. ''Better even than at the start (of the season) when he was playing well.''

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Unlikely hero saves win for Leafs

The most important move in what may prove to be the Toronto Maple Leafs' most important win of the regular season came not on the ice, where goaltender Andrew Raycroft was brilliant, but on the bench.

That was when the vastly entertaining game against the Ottawa Senators got down to the sudden-death shooters, after the teams battled through overtime without a winner and through the regulation three snipers in the shootout. Leafs head coach Paul Maurice looked down the bench, wondering who to send out as his fifth shooter when captain Mats Sundin caught his eye.

Sundin, who scored on his chance as the Leafs' second shooter and was not eligible to go out again, pointed at centre John Pohl. The 27-year-old rookie, with eight goals in 52 National Hockey League games this season and a grand total of 59 NHL games in his career, might not have been the coach's choice, even that far into the shootout.

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