Football
18y

Allison steps up, scores two goals as Leafs top Bolts

TORONTO (AP) -- Jason Allison did his part to help Toronto's
playoff hopes.

Allison scored twice and had an assist, and the Maple Leafs beat
the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Saturday night in a game featuring
two desperate teams.

Matt Stajan, Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov also scored for the
Maple Leafs, who have won just six of 22 games. Toronto is seven
points behind Montreal for the final playoff spot in the Eastern
Conference.

"We have to treat every game like a playoff game right now
because they are," Allison said. "I think the guys have, and I
think we'll continue that way. We have a lot of confidence that we
are going to get in."

The Maple Leafs have picked up five points in three games but
have a difficult schedule ahead.

Allison -- who has had a difficult season -- put a backhanded shot
past goalie Sean Burke at 5:55 of the first to give Toronto a 1-0
lead. He made it 3-1 in the third after Tampa Bay defenseman Darryl
Sydor failed to clear the puck, allowing it to trickle in front of
the net to Allison, who scored his 13th goal.

He assisted on Sundin's goal at 10:08 of the third.

"There's so much at stake for us," Sundin said. "We have to
make sure to help out and keep the puck out of our net. We've done
that a lot better the last three games."

Ruslan Fedotenko scored the lone goal for the defending Stanley
Cup champion Lightning, who have lost six of nine and allowed 50
goals during the skid. Tampa Bay fell into the eighth place, one
point behind Montreal, which beat the New York Rangers at home
Saturday night.

"We know we are desperate. We know it's crunch time," Burke
said. "We don't need to be told."

Burke allowed five goals on 30 shots -- dropping to 0-4 in his
last four starts.

"A lot of pucks are going in our net and that ends up knocking
you back," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella said.

Mikael Tellqvist, Toronto's backup goalie, got the start after
Ed Belfour played in Toronto's shootout loss to the New York
Islanders on Friday night. Tellqvist looked sharp in the first two
periods but allowed Fedotenko to cut it to 2-1 in the third on a
weak goal.

Tellqvist, however, robbed Fredrik Modin of a goal with a kick
save midway through the second. He finished with 29 saves.

"I still feel I got a lot of things to develop to be a No. 1
guy," Tellqvist said.

Stajan scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 by putting a wrist
shot past Burke at 17:19 of the second, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.

But after Tellqvist allowed a big rebound, Fedotenko got the
puck back and put a weak wrist shot past Tellqvist, who was out of
position.

Game notes
Toronto coach Pat Quinn benched struggling forward Jeff
O'Neill a day after sitting enforcer Tie Domi, who complained about
not playing. ... Toronto's Wade Belak knocked Chris Dingman to the
ice during a fight in the third. ... The Hanson brothers were on
hand.

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