Canes fight back to beat Toronto

RALEIGH -- It was the kind of game the Carolina Hurricanes probably would not have won a few weeks ago. Maybe one week ago.

The Hurricanes trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 after the first period Thursday night at the RBC Center.

The Canes trailed 4-2 in the third period, and they trailed 5-4 with just 29.9 seconds left in regulation after a goal by Leafs defenseman Ian White.

And won.

It took a shootout to decide it, but the Hurricanes now are used to shootouts. Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen opened the shootout with goals, goaltender Manny Legace stopped both Leafs shooters and the Canes skated off with a 6-5 victory that could be -- emphasis on "could" -- a season-turner.

Erik Cole's goal with 2.9 seconds left in the third, after the Canes pulled Legace for a sixth attacker, tied the score 5-5 and had the RBC Center rumbling. The Hurricanes (4-12-5), who won a 5-4 shootout against Minnesota on Sunday and then lost one 3-2 Tuesday in Montreal, now have points in four straight games for the first time this season.

"We didn't give up," said Canes defenseman Tim Gleason, who scored twice in the third period for the first two-goal game of his career. "In the past we'd have just shut it down -- game over.

"That's the difference. Tonight we showed confidence and character out there."

While Gleason was named the game's first star, there were many for the Hurricanes this night as they moved up and past the Leafs (3-11-6) in the NHL standings and no longer are last in the league.

"I'm glad we won that game, even with the start," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "Our locker room, we've got tension. We've got a lot of disappointment in there from where we're at.

"But they haven't splintered. They haven't quit on each other. It's not important what the coach says in-between periods, it's what's said after he walks out of the room, and the players still fight and they still believe and they compete."

Ruutu competed. The hard-charging forward had four assists -- with the primary on Cole's goal -- to go with his shootout goal and was credited with seven hits.

Stephane Yelle competed. He scored his first goal of the season and the Canes' first of game, hustling and diving to knock the puck past goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Matt Cullen had a goal and assist, and five other players assisted on goals, as the Canes notched a season-high 45 shots on goal in the fourth straight game to go to overtime, a franchise record.

Cole was flipped on a hard hip-check by White along the board early in the third -- a play eerily similar to the one that resulted in Cole's leg fracture against Boston on Oct. 3. He then bumped White, drawing a cross-checking penalty before dropping the gloves for a brief fight.

Eighteen seconds later, Alexei Ponikarovsky's power-play goal gave the Leafs a 4-2 lead.

"When they made it 4-2, I know my shoulders slumped over in the penalty box," said Cole, who had a game-high eight hits. "But we got a big goal from 'Gleas' a couple of minutes later, then another on the power play."

Gleason first scored on a long blast at 8:08 of the third. And White when was called for a double-minor after high-sticking Tom Kostopoulos at 8:51, Gleason struck again. Pinching in, he took a perfect pass from Brandon Sutter to score the power-play goal at 11:56.

After White's goal, which could have been deflating, Maurice called his timeout. The bench was calm.

"With 30 seconds left, we have a chance to score," Ruutu said. "And we did it. We kept believing."

And won.

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