After a rough first half of the season which saw him struggle at points offensively, Nikolai Kulemin got the second half started off on a strong note, recording a goal, an assist and a massive open ice hit in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
The new year has been great for the Leafs, with Tuesday's home win over the Sabres marking their fourth in a row while having outscored the opposition 17-6 to open up the 2012 calendar year. The win is also their fifth-straight at home, their longest streak since winning five in a row from Mar. 9-20 during the 2009-10 season.
During the first 41 games of the season, Kulemin had just four goals which put him well behind his offensive output from just one season ago when he had 16 goals on this date.
The second half got off to a good start for the 25-year old Russian. He registering his second multi-point game of the season as well as a big hit in the neutral zone on Patrik Kaleta in the third period which brought fans at the Air Canada Centre to their feet en route to second star of the game honours.
Kulemin's goal opened up the scoring and also put an end to a power play drought at home for the Leafs. Left alone in front, Kulemin put home the puck for his fifth goal of the season, putting Toronto up 1-0 at the 8:22 mark.
The power play marker was the first Leafs goal scored on the man advantage in 32 opportunities on home ice against the visiting Sabres, putting an end to a lengthy drought. Registering the assists on the play were Cody Franson for his ninth of the year, and Carl Gunnarsson, giving him nine this season.
The strong first period continued for Kulemin when he assisted on a goal by Mikhail Grabovski, who backhanded the puck high over Ryan Miller to extend Toronto's lead to two. Grabovski's goal was his 13th of the season and his third goal in his last four games. Kulemin's assist was his 13th this year, while Joey Crabb drew the additional helper for his seventh of the campaign.
There was no scoring for the remainder of the game as the Leafs improved to a perfect 16-0-0 when leading after two periods. Jonas Gustavsson was strong in net, stopping all 32 shots he faced to pick up his second shutout in three games and first star of the game honours. The win was Gustavsson's fourth in a row, as well as the first of his career against the Sabres.
On the other end of the ice, Ryan Miller allowed two goals on 28 shots to drop his record to 11-11-2 this season. After being so dominant against the Leafs for so many seasons, Miller has struggled as of late against Buffalo's rivals from up the QEW, dropping five of his last six games against Toronto. The Blue and White have also won four-straight on home ice against Buffalo.
The Leafs will look to use the momentum from Tuesday's shutout win to secure another victory in the QEW rivalry on Friday as they battle it out once again later this week in Buffalo.
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