Biron makes 20 saves, Rangers beat Maple Leafs

With goals by 6-foot-7 Bryan Boyle, 6-foot-4 Mike Rupp and 6-footer Derek Stepan, the Rangers simply manhandled the Leafs on Saturday night, skating off with a 3-0 win.


The Leafs got in a few hits of their own — notably by Dion Phaneuf on Boyle in the third period. But they couldn’t beat Marty Biron in the Rangers net. The Leafs’ suddenly sputtering offence was left to talk about hitting posts and bouncing pucks.


“We were just, it seemed, a half a foot behind,” said coach Ron Wilson. “We needed our speed in order to compete with them.


“They didn’t allow us to use our speed in some situations. We just didn’t have the energy we needed to play.”


Wilson said the Leafs were tired after losing 3-2 to Buffalo on Friday night. The Leafs are now 2-5-1 in the second of back-to-back games.


“We didn’t have the energy to really push back the way we might have had we not played (Friday) night,” said Wilson. “Their focus was taking and eliminating the (Tim) Connolly line and they did a pretty good job of that.”


Rupp opened the scoring 3:35 into the second, completing a crisp passing play with Stepan and Wojtek Wolski on a 3-on-1 break that developed after a bad line change by Toronto defenseman Mike Komisarek.
Toronto had its share of chances in the second. Phil Kessel had a shot hit the crossbar, and Cody Franson's drive through traffic struck Biron's mask and landed in his glove.
Boyle gave the tight-checking Rangers a two-goal lead at 16:28 with a long wrist shot. He pointed skyward in relief after ending a 22-game scoring drought.
The Leafs appeared to break Biron's shutout bid in the third on a low shot by Tim Connolly, but video review was inconclusive and the score remained 2-0.
Stepan added an insurance goal with a nice deke at 6:01.
The Maple Leafs killed both minor penalties they were assessed. It was their sixth straight game without allowing a power-play goal.
NOTES: The Leafs took the warmup in camouflage sweaters on Canadian Forces Night. ... Brandon Dubinsky sat out for the Rangers because of a sore shoulder. ... Toronto scratched Jay Rosehill and Jake Gardiner. ... Gustavsson won two previous starts against the Rangers this season in New York. ... Biron earned his third assist of the season on Stepan's goal.