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TORONTO - Alexander Mogilny and the Maple Leafs offense finally found their marks.
Mogilny scored on a breakaway to spark a three-goal, second period in helping Toronto to a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday that cut its deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Besides managing just a goal in each of its first two games against Philadelphia, Toronto had just 16 goals in nine games.
Mogilny delivered several big hits, including one on Danny Markov in the first that forced him to limp off the ice. Mogilny's physical play spurred a shoving match in the third with Jeremy Roenick that led to both earning roughing penalties.
"Here's a man (Mogilny) that I've watched for a long time, and he's capable of a lot of things," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said. "He can do most things in this game and do them well, including play physical. I have a lot of respect for him as an individual, as a team player and as a guy that leads."
Mogilny shrugged it off, referring to it as "playoff hockey."
But he did note the significance of the Leafs' victory.
"We come home down 2-0. We lose this game, it's pretty much over," Mogilny said. "We knew what was at stake."
Mogilny opened the scoring five minutes into the second. He was set up by Mats Sundin, who stripped Alexei Zhamnov of the puck in the Toronto end then spun around to feed Mogilny on the fly at center.
Mogilny's goal came a game after he missed on a similar breakaway in Toronto's 2-1 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday. The forward snapped his stick in frustration after he missed a second scoring chance.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored 1:30 later by deflecting in Bryan McCabe's pass, and Toronto went up 3-0 when Chad Kilger redirected in a bouncing puck from a bad angle with 4:49 left in the period. It was the first playoff goal for Ponikarovsky in 20 games.
AVS 1, SHARKS 0 (OT): Joe Sakic scored 5:15 in and David Aebischer made 27 saves as host Colorado avoided elimination. It trails the series 3-1, and Game 5 is Saturday in San Jose, where the Sharks won the first two games by a combined score of 9-3.Sakic ended Colorado's scoreless streak against Evgeni Nabokov at 178:14 by lifting a shot just inside the left crossbar from the slot after San Jose's Mike Rathje couldn't handle a loose puck out of the corner.
LABOR TALKS: The league confirmed it is discussing shortening the regular season to 72 games with the players union.
League vice president Bill Daly's comments come as the league prepared to meet with NHLPA officials today in Toronto in an effort to spur stalled negotiations. The meeting will be the first formal negotiation session since Oct. 1.
The league has operated with an 82-game regular season since 1995-96. A 72-game schedule would be the shortest since teams last played 70 games in 1966-67, the final year before expanding from six to 12 teams.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The United States routed Ukraine 7-1 behind Blake Sloan's two goals to advance to the qualifying round in Prague, Czech Republic. The Americans play Sweden on Friday.
DRAFT: The NCAA granted a waiver allowing 17- and 18-year-old players at Division I schools to enter June's draft. The players would retain college eligibility as long as they don't play for a professional team or hire an agent.
Teams can keep the draft rights until 30 days after a player graduates from college. The league recently changed its draft eligibility requirements to include players who turn 18 on or before Sept. 15 and those who turn 19 between Sept. 16 and Dec. 31.