It was the most delicious moment of Carlo Colaiacovo’s hockey season.
The Toronto-born defenceman, who has been limited by injuries to only eight games, threw his arms skyward in celebration after scoring the winning goal for the Maple Leafs in a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
“It feels special, it really does,” Colaiacovo said of his first goal in a season interrupted by long stretches as a limping bystander. “The more special part is the win.
“We battled real hard the last week not getting the fate that we wanted but (Saturday) things went our way and we got what we wanted.”
The injury-depleted Leafs had argued they got a raw deal in losing 3-2 at Carolina on Thursday. This time, the breaks went their way, and they didn’t take a penalty all night. They remain 14th in the NHL’s Eastern Conference and a playoff berth is highly unlikely, but wins like this one keep the post-season flame flickering, albiet faintly.
“We’ve not giving up in here,” Colaiacovo pledged. “We’re a determined bunch and we’re going to continue playing right to the end.”
Dominic Moore and Jiri Tlusty staked Toronto to a two-goal lead, goals for Ottawa by Nick Foligno late in the first period and by Chris Neil early in the third tied it, and the Leafs pulled ahead to stay on goals by Colaiacovo and Jason Blake.
