Toronto climbs to top of NHL

Not since 1962-63 have the Maple Leafs led the league at this point.
TORONTO (AP) -- Maple Leafs fans will have to find something else to complain about because their team is now tops in the NHL.
Calls for the firing of coach Pat Quinn have turned to adoring cheers for Toronto goalie Ed Belfour. But production throughout the roster has led to an impressive winning run that has the Leafs atop the standings.
Gary Roberts scored twice, and the Maple Leafs extended their franchise-record points streak to 15 games with a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
The win and Philadelphia's loss at the New York Islanders, moved Toronto into first place overall. The Maple Leafs haven't led the league in points this deep into the season since 1962-63.
"It's been a total team effort," Roberts said. "We've got everybody on the same page."
Winning stretch
Just over a month ago, Toronto was only one game over .500 and tied with Buffalo for 11th in the NHL, but the Leafs haven't lost in regulation since Nov. 20 at Edmonton. Toronto is 13-0-1-1 during the stretch.
"To be one of the top teams in the league, you need to have four lines playing well and right now we have that going for us," Toronto captain Mats Sundin said.
The Maple Leafs continued their new tradition of embracing in a group hug after the win.
Pavel Trnka and Kristian Huselius scored for the Panthers, who lost in overtime to Ottawa on Monday night.
"They've been doing that to everybody," Florida coach Rick Dudley said of Toronto. "They are, right now, the best team in the NHL."
Florida goalie Roberto Luongo allowed four goals on 23 shots before being replaced by Steve Shields at the start of the third period.
Shields left the game with 1:47 left after being hit in the face mask with a hard shot.
Made 29 saves
Belfour made 29 saves, including an impressive stop on Niklas Hagman, who was alone at the side of the net midway through the second. Fans chanted 'Eddie!, Eddie!' throughout.
"You've got to credit Belfour. He made some great saves," Dudley said. "When it was a one-goal game, he made some huge saves. We didn't bury our chances, they did."
Roberts streaked toward the net and redirected Sundin's pinpoint pass, giving Toronto a 1-0 lead on the power play.
Karel Pilar's slap shot from the boards made it 2-0 at 14:34 of the second, but Trnka cut the lead to 2-1 just 17 seconds into the second by redirecting a pass from in front of the net.
Roberts scored his second power-play goal at 5:04 of the second, and Nik Antropov's slap shot from the circle gave Toronto a 4-1 lead at 13:50 of the second.
"Gary has made a career of getting those goals in tight. Tonight was no exception," Toronto's Joe Nieuwendyk said.
The Maple Leafs went 2-for-3 on the power-play, and the Panthers went 0-for-2.