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Toronto 2, Boston 1

BOSTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Curtis Joseph stopped 21 shots Thursday night and the Toronto Maple Leafs sent coach Pat Quinn to the All-Star Game with a 2-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins in a battle for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Joseph blanked Boston in each of the first two meetings this season and extended his shutout streak against the Bruins to 176 minutes, 27 seconds before Glen Murray beat him from the edge of the right faceoff circle with 7:09 left in the third period.

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But Joseph denied Bill Guerin three times over the final four minutes and sprawled to get a piece of Sergei Samsonov's point-blank shot with seven seconds left after the Bruins pulled goaltender Byron Dafoe for an extra attacker.

The victory put Toronto atop the Eastern Conference, ensuring that Quinn will coach the North American squad at the All-Star Game on Feb. 2 in Los Angeles. Boston's Robbie Ftorek would have earned that job with a win or tie, but will serve as Quinn's assistant.

The weary Bruins were coming off Wednesday night's 6-3 victory at Carolina, but had trouble getting out of snowbound Raleigh and did not return home until 3:30 a.m. EST. They got 20 saves from Dafoe but lost for the second time in eight games.

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