If Game 1 was a dream result for the Maple Leafs, then Game 2 was a nightmare.
The Tampa Bay Lightning asserted themselves physically, offensively and in terms of self discipline on the way to a 5-3 win over the Leafs, tying their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series at a game apiece, with the next two games in Tampa.
Tampa has stolen home-ice advantage, with the series down to a best-of five and three of those games scheduled at Amalie Arena.
It was a table-turning performance, with Tampa’s special teams outdoing Toronto’s, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy outperforming Jack Campbell, and Lightning stars rising to the occasion. Victor Hedman, Corey Perry, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning.
Since 2020, the Lightning are an impressive 15-0 after a playoff loss.
Michael Bunting scored the first Leafs goal in his return after a four-game injury-related absence. Mitch Marner scored in the third period. Alex Kerfoot scored short-handed late in the game. Auston Matthews picked up two assists.
The Leafs were their own worst enemy most of the night, taking too many penalties and failing to create scoring chances in close against a goalie who was on his game. When Vasilevskiy did surrender a rebound, there typically wasn’t a Leaf in sight to play it.
“Too many penalties,” said Marner. “We just gave them too many opportunities on their power play and their skilled guys got a feel for the puck.”
The Lightning went 3-for-7 on the power play, the Leafs 0-for-4.
sets
The Lightning are 12-6 (.667) overall with a best-of-seven series tied 1-1, though just 2-5 (.286) when starting on road.
The Leafs are 15-6 (.714) in the same scenario historically, 6-2 (.750) when starting on home ice. But last year was one of those two losses.
Also, history stands on the Leafs’ side. Leaguewide, the team that starts at home has a 185-153 record if the series is tied after two games, according to NHL Stats.
The Leafs haven’t had a 2-0 series lead since 2002 against the New York Islanders.
‘It stings’
The Leafs made a number of mistakes in the second period, resulting in a 3-1 deficit after two periods. The biggest was taking too many penalties on a night when Tampa was feeling it and the Leafs penalty kill wasn’t.
The worst was probably Wayne Simmonds’s needless after-the-whistle roughing call, on Pat Maroon. The Leafs had just beaten Vasilevskiy when Bunting converted a Mitch Marner pass, after Auston Matthews had won a battle with Ryan McDonagh, a kind of gritty goal that could turn the momentum of the game.
The Simmonds penalty ended that, made worse when David Kämpf had an easy chance to clear the zone but instead passed to TJ Brodie, who had lost his stick. The resulting turnover was predictably behind Campbell in a matter of seconds, thanks to Kucherov.
“I was guilty, obviously. I took two (penalties),” Simmonds said. “They scored two. We lost by two. It stings.
“I’m a man. I can admit when I was wrong. I goes wrong twice tonight and we pay for it.”
As loud as the crowd could be, boos rained down on Perry when he scored on a breakaway to give Tampa a 2-0 lead early in the second. Leafs fans have never forgiven Perry for giving John Tavares a concussion last year in the playoffs against the Canadiens. Adding insult to injury, Perry scored in Game 6 and Game 7, including the series-clinching tally.
loud welcome
The Leafs were greeted with a thunderous ovation when they took the ice, with the Scotiabank Arena crowd making its presence felt. The crowd seemed to will the referees into calling the first penalties against Tampa. They were only silenced once, with three seconds left on the clock and Hedman scoring the Tampa’s first goal of the series for a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Keefe called the crowd the first star of Game 1.
“Even through the regular season … you look at Auston’s chase for 50 (goals) and then 60 and the reaction there, you can see how the crowd is really embracing this team,” said Keefe.
There was as much buzz about the crowd as there was from the crowd.
“For us, it didn’t have a negative effect; didn’t have a positive effect, either,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “I did like the environment, though. It was a lot of fun to see and the place was alive.”
The Leafs were without forward Kyle Clifford, sitting out a one-game suspension for boarding Ross Colton in the opener. Keefe and Cooper agreed the suspension was warranted. “When I went back and watched it, it looked pretty dirty to me. That’s all I’ve got to say about it,” said Colton.
notes
Simmonds is the Leafs’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which goes to the NHL player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice, and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community” … The Leafs were not expected to practice Thursday.
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