TAMPA, FLA.—The Maple Leafs are doing things to the Tampa Bay Lightning no one has been able to do through the previous two Stanley Cup playoffs. The Leafs are winning puck battles, thwarting Tampa Bay’s top stars and scoring in bunches on Andrei Vasilevskiy.
As a result, the Maple Leafs have reasserted control over their first-round series, leading two games to one after a 5-2 win at Amalie Arena.
The Leafs are familiar with facing elite goalies in the playoffs. Boston’s Tuukka Rask and Montreal’s Carey Price are big reasons why the Leafs didn’t get out of the first round in recent years. And beating Vasilevskiy seemed like it might be an impossible task. He was next to unbeatable in Tampa’s consecutive Cup runs.
Vasilevskiy entered Game 3 having allowed one goal or fewer in each of his last five playoff starts at home. But the Leafs ended that run, and they did it with secondary scoring. Morgan Rielly, Colin Blackwell, David Kämpf built a 3-0 lead against Vasilevskiy, and Ilya Mikheyev scored twice into an empty net to seal the win.
The Leafs have now managed 13 goals in three games, 11 against Vasilevskiy.
“We stuck with it,” Auston Matthews said. “Getting out to a lead early really benefitted us and (Jack) Campbell made some unbelievable saves. All throughout our lineup, guys stepped up when they had to and made plays when they needed to.
“That’s what the playoffs are all about. There’s always guys that elevate their game and come through at certain times.”
Campbell outdueled Vasilevskiy, a former Vezina and Conn Smythe winner. Ross Colton and Ondrej Palat beat Campbell but he weathered the Lightning storm in the third period and stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced overall. The Lightning have managed just seven goals over the three games.
History says the third game can be pivotal. Teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series hold a series record of 369-158 (.700), including a 7-4 mark in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Both teams played a more disciplined version of hockey compared to the first two penalty-filled contests, something both coaches expected as players adapted to the high standards the referees have set in terms of not letting players get away with shenanigans after the whistle.
“However the game’s called or however the mistakes that are made, it’s about execution,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s just a matter of playing hard and being smart. That’s the biggest thing. Keep our sticks down and keep our hands to ourselves and get body positioning.”
shuffled lines
Keefe jumbled his lines a fair bit toward the end of the regular season. It wasn’t because the players weren’t playing well; he simply wanted his players to be comfortable with multiple linemates and multiple positions. And, when the puck dropped for Game 3, the Leafs were ready for Keefe’s game of line chess. The Lightning, with the last change, could focus on shutting down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who combined for 10 points in the first two games. So Keefe reunited William Nylander and John Tavares.
Keefe had an interesting take on matching lines when you’re the visiting team.
“You have a pretty good sense of who is going to be coming over the boards for them and then you can put out the line you want in that case,” he said. “Then, if they don’t put them out, well, that’s a bit of a win because their best people aren’t going out. That’s why, oftentimes, sometimes even if you control the matchup, maybe it’s not the ideal matchup. You need to get your best people in those offensive spots as much as you can.”
Building the lead
The Leafs built a 3-1 lead after two periods with hard work. They were by far the better team in the first period, winning more puck battles and dominating play and keeping Tampa Bay hemmed in its own zone.
But just like Games 1 and 2, special teams were the story of the period, with Rielly scoring on a power play. It was his 22nd point in the playoffs, and he moved past Dmitri Mironov for 10th all time among Leafs defensemen.
The prettiest goal, off Blackwell’s stick, gave Toronto a 2-0 lead. The Leafs had just killed a penalty to Ilya Lyubushkin when the defenseman came out of the box, joined what turned into a 3-on-1 rush, and fooled everyone in the building with a pass to Blackwell, who made no mistake with Vasilevskiy well out of his net.
The Leafs added to the lead in the second period with Kämpf’s second goal of the playoffs, before Ross Colton got Tampa Bay on the board.
Spezza time
It was the first game of this year’s playoffs for Jason Spezza and Justin Holl after both were healthy scratches in the first two games.
“It’s the best time of year to play hockey,” Spezza said. “I don’t think words can describe how hard it is to watch a game when you’re a player. It was difficult, but it’s part of the process of being on a team. And we have a great team here. We need to use our depth through the playoffs. But as a player, (sitting) is one of the hardest things to do.”
Timothy Liljegren and Wayne Simmonds were scratched Friday.
“We were just at point in the series where we need to get Spezza involved,” Keefe said. “We’ve moved our defense around all season. In the first couple of games, there’s been times Liljegren’s inexperience has shown up a little bit. It’s been a lot for him to take on. And now we’re on the road. We don’t control the matchups. Holl has been a really big part of our penalty-killing all season.”
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