Auston Matthews scored twice as part of a three-point night and Jack Campbell made 23 saves to record his second career playoff shutout as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 in Game 1 of their series. first round on Monday. .
Mitch Marner snapped a long postseason scoring drought to go along with two assists, while Jake Muzzin and David Kampf, in a shorthanded breakaway, also scored for Toronto, which swept five Lightning power plays, including an early one from five minutes. older, inside an electric Scotiabank Arena.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe predicted a “borderline violence” series, and that’s exactly what happened seven minutes into the first period when Leafs winger Kyle Clifford hit Ross Colton Tampa behind against the boards to win a five-minute major and game misconduct.
Having already scored a minor penalty, Toronto had the best chances against a man with Clifford taking an early shower, including Alexander Kerfoot’s shot from the post in a 2v1.
CLOCK | Matthews sinks a pair as the Leafs earn a shutout victory over the Bolts in Game 1:
Toronto blanks Tampa Bay 5-0 in Game 1 of their first-round series, Auston Matthews registering 2 goals and an assist. 1:02
The Leafs couldn’t connect on two subsequent power plays, but pushed on with 1:41 left in the period when Muzzin’s shot through a screen beat Vasilevskiy and nearly blew the roof off Scotiabank Arena.
William Nylander nearly made it 2-0 late in the period with a breakaway after blocking a shot, but Vasilevskiy was unable to resolve all five holes.
The Leafs called a timeout before a 5-on-3 power play in the second and then took just 11 seconds to connect with five forwards on the ice when Marner fed Matthews for the 60-goal man to shoot a short one weather over Vasilevskiy. .
The rabid crowd responded with chants of “MVP! MVP!” for Matthews, who won his second Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy in a row.
CLOCK | Matthews’ first goal of the 2022 playoffs extends the Leafs’ lead:
Toronto center Auston Matthews, who led the league with 60 goals in the regular season, scores his first of the 2022 NHL playoffs to put his team up 2-0 over Tampa Bay during the second period of Game 1 . 1:02
Tampa got its fourth-man lead later in the period, but Kampf beat Victor Hedman for a loose puck as Toronto once again showed its superior speed before beating Vasilevskiy to make it 3-0 at 9:27.
The Leafs ended things at 4:39 p.m. when Marner snapped their long playoff goal drought. The winger received a deft pass from Morgan Rielly and waited longer than Vasilevskiy to score in the postseason for the first time since April 11, 2019, an 18-game streak.
The home team kept their foot on the gas to start the third to keep the battle-tested champions on their heels, with Matthews making it 5-0 when Vasilevskiy misplayed the puck behind his net to give the game’s top scorer his second at 8:16.
CLOCK | Maple Leafs’ Clifford ejected from Game 1 after a tackling penalty:
Toronto forward Kyle Clifford receives a major tackle and game misconduct penalty for a hit on Tampa Bay forward Ross Colton. 1:24
The game took another violent turn midway through the period with multiple fights in one turn. Rielly cut Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta in a skirmish, while Tampa’s Pat Maroon and Corey Perry, and Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds and Ilya Lyubushkin were also sent to the locker room for misconduct.
Meanwhile, the Lightning have won eight straight series since an impressive sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019 following a 128-point campaign and the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy.
The Leafs, who took the ice for Game 1 on the 55th anniversary of the franchise’s last Stanley Cup, had winger Ondrej Kase in the lineup after missing the final 20 games of the regular season with a concussion. Front-row winger Michael Bunting sat out for the fourth consecutive competition with an undisclosed injury.
CLOCK | Trio of Canadian teams attempt to end 28-year Cup drought:
The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs are competing in the NHL playoffs this season, sparking renewed optimism that one of them will finally end Canada’s 28-year Stanley Cup drought. 2:04
Reference-www.cbc.ca