Whenever the Lightning and the Leafs get together, you never know how the game will unfold. However, one thing you can be sure of is how eventful of a game it will be from start to finish. Heading into this one, the Leafs were riding a two game losing streak, a 3-1 loss to the Rangers last Thursday and a 5-2 loss to the Capitals on Saturday night. The pace was next level in this one the second the puck was dropped for the opening face-off. Both teams went back and forth, generating chances at both ends of the ice for the first couple of minutes. With just under 8 minutes to go in the opening frame, Michael Bunting made a fantastic play to find a streaking Auston Matthews, who got a partial breakaway but Andrei Vasilevskiy shut the door. The trio of Matthews, Nylander, and Bunting were buzzing every shift so far in this one, and they finally broke through as they opened the scoring with 3:15 to go. Nylander found an open Bunting in the slot, who rifled his 8th goal of the year past Vasilevskiy. The goal was the 100th point of Bunting’s career. It took the Scarborough native just 138 games to reach that milestone.
At 19:42, Ian Cole was called for tripping William Nylander, giving the Leafs the first power play of the night. Unfortunately, the blue and white weren’t able to score a quick one before the end of the period. That was about as perfect of an opening 20 minutes as the Leafs could have hoped for or asked for. As the period came to a close, there was a scuffle in the Leafs zone. A lot of pushing and shoving from both teams, which is to be expected. However, it was linesman Dan Kelly who absolutely crossed the line, in my opinion, when he physically grabbed and tried to push Bunting off the ice several times. Full credit to Bunting for maintaining his composure and not reacting to the idiocy of Kelly. After doing a little digging, I learned that linesman Dave Kelly in this game is the same Dave Kelly who took a deliberately injured Andreas Johnson a few years ago during a playoff series between the Marlies and the Devils AHL affiliate. Shots on goal in the opening frame were 16-4 Leafs. TOI leader for the blue and white was Rasmus Sandin with 7:29.
The Leafs opened the second period with time remaining in their power play. They wasted very little time as Matthews ripped home one of his ever-famous curl-and-drag snapshots just 1:01 into the period giving the Leafs a 2-0 lead. Rasmus Sandin and Mitch Marner with the assists on the power play goal. The Leafs earned their second power play of the game as Nikita Kucherov decked Michael Bunting from behind into the boards at 5:49. Kucherov was given an interference minor. They couldn’t add to their lead, but they generated some scoring chances as they had 7 shots on goal during the man advantage. Every shift that Auston Matthews had been on the ice up until now, he has been like a man possessed, all around the puck the entire time. If he was on the ice, he was making something happen offensively. Timothy Liljegren was called for hooking at 10:28, giving the Lightning their first man advantage of the night. The Leafs managed to kill it off. During the penalty kill, the blue and white generated a dangerous opportunity that almost resulted in Steven Stamkos scoring on his own net. With under 3 minutes to go, John Tavares collected the puck at the Tampa blue line and managed to break away, but Vasilevskiy shut the door. If it weren’t for Vasilevskiy, this game would have been over before it really even got started. The second period was pure domination from the Leafs as well, as they held the shot advantage 14-4. It gives them a 29-8 shot advantage overall, which is not even close. TOI leader for the blue and white after 40 minutes of play was Auston Matthews with 15:21.
While Tampa only had eight shots on goal after 40 minutes, there was no way the Leafs could count them out of this game. Both teams trade chances back and forth during the opening few minutes of the third period. 4:09 into the frame, Tampa finally got on the board as Vlad Namestnikov scored his 2nd goal of the year, Steven Stamkos, with the only assist on the goal. After the Tampa goal, they controlled much of the play for the next couple of shifts. Matt Murray deserves a ton of credit, he wasn’t tested much at all through the first 40 minutes of this one, but he was called upon multiple times throughout the 3rd period. I would argue that the only Leafs line that could generate much of anything offensively during the 3rd period was the Bunting-Matthews-Nylander line. This was one of the best games I’ve seen Matthews play in a while. He was a force offensively, but he also played fantastically defensively. Tampa elected to pull Vasilevskiy for the extra attacker with a couple of minutes left. The Leafs wasted very little time as Pierre Engvall fired his 6th goal of the year into the empty net to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead with 1:46 to go. David Kampf and Mark Giordano with the assists on the goal. Tampa pulled Vasilevskiy for a second time, but the Leafs capitalized once again as William Nylander absolutely flew past Victor Hedman and made no mistake potting his 19th goal of the year, the only assist on the goal went to Calle Jarnkrok. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Leafs would hang on for the 4-1 victory, a very convincing victory at that! After a couple of subpar performances against the Rangers and Capitals, this was the exact type of response that was needed from the Leafs, and they delivered. Shots on goal in the third period were even at 11-11. The Leafs held a commanding advantage overall as they outshot the Lightning 40-19. TOI leader in this one for the blue and white was TJ Brodie with 24:56. I would make a very strong argument that that was indeed the Leafs best 60 minute effort so far this season. As soon as the puck was dropped for the opening receipt of the game, they were dialed in and ready to go.
Tonight’s Three Stars
1. Michael Bunting – 1 Goal
2. Auston Matthews – 1 Goal
3. Matt Murray – 18 Saves
The Leafs now look ahead to Thursday as they will host the Philadelphia Flyers in the “Next Gen” game. Puck drop for that one is scheduled for 2 PM EST. If there’s one thing we know about the Leafs, they always put on a very entertaining show during these games, so it should be fun!
For more Leafs news and in-game tweets, follow me on Twitter @mikethefanatic! Also, be sure to check out The Leafs Late Night Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts!
