April 29th – That was the last time the Leafs were in Tampa Bay to face the Lightning. To quote Chris Cuthbert, they finally caught lightning in a bottle that night as they ended their 19 year drought without a playoff series victory. These two teams went pound for pound, and they went to overtime once again, and the game ended on the stick of John Tavares … once again. Let’s take a look at last night’s three stars.
First Star – Joseph Woll
Woll was forced into this game because Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe had no other choice but to pull Ilya Samsonov after he gave up three goals on just four shots. As soon as Woll entered the game, he was an absolute rockstar. He was positionally sound the entire night. He made some incredible saves but also some very timely saves too. He faced a total of 29 shots in this one, and he turned aside all 29 of them. He made an outstanding save on Nikita Kucherov with just 14 seconds remaining in regulation. Woll has appeared in 13 NHL regular season games so far in his young career, where he has a record of 10-3-0, a goals-against average of 1.69, and a save percentage of 0.949. While a small sample size, the Leafs seem to have an absolute gem on their hands in Joseph Woll.
Second Star – Matthew Knies
While Knies scored in the playoffs last spring, he had yet to score a regular season goal coming into this one. That was until the third period when he and Max Domi connected not once but twice as Knies scored to cut the Tampa lead to 3-2, and then he double dipped to tie the game just two minutes later; he chipped in with an assist as well. He was noticeable all night long last night. He was a physical presence, he was great defensively, and he contributed on the scoreboard as well; just an all-around great game for the kid. He played just 14:54 in this one and had three points, three shots on goal, a minor penalty, one block, and one hit.
Third Star – Nikita Kucherov
The 30-year-old Russian winger was a force in this one. He played a total of 21:27, scored two incredible goals, made an unbelievable pass to set up Barre-Boulet, and fired six shots on goal. Every time Kucherov takes to the ice against the Leafs, he seems to always find a way to elevate his game to another level. Considering how much hockey the Tampa Bay Lightning have played over the past few years and the wear and tear on the bodies of the core of this team, it is impressive how dominant they are still capable of being. While a ton of players have come and gone since their back-to-back cups in 2020 and 2021, the core of this team is still intact, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon.
While the rivalry between these two juggernaut teams continues to grow, it would not surprise me at all if they ended up meeting in the playoffs yet again come April.
The Leafs have two days off now as they head to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the third of five games on this current road trip.
