TORONTO, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs had a strong game on home ice at Scotiabank Arena on January 20, with their stars shining brightly against their division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coming off a 5-1 home win, the Lightning faced a difficult road matchup that looked disastrous, but they executed a solid offensive game despite the score.
Jonas Johansson, starting for the Bolts, was very impressive between the pipes. Through 60 minutes, the 6-foot-6 backup netminder made 23 saves, including a wall save against Auston Matthews’ Michigan attempt during the third period.
And then there was Joseph Woll, who had an understanding performance over the Lightning. He made 27 saves in 60 minutes, and was a heavy force to be reckoned with during the Bolts’ empty net, extra man advantage scheme in the third period to tie up the game at four goals prior to the final buzzer.
At the start of the first period, Matthews netted a five-hole goal on Johansson to open the scoring on a two-on-one. The captain and star Leaf recorded his eighth goal in nine games since returning to the lineup from injury.
This would be the only goal scored during the first period. Now, heading into the second period, William Nylander, another star Leaf, made it 2-0 for the home team on a breakaway created off a neutral zone turnover by Nikita Kucherov.
But minutes later in the second period, Nick Paul broke the ice for the Bolts and put the team within one goal off a tip-in from Darren Raddysh. However, seconds before the buzzer, the Leafs capitalized on another Lightning turnover, as Matthew Knies scored through an open slot from a pass by Mitch Marner.
Then, going into the final period, Raddysh got his second point of the night after snapping a rocket at the blueline that went past Woll. Two minutes later, Knies grabbed his second goal of the night on the power play, maintaining the Leafs’ two-goal lead—4-2 with less than ten minutes left in the third.
Two minutes later, Paul tipped in another goal past Woll on the power play, following an initial one-time redirect by Brandon Hagel.
As the Bolts trailed by a goal with minutes winding down, Jon Cooper pulled Johansson for an extra attacker, hoping to tie the game and take it from the Leafs.
However, his scheme did not quite meet his expectations, as Marner scored an empty-net goal to make the final score 5-3 for Toronto.
This evening, Jan. 21, the Lightning will face the Montréal Canadians at the Bell Centre, looking to bounce back with a necessary win to keep up in the standings. Meanwhile, the Leafs will stay put in Toronto until Wednesday, Jan. 22 when they’ll face the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Three Stars
- Knies (2G-1A)
- Marner (1G-2A)
- Matthews (1G-1A)
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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