Leafs Shock the Lightning

 

What a comeback from the Maple Leafs but before I talk about it, I must bring you up to speed with something else that has been going on in Leaf land. A trade must be in the works with Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin working well as a pairing the Leafs look to be in the process of making a trade to move out an extra body and a trade can also give the Leafs some cap relief which we all know they could use. A few names that have been mentioned by Elliot Friedman and Chris Johnston are Justin Holl and Travis Dermott, Now I respect both of these reporters a great deal both are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the goings on around the NHL but to me if the blueliner on his way out of town is not Justin Holl then I will be shocked because including tonight Justin Holl has been a healthy scratch for the last three games meaning his last game was the overtime win in Chicago. So, for me the fact Dermott is being mentioned as a trade piece when he has been playing on the top pair with Morgan Reilly is quite questionable but as we all know I am not Kyle Dubas I have no idea what his plan is but when and if a trade does take place involving the Leafs I’ll be here to write about it.

 

Last night the Leafs continued their homestand this time hosting the 2-time Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning. The last time these two teams met was March 10 of 2020 a 2-1 victory for the Leafs just before the season would be put on hold due to the pandemic. Jack Campbell who was coming off his first shutout of the season the other night would once again be in goal for the Leafs and Tampa would counter with Andrei Vasilevskiy who heading into this game had won his three previous starts.

 

The first period would see Toronto start sluggish and when you are playing against the defending champions a slow start is not ideal. Right from the start of this period Tampa would have control of the play and would use their speed and skill to their advantage and we would see the Lightning have odd man rush after odd man rush leading to the scoring chances to pile up, Thankfully for the Leafs and their fans Jack Campbell would stand tall keeping the bolts off the board, a little help from the post doesn’t hurt either. Midway through the opening frame Toronto would have a good scoring opportunity off their own as Jake Muzzin would have possession unfortunately, he would go in too deep with the puck leading to a Tampa Bay counterattack as Corey Perry and Pat Maroon would come storming back on a two on one. The Lightning would open the scoring on this rush when Perry would send a pass to Maroon and his shot would beat Campbell on the short side putting the visitors up 1-0. Tampa would have the lead and continue to press the play, but the Leafs would get a decent chance to equalize but Vasilevskiy would turn each chance aside. Late in the first period we would have some controversy as Toronto’s Mitch Marner would come streaking in with the puck Victor Hedman would hook Marner leading to a delayed penalty but on the same play Mikhail Sergachev would throw a hit to the head of Marner giving Toronto a five on three advantage for a full two minutes. Sadly, Toronto would get nothing going on this powerplay and after twenty minutes a goal from Pat Maroon would be the only goal scored and Tampa would lead as the teams headed to intermission.

The second period we would see the game start to turn as Toronto would begin to spend more time with the puck causing the Lightning defenders to spend too much time in their end of the rink, but Vasilevskiy would show repeatedly why he is currently the best goalie in the league. He would turn away each chance thrown his way by the Leafs two of which would come from the stick of Wayne Simmons who although he was unable to score last night still played a great game. Despite outshooting their opponents, the Leafs would still find themselves trailing by a goal after forty minutes of play. In intermission it was announced that the leagues department of player safety would review the hit to the head on Marner.

 

Period three would see Toronto controlling the play just like the second but they would be unable to light the lamp thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy and his great play in goal. Tampa would do an excellent job clogging up the neutral zone and causing frustration to build for Toronto. As time on the clock would become less and less it looked as if Toronto were about to leave this game empty handed when they clearly deserved something from this diligent effort. In the final two minutes of regulation, it looked as if all hope would be lost as Michael Bunting was getting a roughing penalty which was questionable considering all the infractions the officials had let go in this final period. After the commercial break we found out that the officials called a penalty on Bunting and a holding the stick penalty on Tampa, still questionable but a decision that benefitted the Leafs. In the final minute of regulation with Jack Campbell on the bench Toronto would attempt one final push for the equalizing goal. Tampa’s Victor Hedman who is usually dependable when it comes to clearing the puck would fail to do so at a crucial point in the game. Tavares would keep the puck in the zone, he would instantly send the puck to Matthews. Then we would see Toronto’s big guys go to work Matthews would send the puck down low to Marner, Mitch would see Tavares driving the net and send a quick pass out front and our captain John Tavares would one time the puck into the net and Scotiabank Arena would erupt as the Leafs and Tavares were finally able to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy. The game, thanks to Tavares’s fourth goal of the year would be level at 1-1 and the game would need overtime earning the Leafs a well-deserved point but of course they would be searching for more.

The overtime session would be entertaining, Toronto would win the faceoff to start overtime and in three-on-three puck possession is crucial so with the Leafs controlling the puck they would get the first dangerous chance as Matthews would come in only to see his attempt turned aside. Tampa would have a chance of their own to win this game as Steve Stamkos would come dashing in, but Morgan Reilly would make a great defensive play deflecting the puck away allowing Marner to gather the puck and send a stretch pass to Tavares who would come in on a breakaway. On this attempt Hedman who saw his failed clearing attempt end up in the back of his goal would get called for slashing on Tavares giving the Leafs a four on three powerplay and a massive opportunity to win this game. Sheldon Keefe would call a time out to go over a plan for the advantage and he would finish the little break telling his players to move the puck. His players would get the message as majority of the man advantage saw Toronto collect a few dangerous chances, but big saves and a post would mean overtime would continue, but not for long as Marner would keep the puck in at the point then send the puck to Matthews at the top of the circle. Auston Matthews would then send the puck across ice to William Nylander on the opposite side and Nylander’s one timer from the left-wing circle would beat Vasilevskiy on the blocker side and the Leafs would win this one 2-1 extending their current win streak to four.

 

Jack Campbell was excellent in this game despite giving up the first period goal he did his job and kept his Leafs team in this contest. The third period alone he made countless highlight reel saves proving that his fully capable to manage the workload that comes with being a number one goalie in a market like Toronto. The other night after shutting out Vegas Jack mentioned how much he loves the city of Toronto and playing for these fans well Jack trust me when I tell you this fanbase absolutely loves watching you play.

The Leafs are back in action on Saturday night and the matchup does not get any easier as fellow original six team the Boston Bruins come into town after beating the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday so without a doubt Saturday’s opponent will be another difficult test for these Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

Thanks, as always for reading