Leafs Weather the Storm in Game 3

 

Photo From CP24

It is safe to say I aged ten years watching last night’s Leaf playoff game because this one was intense. The Leafs headed back-to-back Tampa for game three and looking to regain the series lead. Right from the start of this game Toronto were playing like they had something to prove and within the first five minutes their pressure in the offensive zone would reward the Leafs as they would be on the powerplay as Pat Maroon would serve a minor for delay of game. The Leafs would have plenty of zone time with several quality scoring chances. With just four seconds left in the power play an Auston Matthews shot would rebound to Mitch Marner, he would then send a pass across ice to Morgan Rielly who would score his first goal of the playoffs getting the crucial opening goal of the game. An assist was originally given to Auston Matthews, but it would be taken away and awarded to Michael Bunting because Marner’s pass to Rielly would deflect off Bunting’s skate.

 

So, the Leafs are leading this game and would look to add to it and midway through the opening frame the Leafs would do just that. Before the goal Ilya Lyubushkin would be called for high sticking giving Tampa’s powerplay a chance to tie this contest. Tampa would move the puck in the Leaf end very well but thankfully Jack Campbell was focused, and, on his game, he would bail the Leafs out a few times throughout the game. So, as I said the Leafs would add to their lead after Campbell would make a big save on Brayden Point. Toronto would then go on the attack, Pierre Engvall would move the puck to Ilya Lyubushkin who had just left the box, Lyubushkin would lead the rush into the Lightning end and with Vasilevskiy expecting a shot from the Russian Bear Ilya would instead pass the puck back to a trailing Colin Blackwell who would send the puck into the wide open net giving Toronto a 2-0 advantage giving the fans watching at Maple Leaf Square and those watching at home a reason to celebrate as their Leafs would head into the intermission leading game 3 by a score of 2-0.

Before I talk about the next period, I want to quickly address something. The criticism John Tavares is getting is for lack of a better term simply just stupid. I have said repeatedly throughout the season John is an elite hockey player this season he finished with seventy-six points in seventy-nine appearances. He is being criticized because he has scored just one goal in his last now eleven games as he would go pointless in this one. Of course, he would like more goals but conveniently no one mentions that in those eleven games Tavares has a total of eight points in said eleven games. I find it embarrassing that Leaf fans and the media do not think assists matter all the sudden. Trust me if John Tavares were captain of the LA Kings or Dallas Stars there would not be any talk of his apparent lack of production the tone towards him would be a positive one but because he’s the captain of the Leafs the media must be negative so that fans click the links and read the articles. Did you notice how no one mentioned that in game one Tavares won 81% of his faceoffs then in game two he won 75% of them? No of course they did not because that would be a positive thing and that does not bait clicks. I will admit last night he was a little off on the draws winning just 40% but that was because the Lightning were focused on shutting him down on draws, they made an adjustment. I have said it before, and I will say it again there are thirty-one other teams in this league that would love to have Tavares in their lineup, but he chose to come home and play for Toronto so let us enjoy what he brings to this team. John Tavares will be fine in tis post season trust me.

With that out of the way let us get back to the game. The second period of this game would start like the first did. Toronto would continue using their speed but also played with a physical edge and just like period one the Leafs would score early in period two. Toronto’s Ilya Lyubushkin would land a big hit on Tampa’s Brandon Hagel, and then Hagel who was a little shaken up from the collision would end up turning the puck over to David Kampf at centre ice. This would send Kampf and Kase in on an odd man rush that would be finished off by Kampf as his snapshot would beat Vasilevskiy on the blocker side for his 2^nd goal of the postseason giving the Leafs who couldn’t ask for a better start on the road as they would have a 3-0 lead that would turn Amalie Arena into a library because every one of the Lightning fans went awfully quiet after the Kampf goal.

 

Even though the Leafs had a three-goal advantage in this game everyone knew the Lightning would not just pack it in and call it a night. We expected the Lightning to begin to work their way back into this game and around the ten-minute mark they would do just that. Justin Holl who would making his first appearance this playoff taking the spot of Timothy Liljegren would take a holding penalty slowing down Brandon Hagel sending the Lightning to the powerplay. Toronto did an excellent job killing off the Holl minor but unfortunately with thirty seconds remaining in the minor Alex Kerfoot would cause a turnover. Instead of dumping the puck back into the Lightning zone he held onto it looking to make a pass and have a scoring chance. Kerfoot would get knocked over losing the puck to Ondrej Palat who would carry the puck into the Leaf end. Once the powerplay was set up Palat would send the puck back to Mikhail Sergachev who would quickly send a pass to Ross Colton whose one timed shot would find the roof of the net and after seeing numerous chances turned aside the Lightning would finally be on the board bringing the home fans to their feet as hope of a comeback would creep into the Tampa Bay players. The Lightning would begin a real offensive push after getting onto the board but thanks to some strong defensive play combined with some massive saves from Jack Campbell the Leafs would maintain a 3-1 lead after forty minutes of action.

 

Period three should be known as the Jack Campbell show because he was outstanding in the final twenty minutes but of course things would have to be stressful for fans of the Maple Leafs. Right from the third period face off Tampa would be the team controlling the play and five minutes into the third they would climb to within a goal. The play would start with TJ Brodie throwing a blind pass in his end that would be turned over. The puck would then make its way to Ryan McDonagh whose shot would be stopped by Campbell, but the rebound would land on the stick of Ondrej Palat who would make no mistake firing the puck into the back of the Leaf net cutting the Leafs lead to 3-2 bringing the stress level of Leaf fans to an alarming rate. With Tampa trailing by a goal they would apply all kinds of pressure but Campbell remained calm and collected as he would face shots from Brayden Point who was a threat then entire game but Jack would play things smart and would freeze the puck for a whistle slowing down the momentum of the Lightning but also allowing the Leafs to have fresh troops on the ice.  With wave after wave of attack being thrown by Tampa, I am sure every fan thought a goal was coming and this game would be tied, a massive chance would come with about six minutes remaining. Toronto would be shorthanded as Muzzin would be called for hooking on Point who would have his backhand attempt turned aside. With one minute left in the Muzzin penalty Tampa Bay would be set up in the Leafs end, we would see a play that has come too familiar for hockey fans as Kucherov would send a cross ice pass to Steve Stamkos who would fire a slap shot on goal. Everyone in the building and everyone watching at home expected the shot to go in, but Jack Campbell had other ideas as he would move post to post, and some how manage to keep the puck out and the Leaf lead intact with a game saving stop. The Leafs would manage to kill off the Muzzin penalty but with me sitting on the edge of my seat with my heart racing I was gearing up for the longest five minutes of my life. Thankfully, Toronto would continue to grind the clock down and with two minutes left in the third and Vasilevskiy on the bench Toronto would put this game away with two empty net goals from Ilya Mikheyev and the Toronto Maple Leafs would regain home ice advantage as they win this game by a score of 5-2. Sunday will be game four of this series and we all know that Vasilevskiy is unbeaten after a loss in the playoffs for the last two seasons, but we need to also recognize that the Maple Leafs a team that everyone is writing off has scored in three games a total of eleven goals. Vasilevskiy is a great goalie obviously, but this Leaf team deserves some credit because they have found a way to beat Andrei throughout the series and honestly the signs are there that this team is different then teams from the past. A few years ago, if Toronto were in a close game they would fold under the pressure and wind up losing a game like last night, but Toronto after Tampa’s second goal would call a time out to settle things down and regain their composure. We saw how they would run the clock down on the Lightning with simple clearing plays forcing Tampa Bay to have to regroup on their attack. That comes with experience and Toronto showed great character by sticking to their game plan and a win like last night can go a long way for this team.

By no means I am saying this series is over but Sunday if the Leafs can start with a lot of energy, they have an opportunity to take the Lightning fans out of the game. If the Leafs can do that and capitalize on their opportunities the Leafs have a chance to win both games in Tampa putting themselves in a great position to move on but only time will tell.

Lastly, with this being Mothers Day weekend I just want to say to all the moms out there thanks for everything you do.

Thanks for reading.