The Lightning Strike Back in Game 2

 

Photo From Yahoo Sports

As we all should have expected the Tampa Bay Lightning were much better than their game one performance. The puck would drop to open this game and right from the start you could see the Leafs were up against a Lightning team that was better prepared and ready to play. That is not to say the Leafs were not because they were up for the task. The first period was entertaining as we saw the Leafs apply a good amount of pressure, but this game was going to be a challenge for the Leafs because Andrei Vasilevskiy has an insane stat following him. In this 2-year run the Lightning are on he is 14-0 in the playoffs after a loss, so it is a massive understatement to say game two was going to be challenging for Toronto. Toronto as I said played a strong first period, they would force the Lightning to defend many times in the opening twenty minutes of play as we saw the Leafs big guns firing but last night, they were unable to find the back of the net early on. These two teams would trade powerplays in the opening frame. Unlike the first game Monday night where Toronto was able to shutdown the Lightning powerplay all through game one, last night however would be a vastly different story. The Lightning were able to set their powerplay up after entering the zone every time. We would see the Leafs trail for the first time this series when Alex Kerfoot would be called for holding in the final minute of the opening period. Just when it looked as if Toronto would escape the first period with the game still scoreless Jake Muzzin would fail to clear the puck from the zone Alex Killorn would keep the puck in on the blueline and then send the puck to Victor Hedman who was all alone in front, he would show some patience and slide the puck around a sprawling Jack Campbell and the Lightning would have a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes of play.

 

Period two would be when Leaf fans would feel emotional highs and lows and unfortunately there would be disappointment to start as just two minutes in Tampa’s lead would be doubled as Corey Perry who haunted the Leafs last year in the playoffs with the Canadiens, Perry would add to their torture by scoring his first goal of the post season and the Lightning would lead this game by a score of 2-0. I may have mentioned this earlier in the season I could have even mentioned this in the article about game one but in case I have not I will mention it here. I may be alone in this, but I would absolutely love to have Corey Perry on the Leaf roster. Now I know his best days are behind him and he is not the scoring threat he once was, but I still think he would be a terrific addition to this Leaf team. His contract is at a valuable price this regular season he scored nineteen goals, but he is still someone who manages to get under the skin of the opponent and the opposing fans. Everyone who watched the game heard a sold-out building boo a player after scoring an elite breakaway goal on Campbell. I will say it again I would have Corey Perry on my team any day of the week.

 

So, even though Toronto was now trailing by a score of 2-0 they would continue to try and work their way back into the contest and with close to eight minutes played in the second the Leafs would finally get on the board. With the puck in the Lightning zone Ryan McDonagh would fail to clear the puck as Auston Matthews would force a turnover, he would knock the puck to Mitch Marner who would quickly send a pass to Michael Bunting who was making his NHL Playoff debut and Bunting’s wrist shot would find the back of the net sending the Leaf fans into a frenzy as the score would become 2-1. Minutes later we would see the Lightning head to another powerplay after Ilya Lyubushkin would be called for hooking. On the broadcast Craig Simpson mentioned that Sheldon Keefe would not be happy with the call. No coach is ever happy when their team is shorthanded, but a coach is never happy when their team in penalized when his player makes zero contact with the opponent. If you watch the replay Lyubushkin who was called for hooking never actually made any contact with an opposing player, but regardless Toronto would be on the penalty kill once again. Just like their penalty kill in the first period most of it was done very well untill one costly mistake leading to a powerplay goal. The Lyubushkin penalty would end the same way, a failed clearance by Toronto would lead to Tampa’s third goal as Nikita Kucherov would place a shot perfectly in the top corner passed Campbell. This goal would give Tampa a 3-1 advantage one they would carry with them into the second intermission.

 

Throughout the game I had a conversation with someone that will remain nameless, but he tried telling me the third goal was Jack Campbell’s fault. I can bet he is not alone in pointing the blame at Campbell. So, to any fan annoyed with Campbell please do me a favour and watch the entire play that led to this goal. If you do this, I hope you will notice that once again the Leafs are doing a solid job killing the minor penalty. You should also see that David Kampf has the puck on his stick with a perfect opportunity to send the puck down the ice killing more valuable seconds on the penalty. Instead, Kampf decided to send a short pass to TJ Brodie who had his stick break, so Brodie was unable to relieve the Lightning pressure thus leading to the Kucherov powerplay goal.

Toronto would look to see if they could come back in the final twenty minutes of this one. Sadly, the Leafs would see their deficit worsen as Brandon Hagel would put Tampa ahead 4-1 just ninety seconds into period. Frustration would begin to boil over for the Leafs and to no one’s surprise Toronto’s frustration involved Corey Perry. All game long the Lightning would crash Jack Campbell’s crease hoping to get him off his game and losing focus, well five minutes into the third Perry would do this again and Wayne Simmonds would be called for cross checking in retaliation to what Perry was doing. Tampa’s powerplay would cash in once again for the teams fifth goal of the contest as Brayden Point would score his first goal and the Lightning would lead 5-1.

Tampa leading this game comfortably would begin to try and run the clock down but as the final frame approached the ten-minute mark Toronto would find the back of the net for a second time. A draw in the Lightning zone would be won by Matthews sending the puck to Jake Muzzin, he would send a short pass to Mitch Marner whose shot from the top of the slot would be stopped. Muzzin would then grab the rebound before sending a pass to Mitch Marner who this time would beat Vasilevskiy on his glove side With Toronto trailing 5-2, they would look to continue chipping away the Tampa lead. Tampa would head to the powerplay for the final time of the game as Michael Bunting would serve a slashing minor with just under five minutes left in game two, but the Leafs would not go away because Alex Kerfoot would score a shorthanded to bring the Leafs within two goals and filling the fans with hope of a potential miracle comeback. Toronto would then be on the powerplay as Matthews would draw a tripping minor and before the faceoff Jack Campbell would be called to the bench and the Leafs would use six attackers. Sadly, for the Leafs and their fans the Kerfoot goal would be as close as the Leafs would get, and Tampa would win this game 5-3 leveling the series at a game each. Last night Tampa showed exactly why they are defending champions and they did it by capitalizing on every opportunity presented to them. If you told me before this series began that the Leafs and Lightning would be in a series tie as they head to Tampa Bay for games three and four, I would be happy. Well fans that is exactly the situation we are in. As I mentioned in my playoff preview the season series between these two Atlantic Division members saw both teams win two games of the four-game series. I know for a fact there will be plenty of people trash talking the Leafs after this loss but Leaf fans should still be feeling confident in their team and I can confidently saw that this Leaf team is not going to simply roll over, this team has shown all season they can quickly reset and come back even better their next game.  The Leafs will now fly to Tampa Bay for the next two games where the Leafs will really be tested as they will be dealing with a rowdy Lightning crowd, and they cannot let themselves become overwhelmed by the atmosphere. For the Leafs to have success in this series as the visitors they need to try and take the crowd out of the game. Plenty of productive zone time combined with some physical play will help Toronto grab momentum and I think every Leaf fan should be confident that our beloved Leafs will manage to win at least one of the games from the defending champs.

We have to wait untill Friday night for game three of this series so untill then thanks as always for reading.