The Islanders extended them to Game 7 in last year’s conference semifinals, with Tampa Bay’s winning 1-0 before going on to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.
#Maple leafs lightning score series#
The Lightning, meanwhile, faced elimination in a series for just the second time over the past three postseasons. The Maple Leafs rallied to win Game 5 at home, overcoming an early two-goal deficit and scoring three times in the third period to win 4-3 and take a 3-2 series lead. “The 5 on 3 turns things, and then it took us a bit to really get our game going from there.” I loved how we were playing,” Keefe added. “I thought we were playing a good third period up until they had the 5 on 3,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. Tavares scored twice in the last 34 seconds of the second period to put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2. Matthews cut into the deficit with his fourth goal of the series. Special teams also played a role in Tampa Bay's first two goals - Palat scoring while skating 4 on 4 in the opening period, and Cirelli’s short-handed goal leaving the Maple Leafs with a two-goal deficit that Auston Matthews and John Tavares wiped out over the last half of the second. The Lightning capitalized on the 5-on-3 power-play opportunity, with Kucherov's goal making it 3-3 midway through the third period. Jack Campbell stopped 32 of 36 shots for the Maple Leafs, whose fortunes shifted dramatically when they were whistled for two high-sticking penalties within a 16-second span of the third period. “It’s about wins this time of the year, and this group has proved that we don’t care how it gets done," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. It’s what the game’s all about.”Īndrei Vasilevskiy had 30 saves - nine in overtime - to improve to 18-0 in games following a playoff loss over the past three postseasons. “We worked hard all year to earn home ice, and we’ve got a great opportunity going home in front of our fans to try to close this thing out,” Tavares added. Unfortunately we weren’t the ones to cash in on our opportunities," Toronto's John Tavares said. The Maple Leafs, who’ve been eliminated in the first round each of the past five seasons, are 0-for-their-last-8 in close-out games as they chase their first postseason series win since 2004. The Lightning are trying to become the first team to capture three consecutive Stanley Cup titles since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83. Those are fun ones to play in,” Cirelli added. “All we did was buy another chance to keep our season going,” Point said.
Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning, who blew a two-goal lead for the second straight game and trailed 3-2 entering the third period.īut unlike Tuesday night, when Toronto came from behind to win Game 5 at home, the Maple Leafs couldn't hold off the reigning champs to claim their first playoff series win in 18 years. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night, staving off elimination and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 in the first round playoff series between the Atlantic Division rivals.īrayden Point scored the winning goal on a rebound with 1:56 remaining in the first extra period, touching off a raucous celebration in the stands at sold-out Amalie Arena and handing Toronto another crushing postseason blow. The Tampa Bay Lightning saved their season, keeping their bid for a three-peat alive. NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs Point scores in OT, Lightning-Maple Leafs head to Game 7
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