Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares moves in on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during third period in Toronto, on April 20.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The Maple Leafs got over the case of yips that affected them on Tuesday and spanked the Lightning 7-2 in the second game of their playoff series on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.
John Tavares scored a hat trick, Mitch Marner scored twice and had one assist, Morgan Rielly had four assists and Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves as Toronto evened the best-of-seven set at one win each. The teams play Games 3 and 4 in Tampa on Saturday and Monday.
What a difference 48 hours can make.
The Maple Leafs got pummelled in 7-3 in Game 1 but came out and won most of those puck battles they lost two nights earlier, pinned Tampa Bay in its own end, pushed back when challenged and looked more like the team that finished ahead of Tampa Bay in the NHL’s Atlantic Division than the one that got slapped silly earlier.
The jeers that followed them off the ice on Tuesday were replaced by cheers.
When Tavares scored for the second time, the arena was turned into a near blizzard by towel-waving fans. It was then that the crowd began to taunt Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with chants of “Vasi.” It is unlikely that Vasilevskiy, who has won a Vézina Trophy and been chosen the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup finals, has heard such catcalls very often.
“Our fans were phenomenal,” Tavares said. “Our building was jumping tonight.”
You want playoff hockey? There was a lot to love here. The opponents combined for 19 penalties that totalled 72 minutes and fought three times.
Three minutes into the game Tampa Bay’s Zach Bogosian squared off with Mark Giordano, quickly dragging him to the ice. Later, the Maple Leafs’ Luke Schenn squared off with Tanner Jeannot and then the Lightning’s Corey Perry exchanged swings with Justin Holl.
Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev and Pat Maroon were both given 10-minute misconduct penalties, and at one point Jeannot exchanged words with a fan.
“They took it to us pretty good the other night and we needed a response,” Sheldon Keefe, the Toronto coach, said.
Toronto went ahead only 47 seconds after the puck drop on a long wrist shot by Marner. Goals by Tavares and William Nylander quickly followed. Toronto, which trailed 3-0 after 20 minutes on Tuesday, went to its dressing room for the first time with a 3-0 lead.
We took control of the game right away and that set us up for success,” Keefe said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“Overall, I thought our focus and execution was sharp. The players were really good today.”
Tampa Bay led 7-1 in shots early in the first period – the lone one on Marner’s goal – but the Maple Leafs finished getting 12 of the last 13.
Samsonov, who was shaky on Tuesday, was much better this time out. He made a lunging glove save on Brayden Point with 14:32 remaining in the first and a little more than a minute later smothered a dangerous shot by Steven Stamkos.
He had been pulled after 40 minutes in Game 1 and entered the evening 1-7 in eight playoff starts, but his teammates weren’t worried. Samsonov went 27-10-5 with a .919 save percentage in his first regular season with Toronto.
“I think I was a little bit nervous in the first game but I was less nervous today,” Samsonov said. “It was more fun to watch. We dominated.”
The Maple Leafs were without winger Michael Bunting, who is suspended for three games on Wednesday for interfering with and elbowing Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak in the second period of Game 1. Bunting was ejected after the incident, which caused a head injury and left Cernik unable to play on Thursday.
Earlier in the day Keefe said he expected a suspension to be handed out so he was not surprised. He said earlier in the day that he would not hesitate to allow Bunting to return to the lineup in Game 5.
“I know Michael as well anyone so I don’t have an issue with him in terms of trust,” Keefe said. “He has no history with this sort of thing.”
As a result of the suspension, Toronto had to shuffle lines and inserted 20-year-old rookie Matthew Knies into the lineup.
“It was unreal,” Knies, who joined Toronto for three games after finishing the season at the University of Minnesota, said. “The intensity on the ice was surreal.
“This is where we needed our big guys to step up and they did.”
The Maple Leafs other goals was scored by Zach Aston-Reece. Ten different Toronto players found their way onto the score sheet in all.
Tampa Bay was not only missing Cernak but future Hall of Fame defenceman Victor Hedman, who suffered an undisclosed injury during the first period in Game 1 and did not return.
The Lightning also lost centre Michael Eyssimont on Tuesday in a collision with Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe.
The Maple Leafs have lost in the first round in each of the past six post-seasons, including to the Lightning in seven games last year. Toronto has not won a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2004, and its last championship came in 1967.
“Our team has been through a lot,” Keefe said. “We know enough that we need a response here. That’s what the playoffs are about.”
Tampa Bay has won two of the last three Stanley Cups and reached the finals in the other one last year. It will undoubtedly be angry after its performance in Game 2.
“I don’t know if it is possible for us to carry over the momentum from tonight,” Keefe said. “What is important is for our team is to understand this game is over with.
“I am sure Tampa Bay’s players feel the same way tonight that we did on Tuesday. I feel good that we got a response but we are going to have to regroup and player better on Saturday.”