Although the Lightning dropped their fourth game of the season to Toronto, there were a lot of positives to take out of this contest. They competed hard and carried play for much of the night. They battled back twice from third-period deficits. And they added an important point to their standings total — they now lead the Panthers by three points for second place in the division.
Still, the opening minutes were not good ones for the Lightning. They committed two costly defensive-zone turnovers with the Auston Matthews’ line on the ice. Those miscues led to goals for Mitch Marner at 1:13 and Matthew Knies at 3:33. The early part of the game also featured a high-danger chance from Bobby McMann on a two-on-one and a John Tavares breakaway. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped both of those shots, keeping the deficit to two goals.
Despite those chances against, the Lightning carried play for much of the opening period. They owned a majority of the possession and held a shot attempt advantage of 33-21. They hit three goalposts before they finally broke through. Nick Perbix’s shot from the top of the right circle beat a screened Anthony Stolarz at 18:58.
Possession was even more lopsided in the second period. The Lightning out-attempted Toronto, 40-15. But they only managed to post 11 shots on goal. Their inability to consistently get their shots on net was a key to the game. Overall, the Lightning registered 62 shot attempts that were blocked or missed the net.
The second period was a scoreless one. But the Lightning carried a power play into the third and converted to tie the game. Oliver Bjorkstrand zipped a shot from the slot over the stick of Stolarz at :50.
On the all-important shift after a goal, however, the Lightning failed to execute a clear. Moments later, Emil Lilleberg took a four-minute high-sticking penalty when he drew blood on John Tavares. The Leafs scored on the front end of the double minor to retake the lead. A Tavares o-zone faceoff win led to a point shot from Marner. Knies collected the rebound and slid it in.
Bobby McMann and Brayden Point fought at 9:25. The officials gave McMann an extra cross-checking minor, putting the Lightning on their fourth power play of the night. Even though they didn’t have Point available on the man advantage, the Lightning evened the score once more. Hedman snapped a shot from the slot into the net at 11:05.
The closing minutes were intense, as each team created looks but didn’t score. Overtime was wide open. Both clubs had breakaways and open looks. Eventually, on a two-on-zero down low, Matthews set up Knies for his hat-trick goal at 2:56.
Despite the loss, the Lightning had a good showing. Much better than in their previous three games this season against Toronto. They gained an important point on Florida as well.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Matthew Knies — Maple Leafs. Hat trick.
- Victor Hedman — Lightning. Goal and assist. 16 shot attempts.
- Auston Matthews — Maple Leafs. Three assists.
