Bolts Nation, you can breathe again! The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 behind two goals from trade deadline acquisition Nick Paul.
Game Recap
The first period started with the Maple Leafs controlling the game. They peppered Andrei Vasilevskiy who, in elimination games, seems to be unstoppable. He came up clutch once again.
Midway through the period, Mark Giordano clipped Brayden Point’s skate while going for the puck and Point fell awkwardly, with his right leg curled under him. He immediately grabbed his hip area and writhed in pain for a few seconds before slowly skating off the ice without putting pressure on his right leg.
Shortly after Point left the ice, Paul got his stick on a rebound and put the puck past Jack Campbell to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
In the middle frame, Point tried to give it a go but couldn’t put weight on his right leg. He remained on the bench though, a galvanizing moment for a Bolts team that knows adversity.
John Tavares looked to have tied the game but the goal was waved off because Justin Holl clearly interfered with Anthony Cirelli, allowing Tavares to walk into the prime scoring area.
Clearly missing Point, the Lightning couldn’t capitalize on the power play. That gave the Leafs momentum and Morgan Rielly scored to tie things at one.
Unfazed, the Lightning answered back. Paul kicked the puck back onto his stick and beat Campbell glove side to break the tie.
From there, it was all Vasilevskiy. He made multiple 10 bell saves in the third period to will the Lightning to victory. He got help from a team that finally played championship level defense for the first time all series.
Up Next
After a grueling seven game series, the Lightning return home Saturday night before flying to Sunrise later Sunday to face their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers in the second round. The Panthers beat the Washington Capitals in six games to win their first playoff series since 1996.