If we were talking about a tennis game, it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs missed their first match point in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Sheldon Keefe’s men failed to do what no Maple Leafs have done in the past 19 seasons, advance to the second round of the playoffs by losing 4-2 . Doubt should begin to settle in the Leafs who have historically struggled to make their way into the playoffs.
The good news is that the Leafs still have two more match points to conclude this series. Game 6 will be played on Saturday under the hot Florida sun.
“You don’t want to bet against this group,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
“When you have a team like ours, you don’t want to miss an opportunity,” said defender Victor Hedman.
Toronto, which hasn’t won a series since 2004, was eliminated by the Lightning in seven games in the first round last spring. Toronto is now 0-11 since 2004 when the club had a chance to eliminate an opponent.
Defender Morgan Rielly was also asked after the game if he was wondering what the Leafs had to do to win a game that would result in the elimination of an opponent.
“Always,” Rielly replied. Until it happens. “
If the Maple Leafs thought they had identified the weakness of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy following the indiscretions of former Lightning assistant Derek Lalonde, nothing appeared since the Russian doorman was solid in front of his cage. We saw him make important saves, including one in the third period on a breakaway from Mitch Marner. In the first, Vasilevskiy also resisted back-to-back shots from Calle Jarnkrok.
If Vasilevskiy held his own, Ilya Samsonov goalkeeper gave the Lightning a gift in second on a goal that made the difference.
Vasilevskiy, however, was the one to give up first in the first period when he was thwarted by Morgan Rielly who scored in a third straight game to spark hysteria in Scotia Bank Arena. The euphoria was short-lived, however, as 26 seconds later Anthony Cirelli tied the game for Tampa.
Vasilevskiy made 28 saves while Samsonov made 34.
“He proved he was one of the best. When he sees the puck from the blue line, it’s a lot easier. He gets up when we need him,” Hedman said of Vasilevskiy.
Rielly is the first Leafs defenseman to find the back of the net in three consecutive playoff games since Ian Turnbull in 1978. Rielly is just one goal away from tying his regular season mark.
Samsonov looked particularly bad on the winning goal scored by Michael Eyssimont who passed the puck between his pads when he was on the right of the net. A shot that could haunt the Toronto goalkeeper for a long time or at least until the next Leafs win.
The second period ended in controversy. Pat Maroon tackled Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano from behind against the ramp. No penalty was initially called on the play. Maroon finally received a roughing penalty at the end of the scrum which followed his gesture.
Giordano joined his teammates on the bench shortly after the start of the third period.
Nick Paul scored an important goal that gave Tampa a two-goal cushion with less than ten minutes left.
Toronto pulled their keeper with at least four minutes left and the strategy worked when Auston Matthews approached his club to just one goal with 3:33 remaining.
