Riding high after stealing the advantage of home ice from Lightning, Maple Leafs is looking to put the consecutive champions on the brink of elimination tonight in Game 4 (19:00 EST, Sportsnet / CBC).
The Leafs seemed unlikely to beat Lightning in a game in which neither of their first two lines was effective, but they found a way to grab a game in Tampa Bay to regain the lead in the series thanks to a few key performances.
One of them came from the third line, which started as Mikheyev-Kampf-Kerfoot, but quickly saw Engvall take over Kerfoot while Keefe juggled the lines. The third line of Leafs managed to provide a few stable minutes and generate a goal by defending Kampf in the attack. Mikheev added two empty players to secure the victory.
The other key performance was Jack Campbell, who stole the show in the third period, making a number of huge saves, including robbing Nick Paul in a tight and sliding to make an incredible save on Stephen Stamkos’ falls once. Without Campbell, the Leafs simply failed to get out of this game with a victory.
At some point in this series, they will need a more significant contribution from two of their stars, who have not been factors so far: John Tavares and William Nilander. In the three games in the series so far, they have combined for just one point, a second assist by Tavares for Austin Matthews’ goal in Match 1. As the match begins to establish and the series (probably) tightens, because if it continues, the List will need signs of second-line life.
Another key to the success of Game 4 will be the effort to return from the top line. Matthews’ line had fallen out of the combination of the Brayden Point line and the Hedman-Chernak defense pair. Michael Bunting was so rude that Keefe brought Kerfut back to the top line, which looks like the lines will start tonight. Repulsing the top line and winning those tough minutes for the Leafs would be a huge step in the game, but the difficulty of those minutes for Matthews-Marner also speaks to how much the second line really takes to be a factor in the easier. matching situations.
Leafs should be well aware of what Lightning is capable of when their backs are against the wall after losing in the playoffs. Tampa Bay can boast a 15-0 record in similar competitions in the last three postseasons.
John Cooper and his team believe they started to find the Leafs ice tilt formula in the second half of Game 3. Especially in the third period, the Leafs really struggled to get out and out of the D-Zone, which led to too many failed breakthroughs. and revs against the Tampa pre-inspection. If the leaves allow the lighting to start rotating in their area, it can be very difficult to interrupt their cycle. There were several cases, especially in the third period, when Tampa managed to extend the time of the offensive zone thanks to intelligent and aggressive pinches by their defenders in the blue line.
Despite the battles in this area of the game, Sheldon Keef sticks to the same defensive pairs. In fact, the staff remains the same throughout the composition. The lineup will be the same as it was in the third period of Game 3, with Kerfoot playing on the top line and Bunting falling on the fourth line. However, Keefe noted that just because he starts from the fourth line, Bunting can be used throughout the lineup depending on the different situations that may arise in the game. There was a lot of smoothness in the Leafs lines depending on the start of the zone / dashboard / performances, so we can expect more from the same tonight.
Series statistics via NaturalStatTrick
- Lightning won the xGoals battle at 5-on-5 5.2-4.94 through three games.
- Lightning decisively wins the division of high-risk odds at 28-17.
- Brandon Hagel holds the lead for ixGoals at 5-on-5 with 0.88. David Kampf is 0.82 behind.
- Jack Campbell has a save rate of .952 with steady strength in three games compared to Andrei Vassilevsky’s .892.
- The Leafs-Lightning series is the closest in terms of CF% compared to all playoff situations, with Leafs holding a slight advantage at 50.14%.
- Morgan Riley is tied for the fifth most blocked shots at 5 to 5 in the playoffs so far by seven.
- Jack Campbell is facing 19 attempts at quick attack, most of all goalkeepers in the playoffs.
Quotes for the day of the game
Sheldon Keefe on how Matthews’ line can establish more time in the zone in a difficult match:
Part of it is a match, and part of it is just our team game. If we manage to get some positive momentum like changing a team after a change, that way they are in better places. Look at the first period and in moments when they had really good shifts, that’s because it’s a continuation of a good shift before them.
In the third period, they had their best chances, and obviously a lot of that came from the pace coming from our region, the breakthroughs and other things. There are many things to do that we need to do better as a team
Keef on the usefulness of a positional player like Alex Kerfut:
I got a lot of questions. It’s important. It’s important all the time. This time of year is really important. You need to be able to adjust to what the other team is doing. Sometimes you have to fill in what you have due to injuries or performance. You have to push the line.
He has simply always been the person for us who gets stronger when we need him. You’re watching last season’s playoffs, when John got injured and he gets stronger and plays in the middle and does a great job for us there. He is a very important player for us.
Keef for the motivation to lead 3-1 in the series of defense of the champions:
You want to win because you want to win. Every game is important and valuable. Of course, you would like the opportunity to go home 3-1. You get out on the road here – not unlike their thinking, I’m sure when they were in Toronto – and you want to win.
You would like to get a split, but then you enter and win the first game. Well, let’s get greedy here and win the second one. This is our thinking today.
I think you know that when you play against such a team and their experience, they react very well after a loss, so we expect their best game in the series here tonight. And I expect our team to play its best game in the series.
Looking back at the three games here so far, I think we’ve done a lot of really good things as a team, but I don’t think we’ve played our best hockey yet and that’s exciting.
Keef about how Leafs defended Kucherov and Stamkos at 5 on 5:
We did a good job. However, it is early. Only three matches have passed. But that was a priority for our entry.
We, of course, know what they can do in power play, but they are also very dangerous at 5-on-5 and we have seen that. We must continue to be diligent with the puck when they are there, to be good in defense and to be in good places.
We can’t get too excited about this because it’s at the beginning of the series and we need to stay focused on getting the job done.
Lightning coach John Cooper on what made his team effective against Matthews’ line:
This is good players versus good players. What is the line? “You can only hope to keep them,” and I thought they did a pretty good job of holding them back. Again, I don’t think anywhere in this series has dominated one line.
Special teams have appeared and this is a completely different animal. But Point-Cirelli-Killorn neutralized these guys pretty well, but that still hasn’t led to victory. It’s unfortunate, but if we keep doing it, it’s good for us.
Cooper for what he appreciates for what Kucherov can do on half the wall of power play:
What will not be appreciated in it? He is a special player, especially in this area. And that’s why he’s so hard to defend, because you can make guys press him and he’ll play through you. You can’t squeeze it. He will still make plays through you.
This is art. Some of them I do not know if it can be learned. His instincts are amazing and his sense of where the boys are and where they will be is quite impressive.
Michael Bunting on what was his first playoff experience so far:
It was great every time you were in the playoffs for any league. When I was in the American League or even here – it’s just obviously a higher scale – it was a lot of fun. It’s intense. It’s fast hockey and it’s rough. It’s right next to my alley, so I’m happy.
Alex Kerfut about the atmosphere of the playoffs:
It’s really cool. This is my third year here and I still haven’t been able to play in front of Leafs fans, so going home was a very special experience. You can’t beat the game in Toronto in front of a home crowd in the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs Designed Lines
Forwards # 15 Alex Kerfut – # 34 Austin Matthews – # 16 Mitch Marner # 88 William Nilander – # 91 John Tavares – # 25 Ondrej Kase # 65 Ilya Mikheev – # 64 David Kampf – # 47 Pierre Engwal # 58 Michael Bunting – # 11 Colin Blackwell – # 19 Jason Spca
Defender # 44 Morgan Riley – # 46 Ilya Lubushkin # 8 Jake Moose – # 78 TJ Brodie # 55 Mark Giordano – # 3 Justin Hall
Goalkeepers Start: # 36 Jack Campbell # 50 Eric Kelgren
Healthy Scratches: Wayne Simmonds, Timothy Lilegren, Nick Abrusese, Kyle Clifford Injured: Rasmus Sandin, Peter Mrazek
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines
Forwards # 18 Andrew Palace – # 91 Stephen Stamkos – # 86 Nikita Kucherov # 38 Braden Heigl – # 21 Braden Point – # 71 Anthony Sirelli # 17 Alex Killarn – # 79 Ross Colton – # 20 Nick Paul # 14 Patrick Maroon – # 41 Pierre-Edward Belmar – № 10 Corey Perry
Defender # 77 Victor Hedman – # 81 Eric Chernak # 27 Ryan McDonagh – # 24 Zack Boghossian # 98 …
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