Sheldon Keefe said Sunday morning that his team has not yet given its best hockey this spring.
The Toronto head coach is still waiting.
Stephen Stamkos scored one minute in the first period to cause an early barrage, while Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Maple Leafs 7-3 to finish their series in the playoffs in the first round 2-2.
“We weren’t at the right level,” Keefe said after an embarrassing absence. “Tampa played at a higher level than us and got a reward for it.”
Ross Colton, with a pair, Pierre-Edward Belemare, Pat Maroon, Corey Perry and Ondrey Palace had the other goals for the two-time Stanley Cup defenders. Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel added two assists for Lightning, which led 3-0 in the first eight minutes in the noisy Amalie Arena.
“We had a great start,” Stamkos said. “That was one of our keys, to go out and play the right way.”
WATCH l The leaves fall to Lightning in Game 4:
Ross Colton took the lead as Lightning leveled the series with Leafs
A pair of Ross Colton goals raised Tampa Bay to a 7-3 victory over Toronto, leveling the series at 2-2. 1:31
Andrei Vassilevski has stopped 22 shots, improving to an outstanding 16-0 in the last three post-seasons after a loss.
Tampa achieved the dominant performance to close the defeat on Friday with 5-2 – Toronto scored two late empty balls – in match 4.
“We talked about achieving some success there in the third period and the desire to do it again,” Stamkos added. – The boys took it to heart.
William Nilander scored twice for Toronto, while Jake Muzin also beat Vassilevski with an out-of-range game.
Jack Campbell conceded five goals in 16 shots before being drawn in favor of Eric Calgren for the Leafs, who retired the night they could snatch 3-1 in a match of the top seven. Kalgren finished with 10 saves.
“It’s disappointing,” Muzin said. “That night we fought hard to be in the position we were in. We knew they would come hard.
“I just wasn’t ready for that.”
Leafs goalkeeper Jack Campbell reacted after scoring Corey Perry during the second period on Sunday night. (Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)
Toronto has scored the top 32 penalties in the NHL in four races, with Lightning connecting five times, including once on Sunday.
“We’ve done a pretty good job, and for the most part we don’t interfere in things that aren’t among the whistles,” said Leafs captain John Tavares. “But some of the obstacles are called tougher than we’re probably used to in the past.
– Something we need to adapt to.
“This is a game”
The series now moves to Scotiabank Arena for Game 5 on Tuesday, while Game 6 returns to Amalie Arena on Thursday. Match 7, if necessary, is scheduled for Saturday in Toronto.
“They scored on their first shot and took it away, but it’s a game,” said Campbell, who has conceded 12 goals in his last 145 minutes and 25 seconds of action against Lightning.
“Learn from him, be ready for the next one.”
Seeking to draw more from a top line that was largely neutralized in Game 3 by Anthony Sirelli, Braden Point and Alex Killarn, with Tampa receiving the final substitution, Keef moved Alexander Kerfut to replace Michael Bunting on the wing with Aston Matthews and Mitch. Marner in start the game.
But Toronto, which finished the regular season with 115 points, five distances from Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division, started its third line and third defensive pair and was on the back foot from the fall of the puck when Tampa’s best units arrived. waves against an enemy ulcer.
The Leafs hadn’t even crossed the line when Stamkos – robbed by Campbell of a late one-off in Game 3 – blew up another of his patented bullets minutes after the first to blow up the roof of a sold-out rink after Toronto defender Justin Hall failed to clear the area.
“They came out hard and we didn’t do it,” Tavares said. “We have to do a better job to be on our feet and ready for it.
“We knew he was coming.”
NHL line-up Mark Shevchik enters between Maple Leafs striker William Nylander, right, and Lightning defender Cal Foot in the third period. (Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)
The indifferent guests fell 2-0 at 5:20 when Muzzin and Campbell could not control the puck down, which jumped to Bellemare in the slot.
Tampa made it 3-0 as the attack continued with a second goal from the fourth line when Maroon jumped after another mistake by a Toronto defender – Morgan Riley was the culprit this time – and scored his own rebound at 7:58 after Campbell made a great stop. stop
Vassilevski had nothing to do at the other end with the 8-1 shots, but he was triggered late in the period when Toronto began to show little life.
Matthews shot viciously with a backhand from the crossbar before last season’s trophy winner Conn Smythe, as the MVP in the playoffs had to be sharp in the downhill.
But Lightning considered returning to bed at 3:17 a.m., when Colton’s snapshot went beyond Campbell’s glove for the center’s second goal in so many games.
Tampa followed with a goal from Perry, who made it 5-0 – the third of Lightning’s fourth line – with a long 5-on-3 lead at 5:25, after Tavares was booed for a hook and David Kampf shot the puck out of play nine seconds later. late to call to postpone the game.
Campbell stayed in the game for a few more minutes, only to be pulled in Calgren’s favor after a television timeout after a long conversation with Keefe on the bench.
I always want to fight, “said the goalkeeper. “But I always respect the coach’s decision.”
“I know he will continue to fight,” Keefe added. “I just let him know that it’s obviously a long way to go and we need him to be good to go to the next game.”
Leafs’ Jack Campbell stopped a shot from Brayden Point in the second period. (Mike Herman / Getty Images)
Nylander put Toronto on the board with a goal for the men’s advantage at 2:27 of the third to ruin Vassilevski’s bid for the seventh playoff out of his career before adding his second of the playoffs, with the teams skating 4 to 4 at 12:05 .
The Leafs pulled Calgren away with less than six minutes to go, but Palat scored in an empty net before Muzzin found the back of the net at 15:41 and made it 6-3.
But Colton added his second to another empty net to seal it.
Toronto has not won a playoff round since 2004 – before the NHL introduced a pay ceiling and two lockouts – and is seeking to take a step towards ending the Cup drought, dating back 54 years after a series of post-season setbacks.
Toronto fans gathered around the team’s tunnel leading to the icy surface and began chanting “Go Leafs Go” half an hour before the warm-up.
Meanwhile, Tampa’s gaming crew trolls visitors by displaying a “1967” sign on the massive rink board before the match, before Lightning imposed his will early and often.
“We’ll be better next time”
“We got the split,” Keefe said, trying to extract the positive from Sunday’s disaster. “It was the best of five with three games in this building and two at home. It is now the best of three with two in our building. This is a successful path in this sense. Whether you lose the game 2-1 or the way we did tonight doesn’t matter.
“Wash it, keep going. Next time we’ll be better.”
If not, the Leafs will face another hostile environment on Thursday
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