TORONTO – – Nick Paul performed with the best performance in the playoffs of his career, when Tampa Bay Lightning needed it most and the two-time defending champions continue to move forward.
Paul scored twice, including an incredible individual tiebreak effort at the end of the second period, and Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night to win their series in the playoffs in the first round.
“The electricity in this building was crazy,” said Paul, a native of Mississauga, Ontario. “There was no doubt in our game to go in and work as hard as we did. We stayed together. “
Andrei Vassilevski stopped 30 strikes for the Lightning.
Morgan Rielli scored a goal for Toronto, which has not reached the second round since 2004 and is now 0-9 in the elimination games in the last five postseasons, after also losing 4-3 in Game 6 in Tampa, Florida, two nights earlier. Jack Campbell had 23 saves.
“Great hockey team,” Stephen Stamkos of Tampa Bay told Maple Leafs. “They have all the pieces. It is not easy at this time of year. We’ve had some setbacks in the past … you’re just moving forward and you just have to get over this hump. “
Maple Leafs again failed to pass and finally turned a long, ugly story of failures in the playoffs for the franchise, which has lost its last seven series, including six consecutive since 2017.
“It’s hard to explain,” said Toronto captain John Tavares. “It’s disappointing, it’s hard to understand. It hurts, it hurts, it’s disappointing. ”
Toronto is now 7-3 as the host in Game 7, including losing to Scotiabank Arena last season after making a 3-1 lead in the series against the Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s a game of inches,” said Maple Leafs star Austin Matthews, who scored 60 goals in the regular season and four more in the playoffs. “It simply came to our notice then. It’s really disappointing. Everyone competes there and gives their best. They made one game more than us. ”
Down 1-0 after 20 minutes of the game, Maple Leafs seemed to tie the score at 11:28 a second when Tavares shot Vassilevsky, but the goal was canceled after Toronto defender Justin Hall was called in to intervene.
Campbell had to make a few desperate stops in the ensuing penalty to prepare for Rielli’s equalizer after a setup by Mitch Marner and Aston Matthews to score his third of the playoffs at 6:35 to send the 19,316 crowd into a chaotic state of madness.
The goal was the first conceded by Vasilevski and the Lightning in their last six decisive matches in the series.
William Nilander then missed high in the break and Tampa’s goalkeeper robbed Matthews of the Maple Leafs.
But Paul scored his second of the evening – and second of all time in the playoffs – with 3:28 until the end of the period in a great game in which he kicked the puck from his skate to his stick.
Tampa almost made it 3-1 late in the period when Kucherov hit the crossbar.
Vassilevski was under siege throughout the game in Toronto, just over six minutes after the third, but kept the hosts at bay, despite fierce pressure.
Toronto continued to push into an anxious, tense slide as the clock ticked.
However, Maple Leafs simply could not find a way with Campbell on the bench for an extra skater to complete another chapter of disappointment in the playoffs.
“It hurts more because it was a really good team that really played hard,” said Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe. “You can discuss the merits of any merit you would like to give to our team. But I don’t know if you can argue about something you give to Tampa Bay Lightning, and who they are, what they represent, and what they’ve accomplished.
“And we’re right there, standing with them.”
Braden Point, who marked the winner of the game in Game 6 of Tampa to extend the series, was injured at the end of the first period when his right foot got caught under him when he fell on the ice. The assailant – in agony as he headed down the tunnel to the locker room – tried to return for the second period, but closed it after a short shift.
“When Pointer was injured, he seemed to lock up the whole team,” said Lightning head coach John Cooper. “I don’t think we looked back.”
Lightning rose 1-0 after Point fell in the first when Paul, who had a number of chances in Game 5 with his team ahead before Toronto returned, scored his first goal. Campbell made the initial stoppage of Ross Colton’s one-off shot after an attempt to cut off Rielly’s stick, but Paul’s rebound fell to 1:36 when Toronto conceded the first goal of a fourth straight game.
Lightning played just their second game since the playoffs in 2020, after beating the New York Islanders 1-0 at home in the semifinals last June.
It was Toronto’s first 7 home game with fans – the club’s loss to Montreal in 2021 was played in front of 550 health workers due to COVID-19 restrictions – since 2004, when Joe Nywendick scored twice to replace Ottawa Senators.
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