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What a Game 3 this was as the Toronto Maple Leafs earned their second straight win to take a 2-1 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But it was what happened after the whistle that drew the headlines in this one.
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After Morgan Reilly sent Brayden Point crashing into the boards, the Lightning players were not happy. All five Tampa skaters converged on Reilly and his teammates and chaos ensued.
Towards the end of the scrum, Toronto superstar Auston Matthews looked to draw the attention of Tampa captain Steven Stamkos. Stamkos lost it and attacked Matthews, the first fight between two 60-goal scorers in NHL history.
After reviewing the play, Reilly was not given a penalty and it was determined that Point's injury was the result of a hockey battle in a tough area.
However, following the game, Toronto Coach Sheldon Keefe had some interesting things to say about the incident.
Sporting a sly smile, Keefe inferred that the Lightning took advantage of how the officials called the game. When a penalty was already coming, they threw some heavy punches, including some late ones by Stamkos, and were not penalized.
What does this all mean? Well, it means that Game 4 should be full of drama and plenty of action.
Between the whistles, the series has had it all. Two large victories for each team in the first two games, and then an extremely tight and contested overtime Game 3.
Something to watch in this series has been the play of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Arguably the best goalie in the world, Vasilevskiy has struggled this season. The "Big Cat" finished the regular season with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average. Far from poor, but not up to his standards.
In the first three games of the playoffs, he has allowed 4.22 goals and sits at a sub-900 save percentage. That is not only unusual but a huge area of concern for a Tampa Bay Lightning team that is otherwise fairly outmatched.
Tampa Bay Lightning projected lineup
- Hagel-Point-Kucherov
- Cirelli-Stamkos-Killorn
- Colton-Paul-Maroon
- Namestnikov-Bellemare-Perry
- Hedman-Bogosian
- Cole-Perbix
- Sergachev-Cernak
- Vasilevskiy
- Elliot
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
- Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner
- Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander
- Knies - O’Reilly - Acciari
- Aston-Reese - Kampf - Lafferty
- Brodie - McCabe
- Rielly - Schenn
- Giordano - Holl
- Samsonov
- Woll
Prediction
This game is going to be tight. Both teams know what worked and what did not, and the energy, physicality and anger, should come together for a highly-spirited Game 4.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a slight edge and should be able to bring this series back home at 3-1.
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
