On Oct. 21, the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-0) had their way with the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2-0), handing the Bolts a 5-2 defeat at Scotiabank Arena. This win bumped the Maple Leafs up to second place in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto opened the scoring, courtesy of a William Nylander glove-side shot off a feed from Max Domi. That was Nylander’s fourth goal in as many games and Domi’s sixth assist in his last five contests—both of them are scorching hot.
Later in the opening frame, Victor Hedman sprung Nicholas Paul on a breakaway that was originally stopped, but the rebound went off of Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit and into the net. The unfortunate bounce tied the game 1-1.
After the mishap, the Leafs ran away with the game. Auston Matthews jammed at a loose puck to give his team the lead just 1:56 into the second period, with assists coming from Mitch Marner and Nylander. Now on a three-game goal-scoring streak, Matthews is quietly sneaking his way up in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race. He has won the award three times in the past four seasons.
Nylander struck again following a steal and one-handed dish by Bobby McMann. Those two, along with Domi, have built up some nice chemistry this season.
Related: Nylander-Domi-McMann: Maple Leafs’ Most Successful Line
Max Pacioretty joined in on the fun with the team’s third second-period goal prior to the 10-minute mark. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled.
The Maple Leafs’ final second-period tally was from Matthew Knies. Marner got his second primary assist of the game on that one.
We call that a Knies finish pic.twitter.com/L6tWJTWRpY
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 22, 2024
Tampa Bay got some revenge late, making the score a bit more respectable at 5-2. Brayden Point got a power-play marker with assists from Nikita Kucherov and Hedman.
Overall, Anthony Stolarz turned aside 32 of the 34 shots he faced in Toronto’s crease. For the Lightning, Vasilevskiy could only save 10 of the 14 shots that came his way. Backup Jonas Johansson was able to limit the bleeding with 14 saves on 15 shots.
Next up, the Lightning will stay on the road to face the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 22. That’s the top team in the NHL by points (11), so it’ll be back-to-back huge tests for Tampa Bay. Toronto won’t have much of a break, either, as they’re back in action to visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 22, too.
