FOLLOW THE LEADERS
Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly tries to keep pace with the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos during a visit to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday night. The Leafs won 4-2.
TAMPA, FLA.— Steve Stamkos was asked if he thought Thursday night’s Maple Leafs-Lightning game might feel like a playoff game.
His answer was a simple “no.” It was still just the regular season, after all, he reasoned. Only about halfway through for both teams.
But after Toronto’s 4-2 win over Tampa on Thursday night, there’s got to be a certain hope among hockey enthusiasts that these two teams will line up against each other in the playoffs: two teams wearing the same colours, playing the same exciting brand of fire-wagon hockey. Lots of great chances. Lots of great saves. Lots to look forward to.
The Lightning (36-10-2) seem destined to have home-ice advantage through the playoffs. The Leafs (29-15-2) are trying to get home-ice advantage for the first round. If they meet in the playoffs, it will likely be the
second round.
There’s no question the two teams respect each other.
“They’re lighting it up,” said centre Nazem Kadri, who scored Toronto’s first goal. “They’ve got a great team too. You’d expect nothing less with the personnel they’ve got over there.” “We knew how good they were the last time we played them,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “They’re just getting better. They’re an elite team. They’ve got tons of skill up front.”
For the Leafs: Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman scored for the Leafs. Kadri and Marleau assisted on each other’s goals for two-point nights. Marner has four goals and one assist during a four-game point streak. Frederik Andersen faced 38 shots and saved the game a few times when Tampa played with the extra attacker over the final two minutes. Hyman scored into an empty net. It was his fourth empty-netter. Nikita Zaitsev and John Tavares each had two assists. For the Lightning: Brayden Point and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning and assisted on each other’s goals. Stamkos got an assist and has 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in his past 18 games. Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 30 shots.
Kadri scores: With so much having gone wrong lately for the Leafs lately, the happiest player in the first period had to be Kadri, who scored on a nice backhander. It was his 10th goal of the season, and his first goal over a stretch of 11 games.
Kadri doesn’t get the media attention he once did around here so his slump kind of went under the radar. But he was aware and spoke about the team’s recent ups and downs before the game.
“That’s just the progression of an 82-game season,” he said. “It’s not going to be pretty throughout the entire process.
It’s about being patient, staying with it. We know we have a great foundation. We know how we want to play, and how we can play.”
Nylander watch: The reunion of Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and William Nylander went well. The three hadn’t played a shift together since April, but you couldn’t tell. Nylander had a strong game in terms of using his speed, creating chances and getting a few shots away. But his second goal of the season remains elusive.
Hyman was back with Tavares and Marner in the final minute to preserve the lead and score the empty-netter.
Up next: The Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Friday night. Garret Sparks is expected to get the call in net.