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Brayden Level scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-3 on Tuesday night time within the opening recreation of the groups’ first-round playoff sequence.
Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry every had a objective and two assists, and Anthony Cirelli and Ross Colton completed with a objective and an help for Tampa Bay. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare additionally scored for the Lightning, who scored 4 targets on the facility play. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves in his 100th playoff start.
Ryan O’Reilly, William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok scored for Toronto. Mitch Marner had three assists and Auston Matthews added a pair. Ilya Samsonov allowed six targets on 29 photographs earlier than being changed by Joseph Woll firstly the third interval. The rookie netminder completed with 4 stops.
Toronto winger Michael Bunting was whistled for a match penalty and recreation misconduct for an unlawful test to the top of Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak. The hit occurred with 4:20 remaining within the second interval. Cernak, who didn’t have the puck, fell backward to the ice and went to the locker room.
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Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates with teammate Pat Maroon #14 after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in Recreation One of many First Spherical of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on the Scotiabank Area on April 18, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Andrew Lahodynskyj/NHLI by way of Getty Pictures)
Recreation 2 within the best-of-seven sequence is Thursday night time in Toronto.
The Lightning beat the Maple Leafs in seven video games on the identical stage of the playoffs final spring on the way in which to their third consecutive Stanley Cup look. In the meantime, Toronto is desperately seeking to finish an unsightly string of postseason failures that has seen the franchise fail to advance since 2004.
The Maple Leafs have misplaced seven straight sequence relationship to 2013, together with six in a row with the proficient core led by Matthews, Marner and Nylander. Toronto captain John Tavares has gone 0-5 since signing in 2018.
The battle-tested Lightning, in the meantime, gained the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, earlier than falling to the Colorado Avalanche in final yr’s championship spherical.
Tampa opened the scoring simply 1:18 into the primary interval, quieting the raucous, towel-waving crowd when Bellemare scored on a rebound after Zach Aston-Reese couldn’t clear the puck.
The Lightning made it 2-0 six minutes later when Cirelli buried a rebound on a scramble after Toronto gave the puck away within the impartial zone.
Toronto began to push again, with Matthews exhibiting probably the most combat.
Anthony Cirelli #71 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a objective with teammate Brandon Hagel #38 towards the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout Recreation One of many First Spherical of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Area on April 18, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Claus Andersen/Getty Pictures)
RANGERS’ HOT START PROPELS THEM TO GAME 1 WIN OVER RIVAL DEVILS
However Tampa Bay took a three-goal lead with simply 2.6 seconds remaining within the interval on an influence play, when Kucherov beat Samsonov with a one-timer to the brief facet.
Toronto bought a objective again on an influence play with O’Reilly scoring eight minutes into the second.
Samsonov made an enormous cease on Perry earlier than Nylander fired by a display on one other man benefit to make it 3-2.
Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe then levelled Michael Eyssimont, sending the Tampa middle to the locker room earlier than Level made it 4-2 on one other energy play moments later.
Bunting match penalty and recreation misconduct all however ended Toronto’s hope for a comeback.
Already minus Victor Hedman, who didn’t take a shift after the opening interval, Tampa Bay managed to revive its three-goal lead when Perry jammed a puck in tight at Samsonov’s submit two minutes earlier than the intermission.
The play stood after a Toronto problem for goaltender interference, handing the Lightning a 5-on-3 energy play.
The Leafs survived that, however Level scored his second objective of the sport with a tenth of a second remaining on the clock for a 6-2 margin.
Toronto was booed off the ice on the intermission buzzer earlier than Colton stretched the result in 5 targets on a breakaway seven minutes into the ultimate interval.
Jarnkrok bought Toronto’s third objective.
Brayden Level #21 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a objective towards the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout Recreation One of many First Spherical of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Area on April 18, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Claus Andersen/Getty Pictures)
SCHENN’S TIME
Drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2008 and traded away in 2012, veteran defenseman Luke Schenn suited up for his first playoff recreation with Toronto almost 15 years after first becoming a member of the group.
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The 33-year-old performed for six organizations within the interim — together with Stanley Cup wins with Tampa in 2020 and 2021 — earlier than the Vancouver Canucks dealt him to Toronto in late February.
“Higher late than by no means,” Schenn mentioned Tuesday morning. “It’s been a very long time within the making.”
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