Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 5, Maple Leafs 3

Through two periods, both teams struggled with their puck play in the defensive and neutral zones. That's because the Lightning and Leafs forechecked aggressively and repeatedly forced opposition turnovers. The Leafs, aided by a spectacular face-off performance through 40 minutes, owned more possession than the Lightning. But the Lightning, who led by a 4-2 score after two periods, were better able to cash in on the chances they generated. Then, in the third period, the Lightning cleaned up their d-zone exits and began winning face-offs more regularly. That led to less activity in the Tampa Bay defensive zone and less possession time for Toronto. While the Leafs did pull within a goal just shy of the halfway point of the third, they would get no closer. The Lightning iced their fifth straight win when, fittingly, Ondrej Palat sealed things with an empty-netter. Fitting because Palat and his linemates had a big night. The newly-formed line of Palat, Steven Stamkos, and Taylor Raddysh combined for four goals and nine points.

The Lightning's puck management and face-off problems began right off the bat. An early Toronto power play led to an Ondrej Kase goal. John Tavares won the face-off and, seconds later, Kase roofed the puck from close range into the top of the net. Over the next several minutes, the Lightning were stuck in their own end, unable to execute clears. Andrei Vasilevskiy was busy during that stretch and was able to keep the deficit at one. His best stop came on a Wayne Simmonds shot - while on the ice, the puck fluttered over him and he knocked the puck away with his right skate blade.
But just shy of the halfway point of the first, the Lightning grabbed momentum. At the Lightning's defensive blue line, Corey Perry forced a turnover from William Nylander and countered down the left wing. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare outraced the Toronto defenders and was open in the slot, where he backhanded Perry's centering pass past Jack Campbell. That goal sparked the Lightning, who owned most of the possession for the rest of the period. They grabbed the lead when Stamkos blasted in a power play goal - following a Toronto failed clearing attempt, he one-timed a shot from the high slot over Campbell's stick. But they couldn't maintain the lead. The Leafs struck again on the power play, scoring in the final seconds. On a neutral zone faceoff win, Auston Matthews stepped directly into the Lightning end and wired a cross-ice pass to Nylander, who roofed a right circle shot over a screened Vasilevskiy.
The trends from the first period continued into the second. Both teams forechecked effectively and had good offensive zone looks as a result. As they did in the opening frame, the Leafs decisively won the face-off battle. That helped them win the possession game. There were many face-offs in the Tampa Bay end during the middle period and when the Leafs repeatedly won them, they kept possession and applied consistent pressure. But they weren't able to solve Vasilevskiy, who made 15 second period stops. At the other end, the Lightning converted twice. Following an errant Toronto cross-ice pass in the neutral zone, Stamkos jumped on a loose puck and got behind Jake Muzzin in the process. That created a three-on-one rush. Stamkos moved it to Palat at the left circle. Palat attempted to slide it to Raddysh in the low slot. Instead, it hit off of Nylander, who was hustling back to help out, and went into the net at 4:02. Just over five minutes later, Palat forced a turnover in the Toronto end when he checked T.J. Brodie against the boards. Stamkos swooped in and grabbed the puck at the right circle. He slid it towards the slot, where it nicked off Palat's stick and came to Raddysh. Raddysh snapped a shot over Campbell's glove at 9:11.
So even though they ceded the majority of the possession in the second, the Lightning outscored Toronto, 2-0, in the frame, and led 4-2 after two. But in terms of their possession disadvantage and face-off struggles, they wanted to change the game's narrative in the third. Through 40 minutes, the Leafs held a staggering 37-14 face-off advantage.
The third period was, undoubtedly, the Lightning's cleanest in the frame. Yes, they yielded a couple of rush chances. And Kase scored his second goal of the game, cutting the lead to 4-3. But that Kase goal came after one of the only extended o-zone shifts the Leafs enjoyed in the period. For the rest of the frame, the Lightning efficiently got pucks out and worked them deep into the Toronto end. With more flow to the game, there were only 12 third period face-offs. And the Lightning won seven of them. Third period shots were even (9-9), but the Lightning recorded a higher number of dangerous chances. And unlike the last meeting between the teams, when the Leafs scored a sixth-attacker goal to tie it, the Lightning didn't relinquish the lead. The Palat empty-netter set the final at 5-3.
Even while missing several of their regulars - including Anthony Cirelli, who was out of the lineup for this contest - the Lightning continue to "munch points" as Jon Cooper likes to say. They've won the first four games on the trip, which ends Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
1. Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Goal and three assists.
2. Ondrej Palat - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
3. John Tavares - Maple Leafs. Two assists. Won 17 of 20 face-offs.