Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 5, Maple Leafs 3 - Game 2

Certainly, the Lightning bounced back after their disappointing showing in Game One. They brought a high compete and defended well. They won the special teams battle. As Jon Cooper stated afterwards, their best players were their best players. And, in a reversal from what transpired in the opening game of the series, the Lightning were the ones making big plays at key times.

Game Two was filled with crucial, momentum-swinging moments/segments. The first of those came in opening period, when the Maple Leafs received consecutive power play opportunities. Toronto applied heavy pressure during those two man advantages, creating several dangerous chances. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all six Toronto shots during those power plays to keep the game at 0-0. He also made two stops on David Kampf's breakaway (initial shot and rebound), which occurred in between the two power plays. Late in the frame, the Leafs enjoyed one other dominant offensive zone shift, a sequence in which Vasilevskiy registered a save on Colin Blackwell's shot from the slot. At the end of that shift, the Lightning managed to get the puck out of their d-zone. In neutral ice, Alexander Kerfoot grabbed the jersey of Brandon Hagel and was sent off for holding at 19:45. On the ensuing power play, the Lightning scored their first goal for of the series. With time winding down in the period, Victor Hedman brought the puck from his own end into the offensive zone. The play appeared to be disrupted when Hedman lost the puck to a poke-check. But Alex Killorn, who was trailing the play, collected the puck before it left the offensive zone. Killorn slid the puck toward the front of the net, where it caromed to an unguarded Hedman. Hedman put his shot past Jack Campbell at 19:57.
The crucial momentum swings continued in the second period. Just over a minute into the frame, the Leafs had a terrific offensive zone shift that culminated with a glorious chance for defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Vasilevskiy made back-to-back initial saves on Mark Giordano and Pierre Engvall. So he was in his butterfly position and on the ice when Liljegren fired a third shot from the slot. With the puck heading towards the upper corner of the net, Vasilevskiy reached up and snared it with his glove.
Thanks to that Vasilevskiy save, the score remained 1-0. Just under a minute later, it became 2-0. Hedman wired a pass up ice to Corey Perry, who got behind the Toronto defense and finished his breakaway chance.
The Leafs didn't record another shot on goal until the shift on which they scored their first goal. Following a Tampa Bay icing, the Lightning worked the puck down the ice and tried to complete a full line change. T.J. Brodie hurried the puck up ice and Mitch Marner deflected it in on Vasilevskiy. As the fresh Lightning forwards were getting back into the d-zone, Vasilevskiy passed the puck to Ryan McDonagh in the corner. But Auston Matthews closed on McDonagh and forced a turnover. With the Lightning forwards still not in position, Marner and Michael Bunting teamed up on a two-on-one down low. Bunting finished a one-timer from the slot at 7:47, cutting the Lightning lead to 2-1.
On the board and with their home crowd energized, the Leafs wanted to build on that goal. Instead, Wayne Simmonds took a post-whistle high-sticking penalty on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and the Lightning converted on their power play. With the puck in the Toronto end, Brodie had dropped his stick, so when the puck came towards him, he wasn't able to clear it. Steven Stamkos intercepted it and the Lightning held the puck in. Seconds later, Nikita Kucherov snapped a shot from the high slot past a screened Campbell and into the top of the net. That goal re-established a two-goal Lightning lead and took away much of the wind from Toronto's sails.
In between Kucherov's goal at 9:57 of the second and the shift on which Marner tallied Toronto's second goal of 11:53 of the third, the Lightning held the Leafs to just seven total shots on goal. During that time, the Lightning added to their lead. Brandon Hagel finished off an odd-man rush with a rebound goal at 1:33 of the third and Brayden Point tallied the Lightning's third power play goal of the game when he finished a chance from the slot at 5:38.
Some sloppy play from the Lightning in the second half of the third created some late-game drama. An unforced Lightning icing preceded that Marner goal, scored through a screen with 8:07 left. Then, with the Lightning on a power play, an offensive blue line turnover led to Kerfoot's shorthanded odd-man rush goal at 15:43. When the Leafs received a power play chance at 17:25 and pulled Campbell for a six-on-four, they had an opportunity to score again. But Vasilevskiy made a couple of final saves during the kill and the Lightning got the game across the finish line.
Vasilevskiy (with key stops at crucial times), Hedman (goal and three assists), and Kucherov (goal and two assists) had their fingerprints all over this win. The Lightning went 3-7 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill. Perry and Hagel contributed the even-strength goals. A strong bounce-back performance, one that helped the Lightning even the series.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Victor Hedman - Lightning. Goal and three assists.
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 31 saves.
3. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Goal and two assists.