Video: TOR@TBL: van Riemsdyk scores PPG for second of night2. Buds take two-goal advantage as van Riemsdyk's offensive roll continues. The veteran van Riemsdyk has been as hot as any scorer in the league of late, and he underscored that fact just 1:29 into the second period when he registered his second of the night to put Toronto ahead 2-0. This marker came on the power play - with assists going to centres Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri - and pushed the bar even higher on van Riemsdyk's career year in the goals department. The 28-year-old is playing some of the best hockey of his nine-year NHL career, and he's doing it at even strength and on the power play, making Toronto's offence all the more dangerous.
Video: TOR@TBL: Hyman capitalizes on offensive zone turnover3. Hyman boosts Toronto's lead, but Bolts get on scoreboard before second intermission.Like van Riemsdyk, winger Zach Hyman is also in the midst of a new career high in goals this season, and Hyman added to his goal total Tuesday when he notched his 14th of the year at 15:41 of the second. The NHL sophomore scored 10 in his rookie campaign, but his all-around game has improved, and he now has three goals in his past eight games.
However, the Lightning put themselves on the scoresheet late in the middle frame, as blueliner Victor Hedman scored his 13th of the season with 3:20 left in the period to make it 3-1 heading into the third. Even when the Leafs went ahead by three, there was never a question the Bolts would continue to battle, and chipping away at Toronto's lead before the second intermission allowed Tampa Bay to start the third with some confidence.
4. Lightning score quickly to open third period, tie game shortly thereafter.Tampa Bay has occupied first place in the Atlantic Division for much of the season thanks in part to their depth, speed and skill on offence, and those qualities powered them to a game-tying comeback early in the third period. Bolts D-man Ryan McDonagh - a trade deadline addition to an already-talented defence corps - scored his fourth of the season and second as a member of the Lightning at 1:24 of the third to cut Toronto's lead to 3-2.
Two minutes and eight seconds later, Tampa pulled even with the Leafs when winger Nikita Kucherov posted his 37th of the year. The Lightning produced three consecutive goals, and with a little more than three-quarters left of the third remaining, the game was completely up for grabs.
5. Tampa Bay takes first lead midway through third, keep Leafs from coming back to secure victory. The Bolts got the game-winning marker from winger Alex Killorn at 9:14 of the third while Vasilevskiy turned aside all of the Leafs' six shots in the frame as Tampa Bay completed their comeback to win their second game in a row.
It wasn't as if the Leafs played a poor game - the Lightning got all their offence in an approximate 12-minute span of the late second period and early third period - but Toronto didn't play a complete game against the top team in the Eastern Conference, and that type of effort is almost always unlikely to get the job done. The Buds' next test comes Thursday in Nashville against the Western Conference's top club, and there's no doubt Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will be seeking a more well-rounded approach against the Preds to get his team back on the winning track.
