Rielly, Maple Leafs enjoy improbable Game 3 OT victory at Lightning

TAMPA -- The Toronto Maple Leafs don't win games like this. At least not in recent memory. Not at Stanley Cup Playoff time. Not when they've been badly outplayed. It simply hasn't been in the DNA of a beleaguered franchise that has not won a postseason series in 19 years.

Except on this night they did, stealing a 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday in a game where they were thoroughly the second-best team on the Amalie Arena ice.
And coach Sheldon Keefe knows it.
"I look over the last number of years, we've lost this game a number of times," he said.
Only this time, forward Ryan O'Reilly, defenseman Morgan Rielly and goalie Ilya Samsonov didn't allow it to happen. They were the heroes for a Maple Leafs team that was dominated by a superior Lightning team for most of the game.
The improbable Toronto victory came when Rielly's point shot floated into the top corner past the head of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy at 19:15 of overtime, putting the Maple Leafs up 2-1 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference First Round series. The win means Toronto goes into Game 4 on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSUN) knowing they've regained home-ice advantage.
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
Of course, none of that will matter if they don't play better. Tampa Bay outshot Toronto 39-27 and kept the Maple Leafs hemmed in their own zone for lengthy chunks of time, causing Keefe to give kudos to the Lightning for showing their championship pedigree in often being the better team Saturday in a lot of departments except on the scoreboard.
"For us to win a game like that, on the road, with them giving us everything they have, I'm proud of our guys for sticking with it," Keefe said.
That especially holds true for O'Reilly, Rielly and Samsonov, who proved to be the difference-makers for Toronto.
In O'Reilly's case, Keefe said the 32-year-old forward was acquired along with forward Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 18 "for moments like this."
Big moments. Playoff moments. Moments he produced repeatedly in winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2019, when he helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup. Moments the Maple Leafs have had far too few of in playoffs past.
One of those O'Reilly moments came with a minute remaining in the third period, when he banged in a rebound at the edge of the crease to tie the game 3-3 after Toronto appeared destined to lose. Up in the press box, general manager Kyle Dubas, the architect of the O'Reilly deal, appeared to almost fall out of his seat while celebrating.
With good reason.
O'Reilly was Toronto's best player not named Samsonov, finishing with three points (one goal, two assists), including the face-off win that led to Rielly's overtime winner, and sacrificing his body to block a shot with two seconds remaining in regulation.
"His name was all over this game," Rielly said in admiration. "That's why you go out and get a guy like that. We really appreciate the way that he plays."
In typical O'Reilly fashion, he deflected any praise directed his way, choosing to compliment his goalie instead.
"I mean, Sammy gave us a huge lift, especially in that second period," he said, referring to the middle frame, in which the Lightning outshot the Maple Leafs 15-8 and were constantly buzzing around Toronto's net. "They had some great chances and he stood talI.
"It gave us confidence, that's for sure."
Interestingly, Samsonov looked shaky in the first period, especially on Brandon Hagel's goal that tied it 2-2 with 32 seconds remaining before intermission. He looked like a different player after that, however, and made a number of game-saving stops in overtime, including one on Nikita Kucherov, who somehow found himself alone in front of the Maple Leafs goalie.
Then, with Toronto appearing to hang on, O'Reilly won a key face-off late in overtime and got the puck to Reilly, who scored the winner against the flow of play.
Earlier in the game, Rielly was involved in a scary incident at 5:04 of the third period when a puck battle between the Maple Leafs defenseman and Tampa Bay's Brayden Point ended with the Lightning forward slamming into the boards. Point was crumpled on the ice for a couple of minutes before heading to the locker room, but he returned later in the period.
Rielly was initially given a major for boarding, but the penalty was rescinded following a video review.
The 29-year-old has been a difference-maker in this series, getting four assists in Toronto's 7-2 win in Game 2, then scoring the winner in Game 3. He's the longest-tenured Maple Leafs player on the roster, having been with them since 2013, and has suffered plenty of heartbreak over the years, including losing six consecutive playoff series.
To that end, he understands, like his coach, that his team hadn't come out on the right end of games like this over the years.
Until they did.
"We kept our focus," he said. "And in the end, it worked out."