Maple Leafs rally, defeat Lightning in OT in Game 3, lead East 1st Round

TAMPA BAY --Morgan Rielly scored at 19:15 of overtime for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rallied for a 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Saturday.

Rielly won it with a wrist shot from the point following a face-off win from Ryan O'Reilly, who tied the game 3-3 at 19:00 of the third period on a rebound in the crease.
Toronto leads the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will be here Monday.

"It feels good just to get the win. Ultimately, that's truly the first thing you think about," Rielly said. "It's late in the overtime period and it's nice to close it out.
"[O'Reilly] seems to really like those moments and those challenges. If you watch him over the course of a game you really appreciate the things that he does. He had the game-tying goal, the block (on Victor Hedman's shot at 19:59 of the third period), and won the face-off in overtime. His name is all over this game."
O'Reilly had a goal and two assists, Noel Acciari and Auston Matthews scored, and Mitchell Marner had two assists for Toronto, which is the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic Division. Ilya Samsonov made 36 saves.
"I think 'Sammy' was the biggest thing," O'Reilly said. "Getting out of that second period just down by one was a huge thing. It wasn't our best by any means, but we stuck with it. Everyone got working, and that's a big one for us."

Brandon Hagel had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, which is the No. 3 seed from the Atlantic. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves.
"We think we played a great game, but it is what it is," Hagel said. "They got one in the end and they got one in overtime, so we're down 2-1 in the series. But it's a seven-game series, and if we continue to play like that, I love our chances."
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
Acciari gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 3:24 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot off a pass from Matthew Knies.
Anthony Cirelli tied it 1-1 at 4:50 with a shot from the edge of the right circle that beat Samsonov to the far post.
Matthews responded for the Maple Leafs to make it 2-1 at 11:10, redirecting a shot by Marner.
"I thought we pulled it out because we stayed with it," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We bent but we did not break. I don't think we played poorly. I thought the Lightning played incredibly well, but we stayed with it. At times we had to rely on 'Sammy' tonight. Because we defended well and battled hard, they didn't get a lot to our net."

Hagel tied it 2-2 at 19:28 of the first when his shot from the bottom of the right circle hit the stick of Maple Leafs defenseman TJ Brodie and deflected through Samsonov's legs.
Darren Raddysh put Tampa Bay ahead 3-2 at 13:34 of the second period. He skated around the net, shook off a hit from Jake McCabe and curled out in the left circle before scoring short side on Samsonov.
The Lightning had an opportunity to go up 4-2 at 15:41 of the second period when Brayden Point poked a loose puck past Samsonov, but the referee blew the whistle to stop play before the puck entered the net.
"It was probably the best game we played in this series. If we continue to play like that, I like our chances," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "I thought we probably, not probably, I think we did deserve to win. But give them credit, they stuck with it. That's what really good hockey teams do, they find ways to win."
NOTES: O'Reilly is the second player in Maple Leafs history to factor into a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation and the winner in overtime (Matthews, Game 4, 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers). … Marner is the fifth player in Maple Leafs history to start a postseason with at least three straight multipoint games (Darryl Sittler, seven games, 1976; Steve Thomas, three games, 1986; Miroslav Frycer, three games, 1983; Paul Henderson, three games, 1971). … Hedman played 32:35 after missing Game 2 with an undisclosed injury. … Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev played a game-high 37:27. … Lightning forward Tanner Jeannot had a game-high 11 hits.