Andersen makes 36 saves, Maple Leafs hold off Lightning

TAMPA -- Frederik Andersen made 36 saves to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

It was Andersen's second game back after missing eight, seven due to injury and one because of the flu, and his first win since Dec. 22.
"I'm really happy with the way we responded," Andersen said. "I think everyone's a little embarrassed at the effort we put in last game (a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday). We came out and worked hard at eliminating their time and space tonight."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Lightning highlights]
Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs (29-15-2). Marner has a goal in four straight games.
"This is going to be one of those games where it swings you in the right direction and brings momentum back on your side," Kadri said. "I am proud of our group."

Victor Hedman and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (36-10-2), who had their nine-game home winning streak end. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves.
"Good game between two good teams," Hedman said. "We're obviously not happy with the result but they played a good game and we played a good game. We had some good looks in the third but they didn't go in."
Marner put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2 at 14:49 of the second period when he chipped the puck in an open side of the net off a pass from John Tavares.
"[The puck] just got rimmed around, I don't know how it got to [Tavares]," Marner said. "I wasn't really ready for it, it just kind of hit my stick. I didn't really shoot it either. It just hit my stick and bounced off. I was pretty lucky."

Andersen took over from there, making the save on the final 18 shots he faced. The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy with 2:35 remaining in the third period for a 6-on-5 advantage and had eight consecutive shots at Andersen.
"He was excellent, especially down the stretch," Kadri said. "He's been the backbone of our team and one of the reasons for our success. It's nice to have him back."
Hyman scored into an empty net at 19:09 for the 4-2 final.
Marleau gave Toronto a 2-1 lead at 13:06 of the second period before Hedman tied it 2-2 with his sixth goal of the season at 13:43.

Point gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead on the power play with his 30th goal of the season at 9:48 of the first period. He stuffed in a rebound off a shot from Hedman.
"They're a team that's kind of built like us," Point said. "They want to take away our space so it's up to us to find ways to get it in. We had flashes of that but they're a good team."

Kadri tied it 1-1 at 11:48 with a follow-up off a shot from Kasperi Kapanen.
"I thought our team played well," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought we could have had a lot more but their goaltender played well too. But it was a good game for our team."

They said it

"We haven't been as sharp here lately so I thought this a was a good response. It was a very competitive game. There wasn't a whole lot of room for either team, especially through two periods, and I thought our guys really dug in there and competed hard." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"We played well enough to win the game. The third goal was tough because we turned the puck over a couple of times and what seemed to be a simple retrieval ended up in the back of our net. We had our chances though. They had their chances. They just got one more than us." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper

Need to know

Marner (19 goals, 41 assists) is the first player in Maple Leafs history to have three consecutive seasons of 60 points to start his NHL career, and he reached 60 points in the fourth fewest team games (46) in Maple Leafs history behind Lorne Carr (39, 1943-44); Darryl Sittler (40, 1977-78); and Doug Gilmour (41, 1992-93). … Point is the first player to have 30 goals and 30 assists in the NHL this season. … Kucherov had an assist, his 54th of the season after not having a point in his past two games. … Tavares had two assists and has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in the past 14 games. … Lightning forward Tyler Johnson did not play in the third period because of a lower-body injury. There was no update. … Stamkos had 18 shot attempts (10 on goal).

What's next

Maple Leafs:At the Florida Panthers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, SNO, NHL.TV)
Lightning:Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SUN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)