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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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Nothing puts a bad loss out of mind like a great win, and that’s what the Toronto Maple Leafs delivered on Thursday in a rousing 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Maple Leafs were the better team from start to finish, and with the out of town scoreboard also falling their way, they capped the night off by climbing back into the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot.

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Takeaways

Stick to the program: The way Toronto played in Tuesday’s 7-2 loss against Florida had everyone in a panic, but all that concern was for naught with how the Maple Leafs stormed back in Tampa Bay. Playing with a more physical edge than they’re prone to showing, Toronto did what makes them successful - play fast through the neutral zone, get pucks and bodies on net, work the cycle and forecheck hard. There weren’t many stretches of the game where Toronto wasn’t in control, save for when the penalties starting piling up in the second half (five in the final period and half). The sense of urgency the Maple Leafs brought needs to be a constant theme in their final 14 contests on the schedule, not just something they use in response to a bad game. That margin for error remains as small as ever.

Good to be lucky: For a team like Toronto, with the second-most back-to-backs on the schedule, they’ll take any schedule-related breaks they can get. Thursday was Toronto’s second game in five days, while the Lightning were playing their third in four (plus delayed travel from Ottawa due to the snow). Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been sensational for the Bolts, was way off his game Thursday and Toronto took full advantage. Roman Polak’s opening score was a point blast tipped off Vasilevskiy’s glove that spun in the air before landing behind him. In the second period, Toronto scored 15 seconds apart - first Morgan Rielly had a bounce equally fortuitous as Polak’s when his point shot trickled past Vasilevskiy, then Matt Martin picked up a puck that dinged off the post and threw it back before the netminder even registered the initial shot. Then Connor Brown scored on the power play when Vasilevskiy couldn’t control two different rebounds in his crease. Toronto deserves a ton of credit for bouncing back in excellent fashion, but there’s no doubt the Lightning, winners of their last four, were due for a clunker.

Defence digs in: The first sign of forgettable performance by the Maple Leafs defence was how swiftly the top-four was shuffled after Tuesday’s loss. It worked right out of the gate in Tampa - Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev, playing with Alexey Marchenko and Jake Gardiner respectively instead of each other, both had some of their strongest periods in weeks and Zaitsev looked extra motivated to put his season-worst minus-four game behind him. Meanwhile Gardiner got away with at least two egregious turnovers in the first frame, but settled in with the rest of the club for the final 40 minutes. Toronto’s blue line accounted for five points against the Lightning, including two goals from Polak and Rielly, which was just the reset they needed. Rielly was especially great, finishing plus-three.

In the zone: Frederik Andersen was fantastic in net for Toronto as he earned his fourth shut out of the season. He was chased after one period on Tuesday (three goals on eight shots) but showed no signs of strained confidence. In fact, Andersen looked more calm and collected between the pipes than ever. The Maple Leafs dominated puck possession for much of the first period, leaving Andersen with little to do, but by the second frame he was making key stops on Nikita Kucherov from his favourite right-circle spot and kept Ondrej Palat from capitalizing with his one-timer during a 5-on-3 penalty kill in the second. The Maple Leafs feed off Andersen and respond best when he’s at his. Going into the game Andersen was a career 0-3-0 with a 6.00 goals-against average versus the Lightning, but he finished with 33 saves in a perfect game. 

Next game: The Maple Leafs return home to face the Chicago Blackhawks in their St. Pat’s game on Saturday.​