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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were in total control against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night – until they weren’t. The Leafs let a 3-0 late second-period lead become a 4-3 loss in the final battle between the division rivals this season. It was also a potential first-round playoff series preview, and a reminder to the Leafs that no lead, however seemingly secure, is safe. In defeat, the Leafs snapped their four-game winning streak and moved to 43-23-7 on the season.

TAKEAWAYS

That’s not the way

Toronto spent nearly 40 minutes building their lead over the Lightning on Tuesday, only to see it evaporate over 6:55 between the second and third periods. It was a slow road to get to that point, though. The first half of the opening frame was marked by uncharacteristic play by both teams, who are known for playing fast, transition hockey. Instead, play was choppy and disjointed, with few passes connecting and almost no dangerous scoring chances.

Andrei Vasilevskiy was the busier goalie, not only in shots faced but in the quality of chances, and the Leafs got their mojo going more as the frame went on. James van Riemsdyk’s two goals in quick succession, including on the power play, put Tampa down early. The Lightning’s penalty kill has been atrocious of late, with van Riemsdyk’s goal the sixth Tampa Bay has given up in their last five games. On the other side, the Leafs now have at least one goal with the extra man in their last six games. A goal by Zach Hyman had the Leafs up 3-0 late in the second, and that’s when the Lightning went to work.

First it was the Lightning’s defenders stepping up, with Victor Hedman beating Frederik Andersen from the circle, short side, in the second, then Ryan McDonagh sent a one-timer from the slot top shelf past Andersen just 90 seconds into the third period to bring Tampa within one. Nikita Kucherov finished closing the gap when he scored the third Lightning goal at 3:32 of the third period, banking a shot off the skate of defenceman Morgan Rielly that re-directed past Andersen.

A lost defensive zone draw set up Alex Killorn’s go-ahead goal midway through the period, putting Toronto firmly on its heels in a game they had masterful control of for more than 35 minutes. To preserve their lead, the Lightning had to freeze out one of the hottest power-play units in the NHL late in the third, but despite those penalty-kill struggles they did just that. It was a deflating loss for the Leafs, who could have taken a huge confidence boost from handily defeating the best team in the league at the time of year when every club aspires to be putting their best foot forward. 

Nothin’ but net for JvR

In the 600th game of his NHL career, van Riemsdyk continued to do what he does best – score big goals. The nine-year veteran has been unstoppable of late, and Tuesday’s two-goal performance marked the third time in his last four games van Riemsdyk has put up multiple goals. Toronto is now 19-6-3 on the season when he scores at least once.

Van Riemsdyk tallied his first of the night early in the first period, capitalizing on a delayed penalty with a shot from the slot that beat Vasilevskiy stick side. He was front and centre again for Toronto on the power play early in the second period, burying a Tyler Bozak pass to put the Leafs up 2-0. That was van Riemsdyk’s seventh goal in his last four games, and second on the power play. He was playing so well that after two periods, van Riemsdyk had a Corsi-for of 100 per cent, meaning he hadn’t played at all in the defensive zone at even strength.

The third period was more frantic for him and the rest of the Leafs as they battled to get their lead back but, on the whole, van Riemsdyk’s game was as impactful as it’s been for weeks. His pair of markers now put van Riemsdyk at 33 goals on the season. That’s well past his career-high for goals (previously 29) but interestingly he’s lagging significantly behind where he’s historically been in assists. Van Riemsdyk has only 16 helpers in 72 games this season, after posting at least 29 in each of his last three full campaigns. He finished Tuesday’s game with a team-high five shots on goal and 79 per cent possession. 

And speaking of assists, Mitch Marner was in on van Riemsdyk’s first goal, extending his point streak to six games (two goals, six assists). That’s the longest streak Marner has put together this season with at least a point. 

Trying to find his way back

Andersen made his league-leading 59th start of the season on Tuesday, returning to action after a two-game absence spent dealing with an upper-body injury. In general, most goalies say they prefer to be busy early on and get in a rhythm, especially when they've missed time, but a choppy first period between the sides didn’t generate many scoring chances for the Lightning.

He had to be sharp starting midway through the second period, however, when the NHL’s best second-period team finally got their legs moving with the Leafs leading 3-0. After Toronto earned a 60 per cent edge in the possession battle for the first 20 minutes, the Lightning ignited after getting their first power-play chance of the night in the middle frame and they came at Andersen full-speed. He made a couple of his typically emphatic glove stops to keep Tampa at bay, and one especially superb pad save off the rush against Anthony Cirelli, a Toronto native who grew up cheering for the Leafs.

It wasn’t until Hedman used Ron Hainsey as a screen on Andersen that the Lightning finally broke through late in the middle frame, a goal that felt a long time coming based on how much better Tampa played in the second period, when possession was an even 50-50. The more the Lightning pressed, the less Toronto was able to handle the pressure, and the less help Andersen got in front of him. The Leafs’ top-four defencemen were consistently scrambling in their own zone to clear the puck and that left shots wide open for the Lightning to take.

Andersen has struggled against one-timers throughout the season and McDonagh and Killorn beat him from the same high-slot spot that way on Tuesday. Andersen finished with 21 saves on 25 shots, for just a .840 save percentage. He now moves to 1-3-1 all-time in his career against Tampa, which doesn’t bode well if the Leafs end up meeting them in the postseason. With how well Curtis McElhinney has played in relief of Andersen lately – he was 3-0 with 1.57 goals-against average during Andersen’s injury absence last week – it puts that much more pressure on the Leafs starter to get his game back, and fast. 

Getting in the groove?

The William Nylander line with Andreas Johnsson and Hyman hasn’t been together long, but they’ve been terrific for the Leafs over these last two games. The trio was buzzing late in the first against Tampa, playing well at both ends of the ice and generating Toronto’s best scoring opportunities.

Johnsson’s speed and skill really complements the dynamic pairing of Hyman and Nylander, honed over their last two seasons playing together. He made a great play in the second period, barrelling down the far boards and feeding Nylander in front with a backhand pass that Vasilevskiy turned aside with his pad.

Hyman had a standout night around the net on his own, nearly scoring in the first period with a shot off Vasilevskiy’s mask and then followed it up with another chance in the second, and this time he wouldn’t miss – he sent an unassisted strike past Vasilevskiy as he was falling to the ice in the high slot, the 14th goal he’s scored this season.

The Nylander line hovered around 50 per cent possession all night, dipping in the third when the Lightning started pressing, while combining for five shots on goal. The unit does stand to have a makeover forthcoming with Auston Matthews inching closer to a return by the day. Matthews has been out since Feb. 22 with a shoulder injury, and had previously been centring Hyman and Nylander for the better part of two seasons.

There is clear chemistry with Johnsson there, but even as the wins pile up it’s more likely Johnsson moves down to the fourth line when Matthews returns, and then no matter how well he plays, he projects to be bumped out of the lineup entirely when Leo Komarov returns from a lower-body injury. 

Next game

The Leafs finish off their two-game road swing against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. ​