Lightning blow 4-1 lead in loss to Maple Leafs; Avalanche’s Cale Makar suspended from NHL playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ first-round struggles appeared to be resuming Monday night.
They went up 2-1 in the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning before falling behind 4-1 after two periods. The Lightning delivered a defensive clinic in the first period. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had struggled in the first three games, had stopped 18 of 19 shots. Victor Hedman, the defenseman, appeared to be in his pre-injury form.
However, the Maple Leafs returned to win 5-4 in overtime on an Alexander Kerfoot power play goal, taking a 3-1 series lead. Toronto can defeat the Lightning at home on Thursday, when Michael Bunting will
NHL PLAYOFFS: Kraken defeats Avalanche in overtime to tie series; Jared McCann leaves with injury
“Maybe there was a little bit of mindset that we’ll just close this one out, but obviously Toronto had different ideas,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
The Lightning are far from out since they have survived hardship in their three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances, but the Maple Leafs haven’t advanced beyond the first round since 2004.
But Toronto is thriving because its stars are. Auston Matthews scored twice on Monday, totaling seven points in four games. Mitch Marner (two assists) and William Nylander (three assists) maintained their excellent performances. Morgan Rielly scored the tying goal after scoring the overtime victory in Game 3. Acquiring trade deadlines Ryan O’Reilly, who tied Game 3, had two assists on Monday and made numerous excellent defensive plays.
The Lightning, meantime, have lost second-period leads in two straight games after going 28-1-2 in the regular season while leading into the third period. The biggest surprise, however, is Vasilevskiy’s 4.33 goals-against average and.856 save %.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58100307/usa_today_10496989.0.jpg)
The Carolina Hurricanes can wrap up the series on Tuesday night. The injured Hurricanes (who are without Max Pacioretty, Andrei Svechnikov, and Teuvo Teravainen) are finding enough offense to win, with Mackenzie MacEachern scoring two points in Game 4 after being recalled. The Islanders have scored one power-play goal in 12 attempts.
They were already without top defenseman Josh Morrissey and forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Then, top goal scorer Mark Scheifele, who had crashed hard into the boards, withdrew to the dressing room after taking a shot on a power play and did not return. He lives day to day. The Jets kept it close but lost 4-2. The Golden Knights can round out the series at home on Thursday.
The New Jersey Devils won both games at Madison Square Garden despite moving to Akira Schmid in net, and they return home with a chance to grab a series lead on Thursday. Schmid has stopped 57 out of 59 shots. The Rangers’ power play has gone 0-for-8 in the last two games, after Chris Kreider scored four goals in the first two. On Monday, Devils standout Jack Hughes scored his third goal of the series, while Rangers studs Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin went scoreless.
“We didn’t show up,” coach Gerard Gallant said of Monday’s 3-1 Devils victory. “We did not play hard enough. We did not compete hard enough. All we did was holler at the linesman for being thrown out of the faceoffs. “A lot of bad things.”
Both sides will be missing key players when the series resumes on Wednesday in Denver. Jared McCann, the Kraken’s 40-goal scorer, is out for Game 5 and probably beyond after being injured on a hit by Colorado’s Cale Makar just after taking a shot that appeared to go over the glass. Makar, the Avalanche’s top defenseman and last season’s playoff MVP, has been suspended for one game for interference, the NHL confirmed Tuesday.
The Boston Bruins may finish the series at home on Wednesday. That is not surprising given their record-breaking season of 65 wins and 135 points. After pulling Alex Lyon in Game 3, the Panthers attempted Sergei Bobrovsky in goal in Game 4, but he allowed five goals on 30 shots. Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins captain, is expected to return to practice Tuesday and play in Game 5 if all goes well.
