John Tavares was once again Tampa Bay’s nemesis on Saturday night, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied for a 4-3 victory over the host Lightning.
Tavares finished a two-on-one break, getting a pass from William Nylander with 55 seconds left in the extra session and giving the Leafs a 2-0 record this season in games that have gone past regulation.
The matchup was the first between the teams since April 29, when Toronto beat the Lightning 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 of a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. Tavares also had the game-winner in that contest.
That loss ended Tampa Bay’s season.
Matthew Knies scored twice in the third period on assists from Max Domi and also handed out a helper of his own. Nylander netted one goal for Toronto, which snapped a two-game skid.
Starting goalie Ilya Samsonov surrendered three goals on four shots and was pulled in the first period. Joseph Woll entered in relief and stopped all 29 shots he faced.
Nikita Kucherov had two power-play goals and an assist, while Alex Barre-Boulet scored once as Tampa Bay took its first home loss of the season. Brayden Point had two helpers.
Jonas Johansson had 48 saves for the Lightning.
Nylander put the Leafs up 1-0 when he found a loose puck near the far post, aimed for the gaping net with Johansson on the other side and potted his fourth goal of the season at 4:16 of the first period.
However, the Lightning’s strong power play evened the match just over two minutes later when Kucherov ripped a shot from the right circle.
For Tampa Bay’s first lead, Kucherov slid a diagonal pass to Barre-Boulet, who scored at 10:04.
Just 15 seconds into the Lightning’s second power play, Kucherov notched his sixth goal of the campaign, chasing Samsonov from the game at 13:29 of the first.
Despite being outshot 12-10 in the second, Toronto was able to hold the Tampa Bay power play in check twice, but the visitors couldn’t break through, either.
In the third and trailing 3-1, Toronto saw Domi feed Knies for a pair of goals to force overtime.
–Field Level Media
