It took less than three minutes for Jonathan Bernier to be beaten in his NHL return, but the Maple Leafs responded well and led after one period before extending the advantage halfway through the second.
Former Leaf Anton Stralman cut the lead back down in the final minute of the middle frame, and two goals in forty seconds saw the Leafs fall behind early in the third. Daniel Winnik managed an equalizer, and the Leafs earned a point before giving up an overtime goal.
| Team | Chances | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | ES | ESClose | ESCh% | NZEnt% | ContEnt | OppContEnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor | 18 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 40.0% | 47.7% | 45.9% | 45.7% |
| Tbl | 21 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 60.0% | 52.3% | - | - |
Toronto had the better of the possession numbers, but didn’t fare as well in the chances. They were very effective on the power-play, but were clearly out-chanced at even strength, and struggled while the game was close. Tampa also had the better of the neutral zone, finishing ahead in entries.
The Leafs had a great early power-play, and while they weren’t able to score on that one, they were able to finish the second opportunity. Tampa took over after that, and had nine of the next ten chances. The two teams were pretty much level after that, even as the lead went back-and-forth.
| Period | Time | ST | SO | Team | How | State | T1 | T2 | T3 | T4 | T5 | T6 | O1 | O2 | O3 | O4 | O5 | O6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17:01 | 0 | 0 | Tbl | GOAL! Kucherov drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 5 | 62 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 1 | 16:08 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Komarov from Kadri | ES | 3 | 24 | 43 | 45 | 47 | 51 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 77 | 88 |
| 1 | 14:06 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Van Riemsdyk wraparound | PP | 3 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 77 | 88 | |
| 1 | 14:05 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Van Riemsdyk from rebound | PP | 3 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 77 | 88 | |
| 1 | 14:03 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Parenteau wraparound | PP | 3 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 77 | 88 | |
| 1 | 14:02 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Bozak from rebound | PP | 3 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 77 | 88 | |
| 1 | 13:23 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Holland from rebound | PP | 24 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 47 | 51 | 5 | 24 | 25 | 51 | 88 | |
| 1 | 09:20 | 0 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Bozak from rebound | PP | 3 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 5 | 24 | 51 | 77 | 88 | |
| 1 | 08:36 | 1 | 1 | Tor | Spaling from loose puck | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 25 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 1 | 07:56 | 1 | 1 | Tbl | Gourde wide from Kucherov | ES | 2 | 19 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 56 | 5 | 51 | 62 | 65 | 86 | 88 |
| 1 | 06:02 | 1 | 1 | Tbl | Stamkos wide from Namestnikov | ES | 2 | 15 | 21 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 55 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 1 | 03:31 | 1 | 1 | Tbl | Boyle wraparound | ES | 3 | 24 | 43 | 45 | 47 | 51 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 77 | 88 |
| 1 | 01:57 | 1 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Van Riemsdyk from Bozak | ES | 2 | 15 | 21 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 25 | 55 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 19:04 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Namestnikov drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 19:01 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Stamkos from rebound | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 42 | 77 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 17:19 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Marchessault from Kucherov | SH | 3 | 44 | 45 | 47 | 56 | 6 | 42 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 | |
| 2 | 13:20 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Sustr from Kucherov | ES | 2 | 15 | 42 | 43 | 45 | 46 | 5 | 62 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 10:58 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Marchessault wide from Kucherov | SH | 2 | 16 | 40 | 45 | 46 | 6 | 42 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 | |
| 2 | 09:38 | 2 | 1 | Tbl | Kucherov from Hedman | SH | 2 | 40 | 45 | 56 | 24 | 42 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 91 | ||
| 2 | 08:26 | 2 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Rielly drives | ES | 3 | 16 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 17 | 42 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 91 |
| 2 | 06:03 | 3 | 1 | Tor | Grabner wide from Winnik | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 04:55 | 3 | 1 | Tor | Parenteau from faceoff | ES | 3 | 15 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 51 | 5 | 23 | 24 | 51 | 62 | 88 |
| 2 | 03:47 | 3 | 1 | Tor | Winnik drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 65 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 91 |
| 2 | 02:06 | 3 | 1 | Tbl | Killorn wide from loose puck | ES | 3 | 19 | 23 | 45 | 51 | 56 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 62 | 88 |
| 2 | 00:44 | 3 | 1 | Tbl | Stamkos wide from Kucherov | ES | 2 | 16 | 21 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 00:36 | 3 | 1 | Tbl | GOAL! Stralman drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 21 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 2 | 00:20 | 3 | 2 | Tbl | Brown drives | ES | 3 | 24 | 43 | 45 | 47 | 51 | 6 | 23 | 24 | 51 | 77 | 88 |
| 3 | 17:03 | 3 | 2 | Tor | Grabner drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 5 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 |
| 3 | 15:15 | 3 | 2 | Tbl | Callaghan from rebound | ES | 3 | 15 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 51 | 6 | 23 | 24 | 51 | 77 | 88 |
| 3 | 14:04 | 3 | 2 | Tbl | GOAL! Blunden drives | ES | 20 | 24 | 43 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 5 | 23 | 46 | 62 | 65 | 88 |
| 3 | 13:28 | 3 | 3 | Tbl | GOAL! Marchessault from Killorn | ES | 3 | 19 | 23 | 45 | 51 | 56 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 55 | 88 | 89 |
| 3 | 12:31 | 3 | 4 | Tor | Hunwick drives | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 5 | 24 | 62 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 3 | 11:44 | 3 | 4 | Tbl | Boyle from Killorn | ES | 3 | 15 | 21 | 42 | 45 | 51 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 77 | 88 |
| 3 | 09:36 | 3 | 4 | Tor | Spaling from loose puck | ES | 2 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 5 | 62 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 3 | 06:32 | 3 | 4 | Tor | GOAL! Winnik from Polak | ES | 2 | 16 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 46 | 25 | 55 | 86 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 3 | 05:16 | 4 | 4 | Tbl | Marchessault from loose puck | ES | 24 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 6 | 23 | 42 | 51 | 77 | 88 |
| 4 | 04:43 | 4 | 4 | Tbl | Stralman drives wide | ES | 21 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 6 | 23 | 51 | 88 | ||||
| 4 | 03:45 | 4 | 4 | Tor | Gardiner from Komarov | ES | 40 | 45 | 47 | 51 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 91 | ||||
| 4 | 02:59 | 4 | 4 | Tbl | GOAL! Namestnikov drives | ES | 15 | 42 | 45 | 51 | 17 | 88 | 89 | 90 |
Leafs Player Data
| Player | ESChF | ESChA | ESCh% | ESTOI | ZS% | NZ% | ContEnt | OppContEnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnik | 7 | 3 | 70.0% | 12:46 | 57.1% | 52.4% | 27.3% | 55.0% |
| Grabner | 7 | 4 | 63.6% | 11:05 | 33.3% | 54.5% | 27.8% | 66.7% |
| Spaling | 8 | 5 | 61.5% | 13:09 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 23.8% | 57.1% |
| Komarov | 3 | 4 | 42.9% | 14:37 | 60.0% | 48.9% | 43.5% | 37.5% |
| Parenteau | 2 | 5 | 28.6% | 15:17 | 56.3% | 42.1% | 81.3% | 45.5% |
| Lupul | 1 | 3 | 25.0% | 09:58 | 80.0% | 51.6% | 31.3% | 33.3% |
| van Riemsdyk | 2 | 6 | 25.0% | 15:36 | 53.3% | 40.0% | 81.3% | 45.8% |
| Bozak | 2 | 7 | 22.2% | 15:46 | 56.3% | 42.5% | 82.4% | 47.8% |
| Holland | 1 | 4 | 20.0% | 14:06 | 66.7% | 51.1% | 39.1% | 40.9% |
| Kadri | 1 | 6 | 14.3% | 15:10 | 50.0% | 45.8% | 45.5% | 42.3% |
| Matthias | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 07:12 | 66.7% | 45.8% | 36.4% | 30.8% |
| Froese | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 09:07 | 52.9% | 48.3% | 35.7% | 33.3% |
| Hunwick | 8 | 8 | 50.0% | 19:44 | 70.0% | 50.0% | 35.7% | 60.7% |
| Rielly | 8 | 9 | 47.1% | 20:15 | 55.6% | 46.7% | 28.6% | 59.4% |
| Polak | 2 | 3 | 40.0% | 14:31 | 54.3% | 47.7% | 47.6% | 30.4% |
| Phaneuf | 3 | 6 | 33.3% | 18:37 | 41.2% | 48.2% | 51.9% | 41.4% |
| Gardiner | 3 | 7 | 30.0% | 20:42 | 50.0% | 44.3% | 59.3% | 41.2% |
| Corrado | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 08:10 | 50.0% | 51.9% | 50.0% | 15.4% |
After a week off, Daniel Winnik, Michael Grabner and Nick Spaling didn’t lose a step, as they spent a lot of time against Steven Stamkos’ line, and yet managed to finish as the only Leafs above even in chance differential. They struggled to prevent the Lightning from entering with control, but they had strong possession numbers, in addition to their chance performance.
The two top lines had poor nights, as both were on for several chances against, and generated very little. Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak were both a team worst -5 in chances at ES, despite not seeing much of the Lightning’s top unit. The Bozak line did manage a very impressive percentage of controlled entries, though they didn’t turn it into much. Joffrey Lupul’s line was also quiet, not contributing much in its twelve minutes.
The pairing of Matt Hunwick and Morgan Rielly was partnered with the Spaling line for most of its ice time, and was effective against the Stamkos unit, finishing as the top defensive pairing on the team. Dion Phaneuf and Jake Gardiner both finished well below even, though they did have strong controlled entry numbers.
Frank Corrado made his Leafs debut, but it was hardly a starring role, as he played only eight minutes and had a quiet time with only a single chance either away.
