They say getting around is fair play. On Thursday, after being completely beaten by a score of 7-3 on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs turned it on and beat this Tampa Bay Lightning.
John Tavares scored his first career playoff hat-trick in a lopsided 7-2 victory over the Lightning. The Maple Leafs rebounded from a poor start to the playoffs in Game 1 through to the teams’ first-round series in every game.
As far as a Maple Leafs record goes, Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist. William Nylander added a goal and an assist, and Zach Aston Reese also scored. Morgan Rielly set a franchise record with four assists. Austin Matthews has two assists for the Maple Leafs.
In short, the Maple Leafs stars stepped up in last night’s game. One of those stars was Ilya Samsonov, who made 20 saves for Toronto after Tuesday’s 7-3 loss.
How did the Maple Leafs get their scoring score (with commentary)
Maple Leafs first goal: Marner was fumbled by Ian Cole, resulting in an opportunity for a power play. Marner then scored the first goal of the game for the Maple Leafs. The goal made him the first player in franchise history to score a point on each of the team’s first four goals in the postseason.
Maple Leafs second goal: Reilly Tavares assist made it a 2-0 hockey game.
Third goal for the Maple Leafs: Nylander scored an assist on Matthews and Riley to make it 3-0 Toronto. It was the first time since 2004 that the Maple Leafs had scored three goals in the opening frame of a playoff game.
Maple Leafs goals 4th, 5th and 6th: Toronto scored three more goals in the second period. Marner and Tavares scored their second goals, with Zach Aston-Reese getting his first. Riley recorded an assist on the first goal of the period; With this assist, he set a franchise record for points in a playoff game by a defenseman.
Seventh Goal for the Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs added another goal in the third period. This was the goal scored by Tavares with a hat-trick. This goal marked the first time since 1994 that Toronto had scored seven goals in a playoff game. It was also Tavares’ first hat trick in a post-season game.
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The main takeaway from Maple Leafs Win
Key Takeaway One: The Toronto Maple Leafs needed to drop back in game two after being manhandled in a building of their own in game one against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They got it!
Key Takeaway Two: Mitch Marner and John Tavares became the first pair of Maple Leafs teammates to score multiple goals in the same playoff game since 2002.
Key Takeaway Three: The final score was 7-2 in favor of the Maple Leafs, tying the series against the Lightning.
Key Takeaway Four: Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevski allowed seven goals, equaling his career worst in the playoffs.
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Final notes about Maple Leafs Solid
First, Riley’s four assists tied a franchise record In the playoffs, he joined Doug Gilmour (1994), Daryl Sittler (1977) and Ian Turnbull (1976).
Second, Marner’s goal 47 seconds after the first was the fastest goal by a Maple Leafs player in the postseason since Dan Daust (31 seconds) in 1987.
Third, Riley’s three assists in the first half marked the only time in team history that a Toronto player scored three points in the postseason.
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