TAMPA, FLA. — Rare does the onus of lineup tweaks fall upon the winning team in a playoff series, but here we are.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were mostly thrilled with their performance in Game 3 — and lost.
Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov notwithstanding, the Maple Leafs were mostly dissatisfied with their performance — and won.
At 5-on-5, the home side generated 66 per cent of the shot attempts and won the expected goals battle 3.37-1.72, per NaturalStatTrick.
When Auston Matthews — Toronto’s most consistent forward — was not on the ice, the Leafs only mustered 17 per cent of scoring chances in that game.
John Tavares’s second line, with William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot, had a rough go.
The question now becomes: Does coach Sheldon Keefe split up his top line of Matthews, Mitch Marner and Calle Järnkrok for a more balanced attack?
“On a night where it was hard for us to tilt the ice, that line seemed to do it pretty consistently. And to that end, obviously they’re a major focus of the opposition and a real challenge for them,” Keefe said.
“We had three lines that were really struggling (Saturday) night. That was something for me to manage and find ways through that. In the third period, we split up Auston and Mitch and thought maybe we could get some help for the other lines. Those are all different things we got to look at.”
The Maple Leafs are considering forward tweaks and reviewed tape of their own forecheck. Toronto will adjust where they put dumped-in pucks before giving chase.
“For us, our offence is going to start below the goal line,” forward Sam Lafferty says.
The Lightning will lean on their experience Monday, knowing they fell down 2-1 to Toronto at this time last year and then rallied to take the series in seven.
“I never look at the group and walk in and say, ‘Oh, this team looks defeated,’ ” Tampa coach Jon Cooper says. “There’s always fight in the dog.”
The Tampa coach describes the mood in the losing dressing room following Game 3’s overtime loss: “There was more anger than depression. I really liked that. They would’ve this game right after last game. There was no hanging the heads, no ‘can’t believe we lost that.’ They got a little of bit eye-of-the-tiger in them right now.”
Lightning fourth-liner Pat Maroon labels Game 4 as a must win. Tampa can’t head to Toronto down 3-1.
“We played a helluva game (Saturday). We did everything. I thought that was probably our best game of the year, to be honest with you,” Maroon says. “The only thing we didn’t do is score the timely goals we needed.
“I thought we had control.”
And yet, they’re on the brink of losing it.
Dubas is emotionally invested — and the players love it
Toronto GM Kyle Dubas went viral in Game 3 for his rather passionate interaction with Lightning fans, whose seats are more accessible to the press box suites at Amalie Arena than at most NHL rinks:
Keefe, too, put his feelings on full display once Morgan Rielly’s snapped the overtime winner:
The Maple Leafs players appreciate the emotional investment from the men in suits.
“They’re in the trenches with us.” Lafferty says. “There’s a lot of emotion involved.
“With both [Keefe and Dubas], you feel such a level of investment. That’s what you want from your leaders.”
Colton’s back eye
Toronto’s Sam Lafferty was slapped with a minor penalty and a $3,108.11 fine (the maximum) for cross-checking Tampa centre Ross Colton in the face.
“Higher than I was trying to get him,” Lafferty says. “Not a good time for that penalty. Gotta clean that up.”
Colton’s left eye is now black and swollen thanks to Lafferty’s stick, but he is downplaying the incident
“Just two guys battling hard in front,” Colton says. “It happens. It’s part of the game.”
Vasilevskiy must get stronger
The Maple Leafs lead all 16 playoff teams with 4.67 goals per game.
Widely regarded as the best big-game goaltender in the world, Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy has not lived up to his reputation through three games, posting a dismal .853 save percentage.
Cooper keeps pumping Vasilevskiy’s tires, even though he’s getting outduelled by countryman Ilya Samsonov.
“Our goalie? He’s the man. The (Morgan Rielly OT goal) one at the end there, it gets tipped. So, that’s just an unfortunate break. Nobody’s stopping that,” Cooper says.
“But that kid, we’re nowhere without him. He’s the best in the world. The one thing about Vasi, he gets stronger as series go on — and I can see it in him.”
Brayden Point is a game-time decision …
…but we’ll be stunned if Tampa’s top centre doesn’t suit up.
Cooper says Point “should” play Monday despite needed multiple tests after crashing violently into the end-boards after his battle with Rielly in Game 3.
“Hard to watch,” Lightning centre Nick Paul says. “He’s a tough guy. Came in, smiles this morning. He’s ready to go. He’s a gamer.”
“Pointer’s a Western Canadian boy,” defenceman Darren Raddysh reasons. “They’re pretty tough.”
One-Timers: Keefe says he has some game-time decisions, but he would not reveal which Maple Leafs are banged up…. Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak has been ruled out of Game 4 with a suspected concussion. He has not been ruled out for a return in the series, but he hasn’t skated with the team since getting taken out my Michael Bunting’s illegal hit to the head…. The Jake McCabe–T.J. Brodie shutdown pairing got caved in badly in Game 3. “They had a tough game the other night coming out of our end, which has been a real strength of theirs. They just have to get back to that,” Keefe says. “They can play better collectively. I believe that they will.”
