TAMPA, Fla. — There are rebound games, and then there are statement games.
The Lightning needed a win Sunday in Game 4 to avoid facing possible elimination as their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series heads back to Toronto.
The Lightning not only responded at home, but they outmatched the Leafs in every phase of the game.
They played fast, they had a sense of urgency, they were physical, they were disciplined, and they dominated Toronto to the tune of a 7-3 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena.
The Lightning extended their record to 16-0 when coming off a loss in the postseason, dating to the beginning of the 2020 playoffs in the bubble.
The Lightning knew that if they could stay out of the penalty box early, the strength of their 5-on-5 play would hold, and they staked a 3-0 lead before the game’s first penalty was called.
Lightning center Steven Stamkos set the tone early, scoring on his first shift just 60 seconds into the game for his first goal of the postseason.
Tampa Bay was swarming as Stamkos took a feed from Nikita Kucherov and rifled a one-timer from above the circles past Toronto goaltender Jack Campbell.
The Lightning then took control with goals from fourth-liners Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Pat Maroon to lead by three inside the game’s first eight minutes.
After early second-period goals by Ross Colton and Corey Perry, Tampa Bay ran Campbell from the game just 6:49 into the period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 10 shots he faced in the first period, allowing the Lightning to gain momentum.
Ondrej Palat and Colton added empty-net goals in the third.
