TORONTO — The Lightning knew one game doesn’t win a playoff series, not in the NHL and not against a team as talented as the Maple Leafs.
Still, after taking the series opener on the Leafs’ home ice, the Lightning certainly had a mental edge going into Game 2. They had planted a seed of doubt in a team that hasn’t won a postseason series in 17 seasons.
The worst thing the Lightning could do was give Toronto life, but they did so almost immediately Thursday night, and the script flipped quickly in an ugly 7-2 loss.
Leafs captain John Tavares notched a hat trick in the game.
More concerning was that the Lightning looked more like the team that muddled through the second half of the season than the one that shined on the playoff stage in the opener.
Just as quickly as the Lightning grabbed momentum with a three-goal first period on Tuesday, the Leafs did the same in Game 2, scoring in the opening minutes and going into the locker room with a three-goal first intermission lead.
And without two of their top defensemen in Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak, holes began to creep into their defensive game playing from behind.
Ian Cole’s tripping penalty 40 seconds into the game put Toronto on the power play, and Mitch Marner rifled a slap shot from above the right circle past Andrei Vasilevskiy seven seconds into the man advantage.
Tavares then won an offensive zone faceoff and drifted toward the slot, where Morgan Rielly found him for a one-timer through traffic, getting Toronto a 2-0 lead with 7:15 left in the period,.
A delayed high-sticking penalty on Steven Stamkos gave the Leafs a 6-on-5 advantage, and WIlliam Nylander rocketed a shot from the left circle past Vasilevskiy above his glove and Scotiabank Arena was louder than it had been at any point in Game 1.
The Lightning certainly missed Hedman (undisclosed injury that forced him from Game 1 after one period), as well as Cernak, who took a hit to the head from forward Michael Bunting that landed Bunting a three-game suspension.
Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who was pulled in the third period of Game 1 after allowing six goals, stopped the first 15 shots he faced before Cole put the Lightning on the scoreboard, taking a pass from Stamkos and cutting in front with a backhand move. Tampa Bay pulled within 3-1 at the 8:58 mark of the second period.
At that point the next goal was huge, and Toronto got it, taking advantage of a Lightning neutral-zone turnover to fuel the rush. Tavares was able to get behind the Lightning defense and tap in a rebound off Nylander’s initial shot, jumping into the offensive zone.
After that, the Lightning looked frustrated and flustered. Fourth-line forward Zach Aston-Reese scored against Tampa Bay’s top line, and Marner whipped a shot from above the right circle that hit off Brandon Hagel’s skate and changed trajectory on Vasilevskiy into the net.
Corey Perry scored for the second straight game after ending the season with a 25-game goalless drought but had an early exit following a fight with Justin Holl in the third. Both players received two-minute roughing penalties to go with five-minute fighting majors.
Tavares scored his third goal on a 5-on-3 power play, shooting a puck into Vasilevskiy that leaked under him and slowly slid over the goal line.
Games 3 and 4 are at Amalie Arena, where the Lightning had the second-most home points in the league during the regular season.
