4
0
Slow start condemns Lightning’s division title dreams.
TOR-4
TB-3 (OT)
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 31 shots for the OT loss.
First Period
1:13 TOR Marner (25), (Matthews)
3:33 TOR Knies (27), (Matthews, Marner)
18:58 TB Perbix (6), (Cirelli, Hagel)
Second Period
NO SCORING
Third Period
0:50 TB Bjorkstrand (21), (Kucherov, Hedman)(PP)
2:03 TOR Knies (28), (Tavares, Marner)(PP)
11:05 TB Hedman (15), (Bjorkstrand, Hagel)(PP)
Overtime
2:56 TOR Knies (29), (Matthews, Rielly)
Victor Hedman was the game’s third star.
With the stakes of tonight’s game being what they were, it was the exact wrong time for the Lightning to have a flat start in the first home game after a road trip. They spent the whole night chasing the game in a contest they really needed to win in regulation in order to give themselves a realistic shot at an Atlantic Division crown this year. And, although the Lightning can feel decent about their possession advantage from the slow start on, letting the Maple Leafs sweep the regular season series is painful. There’s no spinning that.
At least Oliver Bjorkstrand is starting to get fully on track.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
