Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 7, Maple Leafs 3 - Game 4

On the opening shift in Friday's Game Three, the Lightning came roaring out of the gates, buzzed around the offensive zone, and almost netted a goal. But Jack Campbell made a terrific save on Brayden Point's chance from the slot, keeping the game at 0-0. Minutes later, the Maple Leafs converted on the power play and they never relinquished the lead.

Game Four began much the same way as Game Three. The Lightning's starting line of Nick Paul, Ross Colton, and Brandon Hagel applied heavy pressure and forced turnovers when the Maple Leafs attempted to break out. The best the Leafs could manage during the opening minute of the game was clearing the puck to the neutral zone, where the Lightning immediately brought it back into the Toronto end. While maintaining possession, the Lightning got five fresh players out on the ice. The Leafs, on the other hand, were unable to complete a full change - three of their starting five couldn't get to the bench. And unlike in Game Three, the Lightning converted on their early scoring chance. Nikita Kucherov sent a pass to Steven Stamkos in the high slot and Stamkos one-timed the puck over Campbell's stick and into the top of the net at the 1:00 mark.
By the time the game was eight minutes old, the Lightning had extended their lead to 3-0. Quick puck movement, relentless forechecking, and an ability to close out Toronto plays in the Tampa Bay defensive zone helped the Lightning dominate possession. Just over five minutes into the game, Corey Perry put the puck behind the Toronto net. It caromed off the skate of Jake Muzzin towards the front of the goal. Campbell tried to sweep it away, but he put it right on the stick of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who snapped a shot from the low slot over Campbell's glove. About two and a half minutes later, Mikhail Sergachev wired a pass from his own end to center ice. It skipped past Morgan Rielly and reached Pat Maroon, who skated into the o-zone on a two-on-one with Point. Maroon took the puck to the net, where Campbell denied his first shot. But Maroon collected the rebound and tucked it in.
There were a few twists and turns to Game Four after those opening eight minutes. But there's no question that the Lightning's tremendous start was the biggest key to their eventual victory. For the second straight game, they jumped on the Leafs early. But this time, they got rewarded and built momentum. Momentum that propelled them to a three-goal lead.
Still, there was a lot of hockey to be played. And over the final 10 minutes of the first period, the Maple Leafs pressed. After the Lightning recorded eight of the first nine shots in the game, the Leafs closed out the first period by registering nine of the next 11. They had a few close range shots in that total, but Andrei Vasilevskiy turned them all aside. Not included in that SOG total was an Auston Matthews backhander from the slot that rang off the crossbar.
But the Lightning got out of the first period still up by three. Ross Colton's goal off the rush early in the second definitely ended the Toronto surge. What came next was a slew of penalty calls on the Leafs. The Lightning had eight power play chances in the game - six of those came in the second period following Colton's goal. An over-the-glass delay of game penalty on David Kampf, which occurred with the Lightning already on a power play, gave Tampa Bay an extended five-on-three. Perry finished a cross-ice pass from Kucherov during the two-man advantage at 5:25.
Although the Lightning wouldn't score again (until after the Leafs went with six attackers and pulled Erik Kallgren, who relieved Campbell after the Perry goal), all the power play time the Lightning got in the second kept the Toronto attack at bay. Unlike during their five-minute major power play in Game One, the Lightning did well to prevent the Leafs from generating shorthanded chances during those second period power plays. Having to play shorthanded for so much of the frame, the Leafs managed just four second period shots on goal and only six attempts.
As they did in Game Two, the Leafs tried to rally in the third from a multi-goal deficit. A post-whistle penalty on the Lightning led to William Nylander's power play goal at 2:27. Then, with the teams skating four-on-four, the Lightning yielded a three-on-two goal to Nylander at 12:01. Down 5-2, Sheldon Keefe pulled Kallgren with over five minutes left, but Ondrej Palat scored an empty-netter at 14:40. After Muzzin got one back about a minute later with a goal through a screen, Keefe again pulled Kallgren. Once more, the Lightning tallied an empty-netter - Colton recording his second of the game.
It was a strong performance for the Lightning, who did well to jump out to a big early lead and then, with the exception of a couple of third period hiccups, navigated their way through the rest of the game.
It's now a best-of-three series. In Game Five on Tuesday, the Leafs will try to continue having success in the odd-numbered games. The Lightning will attempt to be the first team in the series to win consecutive games.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Ryan McDonagh - Lightning. Assist.
2. Brandon Hagel - Lightning. Two assists.
3. Ross Colton - Lightning. Two goals.