The Lightning's play was sound in all three zones throughout the night. They limited scoring chances for Toronto and generated plenty of their own. They were engaged, physical, structured, and effectively limited turnovers.
They came out of the gates quickly, dominating possession during the opening shifts. With the line of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Pat Maroon, and Corey Perry on the ice, they grabbed the lead. With the puck in the Toronto end, Perry intercepted a Maple Leafs clearing attempt. He swerved behind the net and skated in front. From the slot, his shot was stopped, but Bellemare swatted in the rebound at 1:19.
Nearly six minutes later, they doubled their lead, scoring on a similar play. Brandon Hagel took a shot from the left circle. Ilya Samsonov stopped the shot, but the Leafs couldn't execute a clear. Instead, the puck came back to Hagel, who fired another left circle shot on net. Again, Samsonov made the save, but left another rebound. Cirelli banged it in at 7:18.
The Lightning would get a third goal at 19:57, the first of their four power play tallies of the night. Nikita Kucherov one-timed a right circle shot past the stick of Samsonov.
With a couple of second period power play goals of their own, the Leafs cut the Lightning lead to 3-2. But just 47 seconds after the second of those goals, the Lightning received a power play chance. The Leafs lost coverage on Brayden Point, who finished a chance from the front of the net at 14:30, re-establishing a two-goal Lightning lead.
Earlier in the second period, the Lightning lost both Victor Hedman and Mikey Eyssimont to injury. With 4:20 left in the frame, Michael Bunting elbowed Erik Cernak in the face, injuring Cernak. Cernak's night was done, but so was Bunting's. He was assessed a match penalty, putting the Lightning on a five-minute major power play. Perry poked in a loose puck at 17:54, giving the Lightning a 5-2 lead. The Leafs unsuccessfully challenged for goalie interference, so the Lightning received a full two-minute five-on-three. Just after the two-man advantage ended, Point backhanded a shot from the low slot through Samsonov's pads. The goal came at 19:58, the Lightning's second tally of the game was scored just before a period ended.
In the third, the Lightning were down to four defensemen and 11 forwards, but they managed the final 20 minutes well. They received a breakaway goal from Ross Colton, then yielded a rush goal to Calle Jarnkrok. But that was all the scoring in the period.
For the game, the Maple Leafs outshot the Lightning during five-on-five action, 23-21. But the actual scoring chance number at even strength was tilted in favor of Tampa Bay. (A number of those Toronto shots came in the third, when the Lightning had a comfortable lead.) And during five-on-five play, the Lightning received depth scoring. Point and Kucherov contributed multiple points, but their production came on the power play. The Lightning's even-strength goals came from the other three lines.
It was a great start to the series for Tampa Bay. The Lightning will look to build on it in Game Two.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Corey Perry - Lightning. Goal and two assists.
2. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Goal and two assists.
3. Darren Raddysh - Lightning. 23:37 TOI.
