The Lightning were unable to protect a two-goal third period lead and fell 4-3 to the Maple Leafs in overtime at AMALIE Arena on Saturday.
In front by a pair of goals with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Matthew Knies scored twice or Toronto to force overtime before John Tavares delivered the dagger in the extra session.
Tampa Bay has now collected points in each of their last three games but is 1-0-2 in that stretch.
The homestand continues on Tuesday with a matchup against the Hurricanes.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TOR 1, TBL 0
4:16 William Nylander (4) – Matthew Knies, John Tavares
Looking to connect with Matthew Knies in front of the net, John Tavares’ pass took a deflection and fell to William Nylander open at the bottom of the left circle. Nylander quickly fired it past Jonas Johansson to give Toronto the lead less than five minutes into the opening period.
TOR 1, TBL 1
6:26 Nikita Kucherov (5) – Brayden Point, Victor Hedman – PPG
The Lightning responded with a power play goal from Nikita Kucherov to tie the game in short order. A give-and-go feed with Brayden Point opened up space for Kucherov’s wrist shot from the right circle that beat Ilya Samsonov.
TBL 2, TOR 1
10:04 Alex Barre-Boulet (1) – Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point
On the rush, Alex Barre-Boulet drove to the front of the net and was in position to redirect a feed from Kucherov through Samsonov’s five-hole.
TBL 3, TOR 1
13:29 Nikita Kucherov (6) – Mikhail Sergachev, Steven Stamkos – PPG
The Bolts wasted no time on their second power play chance of the first period. Steven Stamkos won the opening draw back to Mikhail Sergachev, and he teed up Kucherov for a heavy one-timer from the right circle. Toronto opted for a goaltending change following the goal, inserting Joseph Woll after Samsonov allowed three goals on four shots.
2nd Period
No Scoring
3rd Period
TBL 3, TOR 2
12:11 Matthew Knies (1) – Max Domi
From along the far wall, Maxi Domi sent a cross-ice feed to Matthew Knies at the left circle. Knies picked out the top corner on Johansson to get Toronto back within a goal.
TBL 3, TOR 3
Domi and Knies connected again just over two minutes later on an equalizer. In tight, Domi found Knies at the far post and he lifted a shot over Johansson.
Overtime
TOR 4, TBL 3
4:05 John Tavares (2) – William Nylander, John Klingberg
Toronto controlled possession for the vast majority of overtime and finally broke through in the final minute of play. John Tavares finished at the far post to complete Toronto’s comeback and force the Bolts to settle for just the one point.
