What better way to get one than via the soft hands of Victor Hedman?
Coming off a self-described embarrassing 5-0 loss in the best-of-7 series opener, the Lightning and Maple Leafs were scoreless before the Tampa Bay defenseman got the puck in front of the Toronto net with the clock ticking down in the first.
"I was counting in my head 'Three, two, shoot," Hedman laughed. "Nah, I had no idea."
Maybe that was the case involving the time remaining, but he certainly had a good idea of what to do with the puck when it was on his stick.
When Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell anticipated Hedman would go far-side, the 31-year-old defenseman patiently waited for him to make his move, then went short-side with 1.4 seconds remaining to put the Lightning up 1-0.
It was a goal that changed the game's momentum. And, when all is said and done, maybe the series too.
Tampa Bay never trailed after that and evened the series. The Lightning now have home-ice advantage and will host Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, BSSUN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
Hedman, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2018 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020, set a career postseason high Wednesday with four points (one goal, three assists), none bigger than the goal late in the first period that gave Tampa Bay its first lead in the series.
His motivation? Easy. The Lightning had not lost consecutive games in the playoffs in the past two years. They're now 15-0 following a loss since the beginning of the 2020 postseason.
"You take it personal," he said of the lopsided loss in Game 1. That's the bottom line. When you lose two in a row in the playoffs, it's never good, so we go out there and have the philosophy of wanting to go out there bouncing back and tonight was another example of doing that.
"We've got a lot of trust in our team. We're really sure we're going to bounce back. You can never be sure what those results are going to be. But we put in the effort and when you have the work ethic we had today, we like our chances. And we got rewarded tonight."
Hedman had plenty of help in Game 2.
Forty-eight hours after three-point performances from forwards Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews led Toronto to a victory in the series opener, it was time for Tampa Bay's big guns to respond. And they did.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was outstanding, especially in the first period when the Maple Leafs outshot the visitors 13-9. He finished with 31 saves and has won each of those 15 games following a loss in the playoffs since 2020.
Forward Nikita Kucherov had three points (one goal, two assists) after he was minus-2 in 19:27 in Game 1.
"That's kind of what it is for us, is the big guys step up and everyone chips in behind them," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "And we've had success."
Cooper said one of his players approached him after the loss Wednesday and said the frustration and bitterness at how poorly the Lightning played should drive them in Game 2. The coach took that message and delivered it to the entire team.
It worked.
"What does it take to bounce back like that? It takes character. You have to have that in your room," Cooper said. "They're aware of situations, but you have to tip your hats to those guys. You lose a playoff game and the next day come in and say, 'We're not going to lose the next one.'
"You've got a really good chance to win the Stanley Cup if you can do that."
Hoisting the Cup for a third straight season is a long way away. But thanks to Hedman's game-changing goal, their chances in this series have definitely improved.
