3 pivotal battlegrounds in Leafs-Lightning as series shifts to Tampa
The Maple Leafs have life. Toronto followed up a woeful Game 1 performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a fantastic showing Thursday, taking Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena by a 7-2 final score. Here are three pivotal battlegrounds as the first-round series shifts to Tampa. Game 3 goes Saturday.
Point line vs. Brodie-McCabe
Stacked in the past, Tampa isn't overly deep up front after losing Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, and Blake Coleman in recent offseasons.
These hits to the secondary scoring ranks have put additional pressure on the club's premier forwards. Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos tend to rise to the occasion, and they've done just that on the power play through two games, combining for three goals. Five-on-five action has been a different story, though, as Toronto's contained Tampa's top line.
In 22 minutes together at five-on-five, Stamkos-Point-Kucherov has drawn even in goals (1-1) while trailing in shots on goal (15-11), total shot attempts (24-21), and high-danger attempts (8-2), according to Natural Stat Trick. Limiting them to this extent - minimized but not completely shut out - is a sizable victory being overshadowed by the extreme results of Games 1 and 2.
Point and Kucherov were too cute with the puck Thursday, several times making an extra deke on a zone entry or taking forever to shoot the puck. It didn't help Tampa that Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie, who had an uncharacteristically sloppy Game 1, returned to his nearly mistake-free form.
In Game 1, the Point line faced Brodie and Jake McCabe for roughly two-thirds of their five-on-five shifts while the Justin Holl-Mark Giordano pairing handled the rest. Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe line-matched harder in Game 2, getting his shutdown duo of Brodie-McCabe out for nearly all Point shifts.
The David Kampf-centered fourth line also did a marvellous job Thursday against the Point line, even flipping the script by controlling play during a few shifts. Keefe must be over the moon about the Kampf line's body of work.
Question No. 1 for Games 3 and 4: Will Lightning coach Jon Cooper use the home-team perk of last change to separate the Point line from Brodie-McCabe as much as possible? Is he ready to play chess against Keefe?
Question No. 2: How hard will Cooper ride Point, Kucherov, and Stamkos - individually and as a group? Does he double-shift his best forwards here and there, upping their usage from 18-19 minutes a game to, say, 21-22?
Point, 27, has bagged an NHL-high 32 goals over the past four postseasons. Kucherov, 29, has racked up 96 points, also a league high. They're clutch, two of the finest playoff performers of all time. And they won't settle for mediocrity.
The faceoff circle
The series' faceoff numbers are nothing special. Toronto owns the slight edge, winning 67 of 127 total draws for a 52.8% success rate. Tampa, meanwhile, employs the top draw taker in Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who's won 14 of 22.
Mind you, what's happened after the puck's been dropped has certainly influenced the final scores - especially in Game 2. The Leafs' first two goals Thursday immediately followed clean faceoff wins, with the puck crossing the Lightning's goal line seven and five seconds after it left the linesman's hand.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly, a target of frustration within the Leafs fan base during a largely inconsistent and ineffective regular season, redeemed himself with a spectacular Game 2. Rielly orchestrated both quick-strike markers, then added two more helpers to bring his nightly primary assist total to four.
Surrendering not one but two goals just seconds after losing the faceoff can deflate a team, even one of Tampa's caliber. The coaching staff and players are likely equally frustrated, and it's safe to assume countering Toronto's set plays will be a strong point of emphasis in video sessions ahead of Game 3.
One category in which Tampa was schooled in Game 2 and may not have an answer: Toronto's heavy forecheck and cycle game. Specifically, the work being done by two veterans in midseason pickup Ryan O'Reilly and captain John Tavares, who recorded his first playoff hat trick.
Neither veteran is a burner. Neither is known to issue thunderous body checks. But O'Reilly and Tavares are supremely smart hockey players with the requisite size, strength, and craftiness to excel in puck battles along the side boards and in the corners. In Game 2, they consistently exposed the Lightning's depleted back end, leading to extended zone time for the Leafs.
Normally, top-four guys Victor Hedman or Erik Cernak would be up to the challenge. However, with them currently sidelined, the likes of Haydn Fleury and Darren Raddysh are tasked with mucking it up with Tavares and O'Reilly in the forwards' favorite spots of the ice. It isn't going well for Tampa.
The net-front areas
One of the stark differences between Games 1 and 2 was the way in which Toronto skaters acted in front of its own net and Tampa's net.
The Leafs were passive in protecting the area closest to goalie Ilya Samsonov in the opener; in Game 2, they were assertive in clearing bodies and defended with layers. Toronto players didn't layer themselves in the area closest to Andrei Vasilevskiy in the opener; in Game 2, the Lightning goalie had to battle traffic.
Samsonov, who told reporters he played like "shit" to begin the series, stopped 20 of 22 shots Thursday, most notably showing big gains in rebound control. Vasilevskiy, on the other hand, would like a few Game 2 goals back.
On a forward-line level, Toronto's Kampf trio was a nightmare to skate against all game. Tampa's fourth line, led by 37-year-old Corey Perry, performed above expectations again in Game 2, but not to the same degree as Tuesday.
On an individual level, the insertion of Matthew Knies provided a nice boost to the Leafs. The rookie winger wasn't afraid to drive to the net with the puck, and he was reliable in his own end. Tanner Jeannot, inserted into the Lightning lineup, was conversely invisible. The only time Jeannot became the center of attention was when he fought Luke Schenn in a gong show of a third period.
Tampa loves to screw with the opposition's psyche, whether it's Kucherov knocking Samsonov's stick out of his hands or Perry throwing his head back after an innocent post-whistle shove. If the Leafs plan on finally advancing past the first round, they can't allow Lightning players to toy with their emotions.
And, in general, Toronto absolutely cannot afford to take its foot off the gas pedal in Game 3. That may seem obvious and ultimately unnecessary to say. But, despite a strong Game 2, this series is merely tied. It's far, far from over.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).