The NHL issued a roughing punishment to Tampa Bay Lightning’s Pat Maroon for his thunderous strike on Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano. Giordano didn’t return to the Leafs bench after the hit at the beginning of the third period. The Leafs’ fans were enthused by the defenceman as he slammed into the wall with his head first.
Sheldon Keefe , the Leafs’ head coach, stated that this was ” a tight hockey game”, admitting that they were able to beat them in the territorial battle by playing hard for the win. The Bolts will now head to Game 6 in order to determine the winner of the first-round series.
Keefe said, ” they played the perfect road game you could ask for if it were you”. The Leafs missed the opportunity to capitalize on their power play during the first period. This allowed the Bolts take the lead.
Lightning Bolts paralyze Toronto Maple Leafs as they advance in the series
Sheldon Keefe, the Leafs’ head Sheldon Keefe, admitted that facing the Lightning is a ” true challenge“, as they take advantage of every opportunity to win. Maple Leafs hot stove reports that the Lightning, despite not being down too badly, boosted their spirits by tightening up their defensive zone.
Morgan Rielly, a Toronto defenceman, opened the scoring window in this best-of-7 series. Auston Mathews came in at the crucial moment, but Lightning’s Alex Killorn scored an empty-netter at 16:26 to seal the Bolts victory.
The Leafs lead the series 3-2 and Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning’s goalie, made 28 saves out of 30 shots. They will play Game 6 Saturday. According to The Athletic’s report, Bolts forward Mikey Essimont’s sloppy shot sailed past Ilya Samuelsonov at Scotiabank Arena as the crowd gasped with shock.
Matthews said, “It’s a game that was tight from start to finish”. The forward acknowledged that the team had missed opportunities, but that they “still put in the effort”. Morgan Rielly, a defenceman, said: “We’ll have to wait and see.” “We’re confident in our group.”
Reilly is confident that they will be able to deliver their best performance, as they have been dominating the Bolts for the first half of the season. He acknowledges that the Bolts may have surprised them and ” it’s important to refocus our group and go on the move with a mission.”
