[Recap/Boxscore](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2022030125)
###Boxscore
|Teams|1st|2nd|3rd|Total|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|1|1|2|4|
|[](/r/leafs)|1|0|1|2|
###Team Stats
|Team|Shots|Hits|Blocked|FO Wins|Giveaways|Takeaways|Power Plays|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|38|37|11|43.1%|7|7|0/2|
|[](/r/leafs)|31|43|20|56.9%|19|15|0/2|
###Goal Summary
|Period|Time|Team|Strength|Description|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|1st|05:46|[](/r/leafs)|Even|[Morgan Rielly (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Knies (2), John Tavares (2)](https://hlslive-wsczoominwestus.med.nhl.com/editor/b680a918-4217-446e-9917-0787c815a072.mp4)|
|1st|06:12|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Even|Anthony Cirelli (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Brandon Hagel (4), Nick Perbix (3)|
|2nd|04:23|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Even|Michael Eyssimont (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Zach Bogosian (1), Ian Cole (2)|
|3rd|11:53|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Even|Nicholas Paul (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Ross Colton (3), Michael Eyssimont (1)|
|3rd|16:26|[](/r/leafs)|Even|Auston Matthews (4) Wrist Shot, assists: John Tavares (3), Mitchell Marner (9)|
|3rd|19:55|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Even|Alex Killorn (3) Backhand, assists: Victor Hedman (3), Anthony Cirelli (2)|
###Penalty Summary
|Period|Time|Team|Type|Min|Description|
|:–:|:–:|:-:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|1st|14:38|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Minor|2|Ross Colton Interference against Morgan Rielly|
|1st|17:47|[](/r/leafs)|Minor|2|Justin Holl Tripping against Nikita Kucherov|
|2nd|11:01|[](/r/leafs)|Minor|2|Alexander Kerfoot Delaying Game – Puck over glass|
|2nd|20:00|[](/r/tampabaylightning)|Minor|2|Pat Maroon Roughing against Mark Giordano|
by HockeyMod
33 Comments
i don’t mean to get all kanye west up in here but 0 for 10 in elimination games? that sounds like a choice to me y’all
PLEASE WIN THIS SERIES…I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE…
– 2017: Loss in 6 to WSH.
– 2018: Loss in 7 to BOS.
– 2019: Loss in 7 to BOS. *(Led 3-2)*
– 2020: Loss in 5 to CLB.
– 2021: Loss in 7 to MTL. *(Led 3-1)*
– 2022: Loss in 7 to TBL. *(Led 3-2)*
– 2023: Up 3-2 to TBL. *(Led 3-1)*
10 straight losses with a chance to advance….
RETIRE THE FRANCHISE IF THE STREAK REACHES 12…
Hello darkness…
Why does it feel like we give Tampa so much space in our end, but every puck is an absolute battle in their end? We had so few good scoring chances, and we really never looked likely to score after that first goal until the last few minutes. Why can’t we play with that urgency the whole game??? It’s infuriating. Hope they can figure it out because we’ve been outplayed badly in 4 of the 5 games.
Justin Holl should not touch the ice again
That “missed” highstick on Knies is such a fucking joke
Edit: disregard, it didn’t even hit him lol
Edit 2: disregard the edit, pretty sure it hit him
Holl…
That fan wearing Tavares jersey waiving a flag is the curse
Holl should never play another shift. 2 back breaking goals, courtesy of him.
My only saving grace is I never, not once, truly expected them to win.
Series ends on Saturday one way or another.
Ya that Holl guys fucking stinks eh
I wish they showed the intensity of the final 4 minutes at *other* points throughout the game.
And just like that im in the dumps and convinced the curse is real, despite that being nonsensical
Five games in and only played a full 60 once.
Man, the NHL script writers are getting so lazy telling the same story over and over again.
This team is going to have to win in spite of Keefe and not because of him.
Why was our fourth line on the ice with under 10 minutes to go? Cooper knew he’d match lines and completely gamed him *again*.
The Marner miss on the breakaway and the shot off the post sting
Pain but still hopeful 🥹
I am a big Keefe defender, but I’ve largely been disappointed by his coaching this series. The Leafs have arguably been outplayed in 4 of 5 games now. His inability to make adjustments or his stubbornness to do so was noticeable tonight. Not changing the lineup or making changes because the team is salvaging wins whilst being outplayed is short-sighted. Most notably;
* 3 straight games the breakout is not working. Stop the stretch pass. Tampa is all over it, turning the puck over, and getting prolonged zone time. The team is never breaking out with speed.
* Dump and chase offense; we never are coming over the blue line with speed because we can’t breakout, and the forecheck is so passive each dump in is just a turnover.
* Holl and Giordano – this in my opinion is the most egregious. Outscored 11-2 at 5 on 5 before tonight; now 14-2. They aren’t working. The fact that no change has been made is mind boggling.
* Not playing Bunting tonight. I don’t give a shit that you won 3 without him. Sam Lafferty has not had a single scoring chance this series. His xGF% this series is like 18%. He adds nothing. To not play your 5th highest scoring forward in the regular season in a chance to win a series at home when you need that killer instinct is inexcusable.
I hope this loss forces him to stop being so stubborn and adjust. Tampa has had a game plan for Toronto and its working. Toronto managed to skill & will their way to likely 2 undeserved wins, but they may not be able to again if they change.
Honestly – I’d drop both ZAR and Laffety. Add Bunting. Go 11 and 7 and play your big guns alot based on the feel for the game.
Reading some of the comments here over the last 48hrs, I swear the majority of people here, just became Leaf fans in the last 2 weeks.
We are Leaf fans, The Leafs haven’t won a cup in 55 years, they haven’t won a playoff round in 19 years.
When folks here are being “Doomers” they’d aren’t being unnecessarily negative. It’s that they’ve seen this movie before. Nobody here WANTS the leafs to lose. However, it’s what we expect.
We lost that game because of Justin Holl being a shit d man and samsonov caught napping on that second goal.
I remember Dangle saying something about doubting that Holl will be the deciding factor in these series. Oh how he fucking jinxed it
The game was lost when we give up a goal 25 seconds after taking the lead. Compete momentum killer and crowd silencer. Also I never want to see Justin Holl in a maple leafs jersey again
Doesn’t matter what we say or feel.. it’s the guys in that locker room who have to find a way to wrap this up.
Tbh my thoughts are after all the blown series, if they manage to blow a 3-1 lead and lose 4-3, you have to blow it up. All of it. Like every significant player has to be up. There’s NO FUCKING WAY you run this team back anywhere close to what it was again
If I’m Lily and I don’t see the ice in this series I’m demanding a trade faster than Holl blows his defensive coverage
Anyone else feel like we actually played way better last year? Like this year it feels like Tampa is outplaying us and we got a little lucky in games 3 and 4 whereas last year I thought we were the better team throughout the series but just couldn’t get it done.
I’m going to pretend we lost game 3 and won tonight.
Choked. New Leafs sadly playing like Old Leafs.
Holl is terrible
Jarnkrok is not a top 6 – you’re just wasting Matthews ice time.
About a third of the team playing not to lose including Samsonov
Holl completely ruined the game for us. We scored first and had all the juice. Crowd was bumping. All we had to do was play conservative and wait for tanpa to get too aggressive and try to strike again.
What does Holl do immediately after the goal? Go for a shit ass pinch that causes a 2 on 1.
Bunting and Lilly in, Lafferty and Holl out
And for the love of all things, stop dump and chasing
That power play to start the third was just the classic “Leafs can clinch a series” power play. Complete ass. We need to see adjustments from the team going into game 6 because I don’t think we’re winning any more games from comeback thrillers.