A Familiar Face, A Familiar Feeling: Lightning Snap Skid in Toronto

By Ernie Norquist

Thunderstruck Sports

The Lightning arrived at Scotiabank Arena with a familiar face acquired at the trade deadline. In what marked his re-debut with the organization, Corey Perry laced up in Toronto ready to help snap a four-game skid. A six-time Stanley Cup finalist who hoisted the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, Perry knows what winning looks like,  and Tampa was banking on that experience.

Andrei Vasilevskiy got the nod to start the first of a back-to-back, with Toronto's Anthony Stolarz between the pipes on the other side.

The Leafs drew first blood at 4:50 of the first period, converting on a two-on-one breakaway after an errant blind pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand, with William Nylander feeding Zach Maccelli to make it 1-0. Tampa answered 46 seconds later, with Ryan McDonagh evening things up from the wing, assisted by Brayden Point and Nitkita Kucherov.

A tripping call on Connor Geekie at 6:41 gave Toronto the man advantage, but the Lightning penalty kill showed signs of the dominant form that had gone missing over the past four games, with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli threatening shorthanded before killing it off.

At 12:14, Charles-Edouard D'Astous and Max Domi dropped the gloves, with both drawing five-minute majors. Moments earlier, at 12:30, Kucherov's blind backhand found Point in front and Guentzel poked home the rebound for his 27th of the season to put Tampa ahead 2-1. One minute and 18 seconds later, Hagel and Cirelli set up Perry, who buried his 12th of the year and first since rejoining the Lightning.

With Tampa sustaining pressure in the offensive zone, Brandon Carlo was whistled for hooking at 14:31. Bjorkstrand made it count, finishing from the wing off assists from Kucherov and Guentzel to push the lead to 4-1 and silence the home crowd.

The period closed with a quirky sequence at 17:49, when Darren Raddysh was whistled for tripping Nic Robertson on a breakaway. Officials initially awarded a penalty shot, but after a brief conference ruled Raddysh had touched the puck first, downgrading the call to a minor penalty. The Lightning penalty kill held firm, killing off Toronto's second power play of the night to close out the first.

First Period

Shots on Goal: TBL 12, TOR 10

Face-offs: TBL 20% (5/25), TOR 80% (20/25)

Power Play: TBL 1/1, TOR 0/2

Penalty Minutes: TBL 9, TOR 7

Hits: TBL 13, TOR 3

Blocked Shots: TBL 7, TOR 4

Giveaways: TBL 2, TOR 4

Takeaways: TBL 2, TOR 1

The second period opened with Toronto applying sustained pressure through the first six minutes, but Vasilevskiy and the Lightning held firm. The back-and-forth play was interrupted at 7:34, when Troy Stecher was whistled for high-sticking Pontus Holmberg. The

Leafs held Tampa to zero shots on the power play and generated shorthanded pressure of their own before killing it off.

Play returned to an even tempo until 11:33, when Scott Sabourin was sent off for tripping Dakota Joshua. Toronto applied early pressure, but the Lightning penalty kill dug in. As the penalty expired, Sabourin stepped out of the box, intercepted a pass and fed a streaking Hagel, but the chance came up empty.

Moments later, at 14:22, a sloppy line change gave Tampa another opportunity, with Robertson serving the too-many-men penalty. The Lightning generated strong pressure, with Point narrowly missing on a tip-in and Raddysh firing from the point, but could not convert, and the Leafs killed it off.

The final minute and 30 seconds mirrored the period's opening, with Toronto pressing hard but finding Vasilevskiy an immovable object. The second period ended scoreless, with both teams heading to the locker room and the Lightning ahead 4-1.

Through the 2nd

Shots on Goal: TBL 19, TOR 19

Face-offs: TBL 31.6% (12/38), TOR 68.4% (26/38)

Power Play: TBL 1/3 (33.3%), TOR 0/3 (0%)

Penalty Minutes: TBL 11, TOR 11

Hits: TBL 17, TOR 12

Blocked Shots: TBL 10, TOR 10

 Giveaways: TBL 6, TOR 13

Takeaways: TBL 4, TOR 3

The final 20 minutes started positively for Tampa, with Toronto's Simon Benoit whistled for holding Yanni Gourde just 16 seconds into the third. The Lightning moved the puck with ease, and a Hagel shot from the point created a potential tip-in opportunity for Perry, but Stolarz turned it aside and the Leafs killed off the threat.

Returning to five-on-five play, Auston Matthews continued his scoring struggles, ringing one off the post. Matthew Knies then had a chance to cut into the lead, but the puck caught the netting rather than crossing the goal line.

With the Leafs threatening, the Lightning settled into the tight-checking form that had carried them through the night, keeping Toronto at bay and protecting the lead.

With 4:19 remaining, Leafs coach Craig Berube pulled Stolarz for the extra attacker. Seconds later, Cirelli and Kucherov fed Hagel for the empty-net goal, his 29th of the season, to push the lead to 5-1.

The Lightning locked things down over the final minutes until Leafs zone giveaway at 19:05 set up Robertson, who completed a wraparound on Vasilevskiy at 19:29 for a consolation goal that did little to change the story of the night.

Final game stats

Shots on Goal: TBL 33, TOR 29

Face-offs: TBL 41.5% (22/53), TOR 58.5% (31/53)

Power Play: TBL 1/4 (25%), TOR 0/3 (0%)

Penalty Minutes: TBL 11, TOR 13

Hits: TBL 26, TOR 22

Blocked Shots: TBL 11, TOR 11

Giveaways: TBL 12, TOR 15

Takeaways: TBL 5, TOR 4

Stars of the Night

First Star: Nikita Kucherov, four assists, four straight 100-point season

Second Star:  Corey Perry, first goal back with the club

Third Star: Jake Guentzel, 27^th goal of the year