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TAMPA — The Maple Leafs left right here Sunday with a break up, however one as ugly as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
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As an alternative of his crew steeling itself for the inevitable counterpunch of a crew that’s now 16-0 after a playoff loss the previous two years, the Leafs delivered a type of maddening off nights that popped up within the common season.
An opportunity to go up 3-1 within the collection towards the Lightning rapidly morphed right into a five-goal gap and a 7-3 loss Sunday at Amalie Area. Jack Campbell, hero of Recreation 3, was completed after 16 pictures, although the entire crew regarded like a palm tree fell on their bench proper after the nationwide anthems.
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“They got here out, scored on their first shot (Steven Stamkos) and took it to us,” Campbell mentioned.
Coach Sheldon Keefe, who earlier Sunday mentioned he was excited the Leafs might play even higher than their collection lead indicated after profitable the primary one right here, was curt about attempting to move it off as “a profitable street journey” given they did win an in depth one Friday.
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However this mess had few positives to attract on seeking to Recreation 5 on Tuesday. And the Lightning have life once more.
“Now it’s a better of three with two in our constructing,” Keefe mentioned. “Whether or not you lose 2-1, you wash it, we’ll be higher subsequent time.”
Beginning his third line and sixth defenceman Justin Holl proved pricey as Tampa’s checking line — Nick Paul, Ross Colton and Brandon Hagel — hemmed them in, Holl pressured right into a giveaway that the recent legs of Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov capitalized on.
Not like Friday, Campbell was unable to cease the Lightning’s finest shooter for his first of the playoffs. Kucherov, in the meantime, collected his thirtieth level in that 16-game stretch of rebound wins.
That’s all it took to rattle the remainder, a disturbing flip of occasions. Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie have been then gradual to react to a bouncing puck out of the nook that Campbell by accident steered proper to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
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A second aim by a Bolts’ fourth-liner, Pat Maroon, was a consequence of Morgan Rielly dropping a gradual puck at Tampa’s blueline and never with the ability to get better. Maroon burst in and acquired his personal rebound of a stretch pad save.
Toronto’s fourth unit tried to inject some power, solely to have Jason Spezza referred to as for a cross test, the primary of eight Lightning energy performs.
The second interval wasn’t a lot better, Colton taking a nifty backhand feed from Hagel to catch the Leafs defence flat-footed, the shot getting via Campbell’s glove. That was an indication Soupy was chilly, too, although he didn’t get pulled for Erik Kallgren till a 5-on-3 aim by Corey Perry.
“They got here out scorching, we have been on our heels,” Muzzin mentioned. “We took too many penalties. Now we have to be extra disciplined. We must always know that by now.
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“It’s disappointing. We battled laborious to be within the place we have been in (main 2-1). However now we go residence.”
Not till William Nylander tipped an Auston Matthews man-advantage shot previous Andrei Vasilevskiy early within the third after which one-timed a John Tavares move might the Leafs mark some progress.
Muzzin scored between empty netters by Colton and Ondrej Palat.
“I believed in our crew all collection, all season,” Keefe mentioned. “And we’ve performed nicely towards this crew.”
It was simply Tavares’ second level of the collection, however fellow captain Stamkos reveals indicators of breaking out of his funk.
“I haven’t been capable of produce offensively as I’d like,” Tavares mentioned. “However it’s vital for me to play good with out the pucka m not be overly aggressive simply because I’m fearful about offence. I’d wish to generate extra and need to be higher.”
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Campbell, whom Tampa coach John Cooper had mentioned was not going to be as massive an impediment if his crew simply performed higher defensively, was rescued to be recent for Tuesday at Scotiabank.
“We’ll study from it. I’ll look within the mirror and be prepared for the subsequent one. I’ll benefit from the crowd at residence — and cease some pucks,” Campbell mentioned. “It’s a fantastic collection.”
Keefe didn’t count on to silence the Lightning’s massive weapons all collection.
“We’ve performed an excellent towards Stamkos and Kucherov, but it surely’s early,” he mentioned earlier than Recreation 4. “That was a precedence coming in. We all know what they’ll do on the facility play, however they’re clearly very harmful 5-on-5. Now we have to proceed to be diligent with the puck.”
One thing clearly acquired misplaced in translation between the morning assembly and the primary shift. Within the many media clips that preceded this collection, the Leafs conceded they’ve rather a lot to study concerning the ebbs and flows of extending put up season play.
They’d an opportunity to ship a defending champion to the brink of 3-1 elimination for simply the sixth time generally playoffs since 1993, however now it’s up within the air.
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