TORONTO – Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 28 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Toronto 4-1 on Wednesday even though Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews increased his NHL lead with the 63rd goal of the season.
Tampa (42-26-7) got goals from Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Nick Paul.
Nikita Kucherov, who was tied with Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead with 127 points, had three assists to break his franchise record for points in a season.
Brandon Hagel assisted on two goals for the Lightning, who are now within four points of the Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division.
Both teams have seven games remaining in the schedule, including April 17 in Tampa as the regular-season finale for both clubs.
Joseph Woll blocked 21 shots for Toronto (43-23-9), which had a three-game winning streak end on a night where they could have secured a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for an eighth straight time with a single point.
The Leafs are still four points behind the Florida Panthers for second in the division with a game in hand.
Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Leafs winger Mitch Marner (high ankle sprain) sat out a 12th straight contest, but could play this weekend.
The Lightning, who lost 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings at home on Monday to end a nine-game point streak (8-0-1), have been without star defenceman Mikhail Sergachev (broken leg) since December. He also missed 17 games with a lower-body injury in the fall.
The Lightning took a 1-0 lead at 10:03 of the opening period on a delayed penalty, with Hedman scoring his 13th goal of the season through a screen — the third time in four starts Woll has allowed the first shot he’s faced to go in the net.
Matthews replied with a goal one minute before the intermission, blasting his 63rd on a one-timer off a Rielly setup just three seconds into a power play.
The 26-year-old is on pace for 69 goals, but is aiming for 70 — a figure not reached in the NHL since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny both scored 76 in 1992-93.
Point put the visitors ahead 2-1 at 2:54 of the second by taking advantage of a breakdown in the Leafs’ defensive zone to score his 43rd.
Vasilevskiy fully stretched later in the period to prevent Matthews from scoring his 64th before Stamkos scored his 32nd on a 2-on-1 play.
Toronto, which defeated Tampa in the first round of last spring’s playoffs for its first series victory since 2004, pushed as the period went on, but Vasilevskiy denied John Tavares, Bobby McMann, and Tyler Bertuzzi with excellent saves.
Woll’s top save of the night came at the other end off Point’s stick to keep the Leafs trailing by two after 40 minutes.
Wanting to motivate his team, Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves fought Tampa Bay forward Tanner Jeannot three minutes into the third in an intense fight.
Woll kept Toronto in the game moments later when he stopped Kucherov on a breakaway, but Paul sealed the game with 5:41 left in regulation when he scored his 20th goal.
CHASING 70
Stamkos put 60 goals in the net in 2011-12 and was questioned about how it feels to be in a zone like Matthews.
“A strong belief when you have the puck, particularly in certain areas,” said the 34-year-old Lightning captain. “A sensation that you wish you could capture and experience every night.”
EDDY ON ICE
Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson (injury not disclosed), who last played on March 24, participated in Wednesday’s optional morning skate.
Fellow defenseman Timothy Liljegren (upper body) and forward Calle Jarnkrok (hand) are also still unable to play.
UP NEXT
Tampa will be at the Montreal Canadiens' place on Thursday.
Toronto will be at the Canadiens' place on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was initially published on April 3, 2024.
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