'A big one for us': Leafs win 1st playoff series since 2004 - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — John Tavares scored 4:35 into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday night for their first NHL playoff series win in nearly two decades.

The Maple Leafs won the best-of-seven matchup in six games, winning three times in overtime on the road and ending an 11-game losing streak in elimination games. They advanced in a series for the first time since 2004, a frustrating drought that included first-round exits in each of the past six seasons.

«It was a little bit of a relief, for sure,» Toronto forward Mitchell Marner said. «Just to be able to get that done, but got to make sure we are ready because it just gets harder and harder.»

The loss, meanwhile, ends Tampa Bay's run of three consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning won back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021, but they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in six games last year.

«I'm not going to debate who is the better team, they beat us four games to two,» Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. «Statistics say they were the better team than us, but do I sit here and think that we could have really done anything to change the tide? No. We played well enough to win this series. I think anyone that watched the series would agree with that.»

Auston Matthews also scored for the Maple Leafs, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy from the top of the right circle at 13:47 of the second period. Tavares, the Toronto captain, added the winner, which trickled past the Lightning goalie after appearing to deflect off a defender's skate.

«It's obviously special being a Maple Leaf and getting the opportunity to play for the club, obviously growing up in the [greater Toronto area],» said Tavares, who left the New York