The Toronto Maple Leafs handed the Tampa Bay Lightning seven power-play opportunities in Game 2 on Wednesday and were made to pay for it in the 5-3 loss.
The Lightning converted three times with the man advantage, including the game-opening goal late in the first period and Nikita Kucherov's marker in the third period to restore their two-goal lead at 3-1.
"Too many penalties," Leafs winger Mitch Marner said when reflecting on the loss. "Eventually they're going to score. They've got a lot of guys that can make plays.
"We've got to stay out of the box."
"The refs set the standard early," Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe added. "They took one (player) after the whistle, which made it pretty clear that they were going to call it like that. We didn't do a good job of reading that and responding.
"We've got to be more responsible."
Leafs veteran Wayne Simmonds was penalized twice in Game 2, with his post-whistle roughing minor leading to Kucherov's goal in the second period. He was also given a two-minute minor for cross-checking in the third period, resulting in Brayden Point making it a 5-1 lead for the Lightning in third.
"I was a culprit," Simmonds said. "I took two, they scored two, we lost by two.
"It stings."
Simmonds first penalty came less than two minutes after Michael Bunting's first career playoff goal brought Toronto back within one and cost the team a chance build on that momentum.
"After we made it 2-1, I don't think we grabbed the game as well as they did," captain John Tavares said. "Just being short-handed as much as we were, especially when we got down, it was hard to really get our game going."
Having handed the Lightning 12 power plays through two games, discipline will be a focus for the Maple Leafs as
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