Maple Leafs even series with Lightning after Game 2 blowout

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John Tavares had his first playoff hat trick and the Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded from a poor playoff start with a lopsided 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night to even the teams' first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, William Nylander added a goal and an assist, and Zach Aston-Reese also scored for Toronto.

Morgan Rielly tied a franchise record with four assists. Auston Matthews also had two assists for the Maple Leafs, whose stars stepped up.

Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his second goal of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with teammates Jake McCabe #22, Auston Matthews #34 and TJ Brodie #78 during the second period in Game Two of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on April 20, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves for Toronto after being pulled in Tuesday's 7-3 loss.

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) makes the save against a tipped shot by Tampa Bay Lightning center Ross Colton (79) during the second period of game two in the Eastern Conference First Round between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 20, 2023, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Gavin Napier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Ian Cole and Corey Perry scored for the Lightning, who were without injured defensemen Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak.

LIGHTNING DOMINATE MAPLE LEAFS IN TORONTO TO TAKE GAME 1

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has played every minute of Lightning