NHL-Lightning avoid elimination, spoil Maple Leafs' party plans

TORONTO : The Toronto Maple Leafs' hopes of celebrating a playoff series win for the first time in nearly two decades were put on hold on Thursday as the Tampa Bay Lightning earned a 4-2 victory to extend their Stanley Cup playoffs first-round clash.

The Lightning, coming off two overtime losses at home, got goals from Anthony Cirelli, Michael Eyssimont, Nicholas Paul and Alex Killorn as they pulled to within 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

The result spoiled what the Leafs, and their eternally optimistic fan base, were hoping would be the night they got to celebrate their first playoff series win since 2004.

The loss means they have now dropped to 0-11 in possible series-clinching games since they last advanced.

"Obviously we didn't get the result but I don't think it has anything to do with the moment or anything like that," Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters.

"It's a good hockey team we are playing against and they played as perfect a road game as you could ask for if you are them."

Long before the opening faceoff, a crowd of about 5,000 fans in a sea of blue and white Maple Leafs jerseys gathered outside the arena to watch the game on a giant screen while those inside also came hoping to be a part of history.

Toronto struck first as Morgan Rielly beat netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy from the high slot just under six minutes into the game but the lead was short-lived, the Lightning hitting back less than a minute later on a goal from Cirelli.

Tampa Bay, who reached the Stanley Cup Final the last three years and won in 2020 and 2021, pulled ahead midway through the second period when Eyssimont beat Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov from a sharp angle below the left circle.

Paul scored what held up as the game winner 12