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TAMPA — Time beyond regulation objectives are hardly ever acts of magnificence.
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They’re typically photographs of desperation, pucks banged at, not aimed, with our bodies piled up across the web.
That type of determined play is why the Tampa Bay Lightning received Recreation 6 in additional time. It could be the true distinction between the Maple Leafs and the Stanley Cup-champion Lightning via six video games of a extremely aggressive back-and-forth first-round playoff sequence.
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The Leafs might have dominated additional time up till the purpose of Brayden Level’s bang-bang profitable purpose.
Simply as they dominated additional time in Recreation 6 a yr in the past in opposition to a lesser crew from Montreal, then turned the puck over as soon as and misplaced the sport and, ultimately, the sequence.
With all of their goal-scoring talent, what the Leafs can lack at large moments is the type of desperation the Lightning has proven on this sequence and within the earlier two playoff runs as champions of the Nationwide Hockey League. It could sound cliche, however it isn’t. It’s the distinction between profitable a sequence and dropping it. There’s nowhere to mark ‘desperation’ on the sport sheet, however you may see it and coach Jon Cooper calls for it from his gamers — pucks to the web, go to the web.
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It really works.
If Nikita Kucherov or Victor Hedman are making passes that defy science, so lots of the Tampa Bay objectives come the best way Level’s did in additional time, the best way Anthony Cirelli did a spin-a-rama shot within the second interval to present the Lightning a 2-0 lead whereas scoring shorthanded.
These weren’t Mitch Marner precisely banking a puck off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s stick, enabling Auston Matthews to attain the profitable purpose in Recreation 5. That’s artwork. That’s highlight-reel stuff. That’s the type of purpose that had legendary coach Scotty Bowman speaking about it two days after it occurred.
Marner had every kind of time with the puck within the third interval and additional time of Recreation 6. Matthews was having one other nice sport. Marner wasn’t matching his centreman’s stage, possibly due to the period of time he had spent between common shifts and penalty-killing.
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In additional time, Marner had three or 4 alternatives to shoot the puck — which was his coming-out social gathering of types within the common season — however as an alternative of being determined, he was attempting to be inventive and wound up overhandling the puck.
And it’s a fantastic line, actually, between what works, when it really works and, typically, the way it works for gamers.
The Leafs have artists in Marner and William Nylander, who was in on a 2-on-1 early in Recreation 6, then a 3-on-2 and had different alternatives off the push, though he appeared to tire because the evening went on. The two-on-1 didn’t register a shot on purpose. Neither did the 3-on-2. Nylander, most likely the second-best shooter on the Leafs, overthought the sport as an alternative of pulling a Cirelli or a Brandon Hagel on the additional time rush and simply letting it fly.
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At even power within the sequence, the Leafs expert gamers have outperformed the Lightning’s expert gamers and that’s no small job. Kucherov, who infrequently appears to be skating arduous, creates most of his best offence on the facility play, or so it definitely appears.
Who has come via for the Lightning when wanted exterior of its energy play? Cirelli and Level — each of whom had been anticipated to be on Group Canada had there been a Group Canada on the Olympic Video games — Ondrej Palat, Ross Colton, Nick Paul and Alex Killorn,
The 2 objectives captain John Tavares scored within the ultimate minute of the second interval on Thursday evening had been the identical type of emotional performs that Tampa produced to win in additional time. That Toronto wants extra of. They weren’t performs made off the push, essentially. There was a puck thrown to the web, a Tavares shot and a swipe on the puck by Jason Spezza, who missed however distracted Vasilevskiy. That was one purpose. The second was a bang-bang play that noticed Tavares within the slot with Vasilevskiy down and he discovered the highest of the web to place the Leafs forward 3-2.
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After the loss in Recreation 6, the Leafs had so many causes to be ok with the best way they performed. That they had Tampa’s massive defence backing up. At occasions, the Lightning was chasing the sport. The Leafs had room, which is typically lacking at playoff time.
And one scout took discover after the sport that two objectives went via the legs of Campbell, one other went off his proper pad. He didn’t suppose any of these three photographs had been unimaginable to cease — however he did level out that the distinction between the scores is that they got here off determined performs, fast photographs, pucks on the web, and every time the shooter adopted his shot to the purpose.
Saturday Night time is Recreation 7 evening in Canada. However this can be a totally different Recreation 7 than Leafs have been in earlier than. This can be a totally different sequence. They had been studying after they performed Boston in 2018, after they performed Washington in 2017, and able to beat the Bruins in 2019. That didn’t occur. They then had been crushed by themselves in opposition to Columbus and Montreal, a fifth sport in opposition to the Blue Jackets, and a fairly flat seventh sport in opposition to the Canadiens.
Now it’s the champions. The Leafs can beat them. They’re not out of their league right here. However they should play with the type of desperation that was lacking in additional time of Recreation 6. The sort that purchased Tavares two objectives and virtually received them the sport and the sequence.
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