It was a great atmosphere, and as the Leafs took over, the crowd made it more fun. They mocked Steve Stamko. The Bronx applauded Andrei Vasilevsky. Go Leafs Go choirs resounded throughout the night. If you had to win Game 1 for the Leafs, that would be pretty much it. The Leafs took an emphatic 1-0 lead in the series and I’m curious to see if the playoff lineup changes at all (will Kyle Clifford be ruled out; will Michael Bunting return?) And how will Tampa Bay respond to a full 5-0 smackdown to start this series. Your game in 10:

  1. The crowd was buzzing to start this. The hymns were electric. The fans were strong. You could feel it on TV. I do not know if this led to any nerves, but in the first shift, Tampa Bay put it deep, John Tavares had little time and space to try to push the bolt, circled back and gave it to a weak backhander. Sheldon Keefe, rightly so, got them off the ice right away. The third line went over the boards and settled just before Auston Matthews’s line went up. Alex Kerfout froze it for no reason, Tampa won the tie and the Lightning team took a penalty. This was a good early test for the Leafs. In April, TJ Brodie and Justin Holl briefly led their team to the ice for most of the season, including April. Brody was in the box, Hall was watching from above, and the Leaves killed him without sweating. If nothing else, it was a great boost of confidence for this unit, which they would need…
  2. This was a bad blow from Kyle Clifford. It’s an easy call. This is a major five minutes at a time. He had time to change his mind, hit him anyway, and was square in numbers. There is nothing to discuss. Clifford takes a few hits, the second is a penalty #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/wlFYyoIdPG – Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) May 2, 2022 And yet it was the Leafs who played during the big penalty. Alex Kerfoot hits the crossbar in a 2v1, Mark Giordano steals in another 2v1 (also with Kerfoot in it). In April, the Leafs had one of the worst penalties in the league and we talked about the lack of pressure. This game was the opposite. It was halfway through the walls and when Tampa Bay tried to put it behind the net, the Leafs made them feel very uncomfortable – Giordano, in particular, started pushing below the goal line with sticks. Tampa Bay barely set up their long power play. There was really only one time they should have created an opportunity – Victor Hedman had the buck at the top of the point with little time and space to get in, but instead chose to give it to Stamko, who was almost at the end. line for a weak effort with one year.
  3. The momentum in the game is a real thing that you have to manage. You have to drive the wave when it is with you. The Leafs did very well. With the crowd erupting as the big penalty shootout came to an end, the Leafs took a penalty. They did not score in power play, but at least they were able to start pushing the elf to the other end. Because of the penalties, only Mitch Marner, one of the Leafs’ top strikers, had really played the game up to that point, and you could tell when you were watching them. The Leafs went to another power play a little later and were a little crispier, but the first goal of the game eventually went to Jake Muzzin in 5v5. It was a classic playoff goal, if I have ever seen one: Win a battle low, work your way up and reach the net. Andrei Vasilevsky clearly did not see it well. The explosion of Muzzin fine string. 1-0 Leafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ZxbFsi4Qmg – Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) May 3, 2022 Muzzin played a great game to recognize that he had time to look and figure out where he wanted to put his shot. He made the right decision for the Leafs’ first goal in the playoffs for 2022.
  4. There were so many penalties in this game that it completely lacked flow and we could not really get a feel for the games. Until the penalties receded somewhat after the second period, the Sheets led 4-0. We can not really sit here and evaluate the game of the match. I usually incorporate ice time sets and rolls, but everything is out the window due to penalties, throws and the wrong score. Some of the line-up decisions that bothered us to get into the game were completely questionable as most of this game was a battle of special teams. The Leafs lost Kyle Clifford – leaving them with 11 strikers quite well throughout the game – it was also mitigated by that. In total, 13 penalties were taken, including the five-minute major. The special teams of the Sheets had a hard time throughout April, but on the whole they worked with the form and class that they generally played for most of the season.
  5. When it comes to special teams battle, the Leafs clearly took the first round, and that’s the difference in this game. The Leafs have not used timeouts in the playoffs before, but in that, I thought it was a great appeal to get their timeouts and create 5v3. They saw a great opportunity in the face, and the game was only 1-0 at that point. If the Leafs do not score there, the game can really change in the other direction. You must bury in this state if you are the Leaves, and they did not make a mistake. The best part was how they did it – he was not getting cute or trying to get through the back door with needles. They took Auston Matthews downhill and fed him an absolute one-time bomb. Matthews gets one early. 2-0 Leafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/xRg0pKU4Jw – Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) May 3, 2022 When Matthews passed the elf low behind the goal line to Mitch Marner, he turned back to the blue line to finish quickly, Marner and John Tavares played behind the goal line and Matthews took care of the rest. Vasilevskiy was just shown, but it didn’t matter. This is the best scorer in the world, and sometimes it’s so simple: Give it a go and leave. It was interesting that Morgan Rielly took off for 5v3, but when the strategy is to raise the shooters high (Matthews or Nylander), it makes sense. It’s not a common sight we’ve seen from the Leafs.
  6. The Leafs, who led the league with short-term goals during the season, should have added to that record in the first period. In the second period they succeeded. David Kampf (!) Broke away and just ένα threw a shot .. passed immediately after Vasilevski. Kampf scored the goal, but the truth is that all the Penalties of the Sheets were fantastic in it. Kampf scores a great goal from SH. 3-0 Leafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/03DC1BXnlJ – Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) May 3, 2022 The speed of Alex Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev and Colin Blackwell caused problems in Tampa all night. Mitch Marner and David Kampf played their usual intoxicating games, blocking passing lanes, making good readings and making it difficult for the opponent. If you sit back and let Tampa tear the elf, they will make you pay (once the Leaves were really sitting back, Stamkos lost a wide open net). The Leafs were also ready for Tampa’s power-play, so congratulations on the prescout. They lined up along the blue line and blocked the lanes for Tampa so that they could not enter clearly. When Tampa took the elf along the wall in a hurry for the entries, the attacker and the defender pressed to close all the lanes and prevent Tampa from setting up properly. Dean Chynoweth was an underrated star in this game.
  7. Going into this game, if you could write a screenplay for the Leafs, how would it unfold? Is Jack Campbell playing well? Control. Do they win the battle of the special teams? Control. Auston Matthews scores and hits the monkey early on his back? Control. Mitch Marner scores to throw the monkey off his back? Control. And Marner’s was a beauty. He was adamant in calling for the elf. You can see him hitting his stick for the pass in the replay. He danced Vasilveski, who admittedly had been predicted and probably just guessed the show, before calmly putting the elf in the empty net. This is not an exercise, Mitch Marner has a playoff goal. 4-0 Leafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/1VJWbdRITq – Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) May 3, 2022 There was no misfortune in this. Marner won it, he played a great game and he should already feel much better.
  8. The other big win for the Leafs in this? The speed of their team. He gave Tampa problems all night. Lightning seemed normally slow in this game. Basically, from the second change of this game, when William Nylander got a harmless pass and easily beat Sergachev for a goal opportunity, the Leafs seemed much faster. Their speed in killing the penalties was a factor in the momentum of the singles. The speed through the neutral zone created good predictions, many overturns and many opportunities for scoring. In particular, Alex Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, Pierre Engvall, William Nylander and Colin Blackwell caused major speed problems in Tampa Bay.
  9. I thought it was very important for the Leafs not to let Tampa gain a little confidence in the third period to get into Game 2, and they did just that. In terms of the game, the third was a related snooze. Tampa created little. Auston Matthews scored the hilarious goal. The crowd was mercilessly mocking Vasilevski (I guess he did not pull in part to avoid the intense ridicule he would make …