The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to wait a little longer before winning their first playoff series since 2004, as the Tampa Bay Lightning refused to concede defeat. Thursday night, during their sixth duel, the Bolts won 4-3 in overtime at the Amalie Arena to force them to hold a final.
The two-time champion was kept alive thanks to Brayden Point, who passed Jack Campbell less than two minutes before the end of the first overtime. He seemed very relieved, his Point teammates congratulated him a lot after such success.
Like the quarterback, Lightning had to go for a second try to beat the Leafs. Nikita Kucherov temporarily saved the season for his team by tying the match to five-to-three with 10 minutes remaining on the list. Visitors protested that two Lightning attackers had interfered with Campbell’s work, but officials did not change their minds.
Earlier, Maple Leafs scored three unanswered goals in the second half to take the lead. Auston Matthews closed the difference and John Tavares scored twice within 26 seconds, in the final moments of the clash.
Ondrej Palat and Anthony Cirelli, the last shorter, were the other Lightning scorers.
Sometimes a shaky, sometimes steel goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky finished the match with 30 passes. Campbell blocked 31 rounds.
The seventh and final chapter of the series will take place on Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
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