Jason Spezza stood up in the Maple Leafs locker room following another disastrous start.
The veteran forward — potentially in the midst of a final Stanley Cup shot in his 19th NHL season — spoke about the margin for error getting smaller and smaller against the two-time defending champions.
Toronto desperately needed to pick it up.
The team’s big guns, with the help of gutsy efforts up and down the lineup, responded in kind.
Auston Matthews scored the winner with 6:06 left in regulation as the Leafs recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Tuesday and take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.
“Spezz really spoke well,” said Toronto captain John Tavares, who scored his team’s first goal early in the second period and assisted on Morgan Rielly’s effort in the third that tied the score 2-2.
“We obviously needed to find another level.”
WATCH | Matthews’ winner caps Maple Leafs comeback win:
Matthews scores winner as Maple Leafs rally to defeat Lightning
12 hours ago
Duration 1:09
Toronto beats Tampa Bay 4-3 with Auston Matthews’ game-winning goal and takes a 3-2 series lead in their first round series. 1:09
William Nylander added a goal and two assists for the Leafs, who sit one victory from advancing in the post-season for the first time since 2004. Jack Campbell stopped 32 shots.
“He’s a great leader,” Nylander said of the 38-year-old Spezza, who saw less than six minutes of ice time.
“When he says something, everybody listens.”
Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh replied for the Lightning — a battle-tested group that will look to stave off elimination in the best-of-seven matchup Thursday at home. Nikita Kucherov added two assists, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.
“We’re not really making them earn it,” Tampa head coach Jon Cooper said. “We’re kind of giving it to them.”
The Leafs would certainly disagree after becoming the first team in the five games to come back after falling behind.
“The way the series has gone is that 2-0 has become four or five,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We needed to flip that script.”
‘Still some work to be done’
Game 7 of the series, if necessary, would be at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
“It’s a big win for us,” Matthews said. “But there’s still some work to be done.”
The Leafs snapped a 3-3 tie on a 2-on-1 rush in the third when Mitch Marner purposely fired a shot off Vasilevskiy’s right pad into the path of Toronto’s 60-goal man to bury his third of the playoffs and ignite the raucous home crowd.
It’s a setup the dynamic duo works on nearly every day in practice. It paid off in the biggest moment of the season to date.
Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews scores the eventual winning goal during Game 5 in Toronto on Tuesday. (Claus Andersen/Getty images)
“Such a special player,” Matthews said of Marner. “Any time he’s got the puck I just try to get open or try to anticipate it’s coming to me.
“Just an unbelievable IQ play by him. I had the whole net to shoot at.”
Matthews celebrated by dropping to one knee before punching the air with a windmill celebration.
“Huge goal,” Nylander said with a grin. “Deserves a big celly.”
The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy late and had a couple of chances, but iced the puck with 21.9 seconds left to force the 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner back into his crease and effectively seal it.
Tavares busts playoff slump
Down 2-1 heading to the third, Toronto tied the score with the teams playing 4-on-4 at 3:01 when Tavares, who has been criticized for his offensive output through four games, held onto the puck in the offensive zone and found Rielly to bury his first of the series.
“He’s our guy,” Matthews said of Tavares. “I don’t think that stuff really rattles him. He wants produce like we all do … but just the little things he’s been doing for us, especially tonight, defensively, offensively, gaining momentum for our team, that’s what he does for us.
“That’s why he’s our captain.”
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares (91) deflects a shot past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during Game 5 on Tuesday. (Alex Lupul/CBC)
The Leafs kept coming and took the lead 73 seconds later — the first time either team has done so in the series after falling behind — when Nylander ripped his third goal in the last two games on Vasilevskiy to nearly blow the roof off the rink.
But the Lightning got back even at 8:17 when McDonagh blasted a shot past Campbell to tie things at 3-3 before Matthews won it.
“The crowd … the energy,” said the two-time Maurice (Rocket) Richard winner. “There’s nothing like a playoff atmosphere, especially here in Toronto.
“It was pretty special.”
The Leafs were coming off a no-show in Tampa that saw them swarmed by the Lightning early in a 7-3 blowout Sunday.
Toronto got an early power play to continue the series’ parade to the penalty box, but couldn’t connect despite some good looks for Marner.
Stamkos made it 1-0 on a shot Campbell will probably want back at 5:19 of the first on Tampa’s second effort on target.
The Lightning then got their first man advantage when T.J. Brodie went off for hooking and went up by two at 6:11 when Hedman fired through traffic inside a stunned Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto killed off a 5-on-3 power play for 30 seconds later in the period thanks to some big stops from Campbell, who was stellar after allowing five goals on 16 shots and getting the hook in Game 4.
The Leafs went on another man advantage, but the NHL’s top unit in the regular season once again frustrated the home crowd by not directing much of anything on goal, prompting chants of “Shoot The Puck! Shoot The Puck!”
Tampa would finish the period that included a combined seven minor penalties with a 14-4 edge in shots.
“We had to stop taking penalties,” Keefe said. “And our power play had to do a better job.
“It really muddied the waters in terms of how we were actually playing and really couldn’t allow us to get life and get going.”
The Lightning were whistled for their second infraction for too many men on the ice early in the second, and Toronto broke through when Nylander fired a shot that went in off the skate of Tavares for the captain’s first goal of the series.
The Leafs continued to push as the period wore on, with Vasilevskiy forced to make a number of huge saves with the home side buzzing.
Campbell had a much quieter time at the other end, but had to make a massive stop on a Nick Paul breakaway.
“Big game like this, you need your best people to step up and make a difference,” Keefe said of his offensive stars. “And they certainly did that.
“Jack Campbell is probably the key to this whole thing here today, because he kept them at two for a long time, and gave us the time to come back.”
The Leafs now head to Tampa with a chance to rewrite a long list of playoff pain.
They also know there’s no quit on the other side.
“I don’t think that tonight is going to matter if we don’t take the next step,” Keefe said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
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