The Tampa Bay Lightning sent a strong message by scoring the first five goals and winning 7-3 in Game 4 of the series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday at Amalie Arena.
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The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions tied the first-round playoff series 2-2.
The “Bolts” quickly won, while Steven Stamkos, Pierre-Édouard Bellemare and Patrick Maroon hit the mark in the first period. In all three cases, it is their first success since the start of hostilities against the Queen City club.
In the second period, Ross Colton and Corey Perry hit the target. These successes definitely put the game out of reach for the visitors.
The Leafs, however, experienced a second wind during the last period, even if it was too little, too late. William Nylander (twice) and Jake Muzzin beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. Ondrej Palat and Colton also took advantage of the third period to score in an empty net.
In front of the Leafs net, Jake Campbell gave up five times on 16 shots in just over 26 minutes of play. Coming in relief, first-year goaltender Erik Kallgren was perfect on eight shots.
The series returns to Toronto for Game 5 on Tuesday night.