(Tampa) David Kampf scored the game-winning goal, Jack Campbell stopped 32 shots and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Friday to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Posted yesterday at 10:45 p.m.
Morgan Rielly, Colin Blackwell and Ilya Mikheyev, twice in an empty net, scored the other goals for the Maple Leafs. Pierre Engvall had three assists.
Ondrej Palat, with a goal and an assist, and Ross Colton replied for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
Game 4 is Sunday night at Amalie Arena, then the series returns to Toronto for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs are 13-0-0 when Kampf scores in 2021-22, including two playoff wins since he also scored shorthanded in the first game with the Lightning.
The visitors opened the scoring on the power play after 4:54 of play. The puck deflected off Michael Bunting’s skate and made its way to Rielly, who moved the strings.
The Leafs then passed a penalty thanks to good saves from Campbell. They followed that up with a three-on-one counterattack and Ilya Lyubushkin was patient before passing to Blackwell, who scored at 9:44.
Kampf widened the gap to 3-0 at 5: 52 of the second period, after a turnover in the neutral zone.
The Lightning managed to make things interesting, but Campbell shut the door late in the game. He notably frustrated Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman during a Lightning power play.
The Maple Leafs have been hoping to win their first series since 2004.