Mistakes cost Leafs in hard-fought loss to Lightning. kristen_shilton has more:
TORONTO – Although there wasn’t much to play for in their Thursday matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, locked in as they are to a first-round playoff meeting with the Bruins that starts in Boston next week, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goal in their second-last regular season game was to fine-tune the best version of themselves ahead of the postseason.
Marner was the Leafs’ best player in Thursday’s loss, exuding high-octane tenacity in all three zones while frustrating Tampa with his lightning-fast reflexes dislodging pucks. His 26th goal of the season gave the Leafs an early 1-0 lead, coming off a two-on-one rush he started by forcing a turnover at Toronto’s defensive blueline and sending his line withThat was only Marner’s second goal in 15 games, but increased his team-lead in points to 93, while he also paces all Leafs with 67 assists.
“I am disappointed we turned the puck over there [in the third]. I thought we had a good game,” added Babcock. “On that shift we had turned it over a couple of times already and, in the end, we paid for it.” Before suiting up, Gardiner had stressed the importance of keeping things simple and making easy plays, and that formula served him well throughout the night. It wasn’t as dynamic a performance for Gardiner, specifically on the offensive side, but the veteran has an eye on getting back there before playoffs begin next week.
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