NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Lightning

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Final
5 - 3

Auston Matthews picks up assist in his return to the lineup as Maple Leafs top Lightning 5-3

Auston Matthews feeds William Nylander for goal to ice game for Leafs

Chris Tanev had a goal and an assist and Mitch Marner added two assists. Nick Robertson, John Tavares and William Nylander also scored for Toronto. Matthews assisted on Nylander's empty-net goal in the third period after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.

Mikey Eyssimont, Jake Guentzel and Cam Atkinson scored for Tampa Bay, which was without leading scorer Nikita Kucherov.

Toronto led 4-0 in the third before the Lightning scored three goals in just over a six minute span, cutting its deficit to a goal with 2:22 left.

Takeaways Maple Leafs: Toronto has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of the past 11 games. … The Leafs are 207-36-36 all-time when both Matthews and Marner register a point in the same game.

Lightning: Victor Hedman recorded two assists to become the franchise leader with 590 career assists, passing Marty St. Louis. … Kucherov is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury. Kucherov missed the second period on Friday in Nashville, but returned for the third period and overtime.

Key moment Robertson scored 33 seconds after Chris Tanev to give the Maple Leafs a 3-0 lead at 8:39 of the second period. The goal was the first for Robertson since October 22, a span of 19 games.

Key stat Maple Leafs RW Mitch Marner reached the 30-point mark to become the fourth player in franchise history with at least 30 points in each their first nine seasons, joining Dave Keon, Mats Sundi and Borje Salming.

Up next Toronto hosts Chicago on Monday to open a three-game homestand. Tampa Bay hosts San Jose on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

TOR leads series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 7:13 Matthew Knies Goal (9) Tip-In, assists: Chris Tanev (5), Auston Matthews (7)
Goal 2nd Period 8:06 Chris Tanev Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Mitch Marner (21), Pontus Holmberg (3)
Goal 2nd Period 8:39 Nicholas Robertson Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Fraser Minten (2), Simon Benoit (3)
Goal 2nd Period 18:59 John Tavares Goal (10) Backhand, assists: Mitch Marner (22), Morgan Rielly (10)
Goal 3rd Period 11:21 Michael Eyssimont Goal (3) Slap Shot, assists: Darren Raddysh (6)
Goal 3rd Period 15:19 Jake Guentzel Goal (10) Wrist Shot, assists: Brandon Hagel (18), Victor Hedman (17)
Goal 3rd Period 17:38 Cam Atkinson Goal (2) Tip-In, assists: Brandon Hagel (19), Victor Hedman (18)
Goal 3rd Period 18:44 William Nylander Goal (15) Wrist Shot, assists: Auston Matthews (8), Matthew Knies (5)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
15 Blocked Shots 12
22 Hits 20
4 Takeaways 2
29 Shots 41
0 Power Play Goals 1
1 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
34 Faceoffs Won 36
48.6 Faceoff Win Percent 51.4
11 Giveaways 9
3 Total Penalties 1
6 Penalty Minutes 2

Game Information

Amalie Arena

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 26 13 54 2
Florida 24 15 50 2
Boston 20 17 45 5
Tampa Bay 20 15 42 2
Montreal 19 18 41 3
Ottawa 19 17 40 2
Detroit 17 18 38 4
Buffalo 15 21 35 5
Full Standings