The Toronto Maple Leafs played arguably their best hockey game of the season against a good team that they&#8217;ve proven they can show up against. After falling in a close game against the New York Rangers at home on Saturday night, the Leafs gave their fans something to cheer about with a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
They did what they couldn&#8217;t do against Igor Shesterkin the other night — they chased Andrei Vasilevskiy from the net after he allowed four goals on 14 shots and added one more for good measure after Jonas Johansson came into the game late. William Nylander scored twice, with the others coming from Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Matthew Knies. And, once again, Anthony Stolarz stood tall and gave the Leafs everything they needed to comfortably do their jobs and take the win. He stopped 32 of 34 shots to give him his third win of the season, and yet another game with two or fewer goals allowed.
If you recall, the Maple Leafs played Tampa Bay twice in the first six weeks of last season, and in both games, they had to pull Ilya Samsonov after he blew up early in the game. In the first one, he was yanked after allowing three goals on four shots, and in the second he was pulled after allowing four on 12 shots. The Leafs went on to win both games, fortunately, but tonight&#8217;s game certainly gives you a look at what they could have done with competent goaltending last season.
This was one of those games that had a little bit of everything. Scrums started happening later in the game, centered around Max Domi accumulating nine PIMs (penalties in minutes) after a one-sided fight with Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake Guentzel also had a bit of drama brewing between his high-stick on Ekman-Larsson and a hard reverse hit from OEL on Guentzel later, and to cap it all off with a cherry on top, Simon Benoit responded to Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak&#8217;s late-game aggressions with a smug point up at the scoreboard.
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Benoit points at the jumbotron 
the game is over lol <a href="https://t.co/YqOfS1r0m9">pic.twitter.com/YqOfS1r0m9</a>
&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1848549786842177949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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And, for a bonus cherry on top, the fans <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-fans-chant-stamkos-lightning-power-play">got into it too</a>, chanting &#8216;Where is Stamkos?&#8217; after the Lightning failed to score on their first four power plays.
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“Where is Stamkos?” Chants emerge! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/leafsforever?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#leafsforever</a> <a href="https://t.co/i5oSKsGXpE">pic.twitter.com/i5oSKsGXpE</a>
&mdash; Steph the Fanalyst 🏒🍁 (@FanalystSteph) <a href="https://twitter.com/FanalystSteph/status/1848541258534248902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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It might just be an early season high under a new head coach, but the Leafs have started their year playing a very enjoyable, commendable brand of hockey. They play hard, they keep things simple, they don&#8217;t take their foot off the gas, and it&#8217;s shown even in their losses. With a tilt upcoming against Columbus on Tuesday to close out the back-to-back, the Leafs will look to keep the ball rolling and sweep it.

The Toronto Maple Leafs played arguably their best hockey game of the season against a good team that they've proven they can show up against. After falling in a close game against the New York Rangers at home on Saturday night, the Leafs gave their fans something to cheer about with a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

They did what they couldn't do against Igor Shesterkin the other night — they chased Andrei Vasilevskiy from the net after he allowed four goals on 14 shots and added one more for good measure after Jonas Johansson came into the game late. William Nylander scored twice, with the others coming from Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Matthew Knies. And, once again, Anthony Stolarz stood tall and gave the Leafs everything they needed to comfortably do their jobs and take the win. He stopped 32 of 34 shots to give him his third win of the season, and yet another game with two or fewer goals allowed.

If you recall, the Maple Leafs played Tampa Bay twice in the first six weeks of last season, and in both games, they had to pull Ilya Samsonov after he blew up early in the game. In the first one, he was yanked after allowing three goals on four shots, and in the second he was pulled after allowing four on 12 shots. The Leafs went on to win both games, fortunately, but tonight's game certainly gives you a look at what they could have done with competent goaltending last season.

This was one of those games that had a little bit of everything. Scrums started happening later in the game, centered around Max Domi accumulating nine PIMs (penalties in minutes) after a one-sided fight with Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake Guentzel also had a bit of drama brewing between his high-stick on Ekman-Larsson and a hard reverse hit from OEL on Guentzel later, and to cap it all off with a cherry on top, Simon Benoit responded to Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak's late-game aggressions with a smug point up at the scoreboard.

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1848549786842177949

And, for a bonus cherry on top, the fans <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-fans-chant-stamkos-lightning-power-play">got into it too</a>, chanting 'Where is Stamkos?' after the Lightning failed to score on their first four power plays.

https://twitter.com/FanalystSteph/status/1848541258534248902

It might just be an early season high under a new head coach, but the Leafs have started their year playing a very enjoyable, commendable brand of hockey. They play hard, they keep things simple, they don't take their foot off the gas, and it's shown even in their losses. With a tilt upcoming against Columbus on Tuesday to close out the back-to-back, the Leafs will look to keep the ball rolling and sweep it.

Knee Jerk Reaction: Maple Leafs chase Vasilevskiy, beat Lightning in first meeting

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