What Toronto Maple Leafs Team Are We Getting in Game 3?

The Toronto Maple Leafs were a different team during Game 2, so what type of performance will we get in Game 3?

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are all tied 1-1 in their Best-of-Seven series, but man, were those two games polar opposites.

After losing 7-3, while getting booed off the ice, the Leafs bounced back with a 7-2 win in Game 2. So, if this were an aggregate series, Toronto is actually winning 10-9 now after two games, funny enough.

This was the exact performance they needed and it should give the entire fanbase and the organization confidence that they can win this series.

After Game 1, it felt like the world was ending. The team was flat from the opening puck-drop and couldn’t have had more of an embarrassing start to the series. However, after Game 2, there’s no reason to believe they can’t win three of the next five games.

As we look forward to Game 3, there should be a ton of positives to look forward to.

Ilya Samsonov bounced back with a huge performance, the core-four all showed up and the team showed toughness that they were missing in Game 1. Not only did Luke Schenn and Justin Holl fight, but the line of Sam Lafferty/David Kampf/Zach Aston-Reese was brilliant on the forecheck, hitting everyone in sight and actually generated a goal.

What Toronto Maple Leafs Team Should We Expect in Game 3?

After Tampa Bay played a near-perfect Game 1, Toronto matched that energy and played a flawless Game 2, so what should we expect in Game 3?

I’d expect Game 3 to be nothing like Game 1 or 2. With a combined 19 goals in two games, Game 3 should be a lot more quiet on the scoresheet. Not only will that be the case because Andrei Vasilevskiy is almost unbeatable after a playoff loss, but this type of energy isn’t sustainable for seven games.

Now that both team’s have lost and the coaches have had two games to make adjustments, the game shouldn’t be as open. Instead, we should expect a much low-scoring game and it wouldn’t be shocking if someone wins 2-1 or 3-2 with a strong possibility of overtime.

Although he has four points in two games, the one player who should perform at a high-level on Saturday night is Auston Matthews. He’s only generated five shots in two games, which is unacceptable for his skillset. He hasn’t looked bad, but he hasn’t dominated, which is something many of us expected.

As a result, expect Matthews to have his best game of the series in Game 3. The Leafs power-play already has four goals this series, so if Tampa Bay continues to stay undiscipline, expect Matthews to score on the power-play and be the best player on the ice.

However, even if Matthews has a great game, the biggest thing to watch for on Saturday night is Samsonov. His road-stats were much worse than his home stats this year, so we hope he can play like he did in Game 2, instead of how he did in Game 1.

The Lightning are a very good team, but their best asset is their experience. They should come out flying for their first home playoff game of the 2022-23 season and the Toronto Maple Leafs need to be ready for that.

Over the past six years, Game 3’s have been very friendly to the Leafs, as they’re 5-1 in those six games, with their only loss happening in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although every series is different, after the momentum they gained from Game 2, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them play another good game in Game 3 and it be a competitive low-scoring match-up.