What Went Right For the Toronto Maple Leafs In Game 3

Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs took down the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 3 of their first-round series.

It was one of, if not the most entertaining Toronto Maple Leafs playoff games in the last decade.

There were plenty of goals, chances, hits, and fights, including Auston Matthews getting into his first NHL fight. Ryan O’Reilly then tied the game 3-3 late in the third, and Morgan Reilly beat a screened Andrei Vailevski to win it for the Leafs in overtime. (game stats: espn.com)

Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs coming out on top, Tampa Bay outplayed Toronto at many points during the game. The Lightning outshot the Leafs 39-27, as well as having more scoring chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals. (stats: naturalstattrick)

Even though the Leafs may not have deserved to win this one on paper, and even got lucky at points during the game, they still came out on top. Here’s how they did it.

What Went Right For the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3

The Leafs got critical contributions throughout the lineup, but one guy everyone is talking about is goaltender Ilya Samsonov, and rightfully so.

Samsonov played his heart out. You could tell by watching the game how badly he wanted to win, and he earned it. Despite giving up a few juicy rebounds earlier in the game, he stuck with it, stopping 36/39 shots and outplaying one of this generation’s top goalies and future Hall of Famer, Andrei Vasilevski.

More standout performances came from the Leafs trade deadline acquisitions. Noel Acciari got the Leafs on the board early, and defensemen Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn were steady on the back end.

However, no one had a bigger impact than Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly was viewed by many as the Leafs’ best deadline pickup in years, and so far he’s delivered. He scored the tying goal in last night’s game as well as assisting on Morgan Reilly’s overtime winner, finishing the game with 3 points. O’Reilly now has 18 points in 18 games with the Leafs. Not bad at all.

Most importantly, the Leafs stayed resilient and they did not give up. Even being down in the third and being outplayed most of the game, the Leafs kept playing hard. This resiliency has been lacking in past Leafs teams, especially in the playoffs. But this team is different, and they found a way to win an important game at the most important time of the year.

Of course, the Leafs also had some luck involved. Morgan Reilly’s collision with Brayden Point could have easily been a penalty, and a quick whistle went off a split second before Point tapped in a loose puck, preventing the Lightning from going up 4-2.

Regardless, the Leafs got a huge win. And as someone who’s been watching the Leafs for the majority of my lifetime, this is the most confident I’ve been in any Leafs team to finally make a deep playoff run.

The Leafs will play the Lightning in game 4 on Monday with a chance to take a 3-1 series lead.