What a way to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Toronto Maple Leafs came out with a statement game for their opening act against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was borderline violent at times and full of absolute speed and skill at others, as many stories played out throughout the entertaining 60 minutes of hockey. Let’s dive into my three takeaways from what Leafs Nation is hoping is just the first of 16 wins en route to a Stanley Cup:
Special Teams Played a Major Role for Maple Leafs
This first-round series could come down to special teams and let’s just say in Game 1, that was the deciding factor. Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford crossed the line with a check-from-behind early and was kicked out of the game and instead of folding like a cheap suit, Toronto used the five minutes of shorthanded play to build momentum for the rest of the game. Crazy to think receiving a major penalty set the tone of the hockey game but it did, as it gave a chance for the fans to get extremely rowdy and into the hockey game and there was no looking back from there.
Sheldon Keefe on the fans: “I thought the crowd was the first star of the game. They carried us through that penalty kill.”
“Could feel the love for this team.”
#LeafsForever #StanleyCup
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe loved what he heard from the fans all night and pointed out how they carried his hockey club through the long penalty kill. I can say, it was probably the loudest I’ve personally ever heard Scotiabank Arena and it’s a great site to see as Leafs Nation usually get a bad wrap for being suited up and quiet during games, but that certainly was not the case in Game 1.
Back to special teams, not only did the Maple Leafs kill Clifford’s stupid mistake early on in the game, Auston Matthews scored on a laser of a one-timer with the man advantage which was followed shortly after by a shorthanded snipe from David Kampf in what was a three-goal second period. Toronto’s penalty kill has been…
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