Leafs actually make history with OT win in Tampa on Saturday
The Leafs' fanbase was finally able to wake up happy following an elimination game for the first time in nearly two decades following John Tavares' OT winner and in case you thought it was all a dream, the Leafs did indeed knock off the Lightning in round 1. No need to pinch yourselves!
The game itself was a tightly contested one, with neither team wanting to make a costly mistake. Auston Matthews' second period tally helped the Buds take a lead into the third, but unfortunately for the Buds, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos' heroics in the third knotted the game at 1 and sent the Buds and Bolts to OT.
Thankfully, Ilya Samsonov was stellar from the opening draw right up until Tavares sent a hard, low forehand at the net, sending it off of Darren Raddysh's skate and trickling over the goal line past Andrei Vasilevskiy. Sammy made 31 saves on the night, allowing just one goal in the contest to finish with a .969 Sv% on the night.
The Leafs were able to do something beyond punching their ticket to the second round on Saturday with the win in Tampa as well. With their OT win, the Leafs have become the first team in NHL history to win 3 road games in OT in a single series - Games 3 and 4 being the other two.
As the boys would say, the job's not done yet. The Leafs will have another tough out in Round 2, facing off against either the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers. We find out later tonight who their Round 2 opponent will be when the Bruins and Panthers play their final and deciding Game 7 at TD Garden in Boston, beginning at 6:30pm ET.
