Surrounded by a silent Toronto crowd, the Lightning players celebrated their upset victory.
Courtesy of @TBLightning on Twitter
By Max Steele
The Tampa Bay Lightning punched its ticket into the next round of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with an upset over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite not leading the series through the first six games, the back-to-back defending champions completed its comeback with a 2-1 Game 7 victory on Saturday night in Toronto.
Lightning center Brayden Point, who scored the overtime game-winner in Game 6, went down in the first period with a knee injury after losing his footing and buckling against the boards.
Instead of lowering their heads, Tampa Bay’s players rallied behind the loss of Point and kept the pressure on the Leafs. Newly-acquired forward Nick Paul scored his first-ever postseason goal to put the Bolts ahead late in the first period.
Toronto evened the score in the second period with a goal from Morgan Rielly, but Paul responded quickly with another goal to cap off his historic night and put Tampa Bay back on top.
Point attempted to reenter the game in the second period, but was forced out after one rotation due to the pain. He does not have a diagnosis or status update yet.
The Lightning locked down the Leafs in a scoreless third period, securing yet another playoff series victory and continuing its dominant playoff run. Tampa Bay has not in the postseason since 2019.
“There was no doubt in our game,” Paul told the Tampa Bay Times. “We stuck together as a team, and everyone brought their A game: blocking shots, being detailed, being hard on pucks, winning their battles.”
The Lightning won’t travel far for Round 2, as the team will face off against its state rival, the Florida Panthers, for the second postseason in a row. The two Sunshine State teams met four times during the regular season, splitting the series at two wins apiece.
“Florida is a hell of a team,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve had some amazing battles with them. People, especially in Florida, have been begging for the two teams to be contenders and go at it.”
The Panthers — who finished the season with the best record in the league — will have home-ice advantage throughout the series. Game 1 is set for Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
