Tampa Bay's pursuit of a third consecutive Stanley Cup continues after the Lightning topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night.
Third-line center Nick Paul, an in-season acquisition from the Ottawa Senators, scored twice for Tampa Bay in the win. Morgan Rielly had the lone marker for Toronto.
Tampa Bay now moves on to face the Presidents' Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the second round, a rematch of a heated first-round series last year.
Toronto had two chances to send Tampa Bay packing after leading the series 3-2 following Game 5.