Late to arrive for the game, the Leafs were down 3-0 before you could blink and no serious comeback push ever developed. They were smothered by the Tampa offensive-zone forecheck, unable to break the puck out with any consistency, and were slowed down through the neutral zone as well. The Lightning energy and battle levels were better, their systems ground the Leafs into a pulp, and now the pressure falls back on the Maple Leafs as the series returns to Toronto.
Turning Points
It feels like a violation of the rules to call “the first 10 minutes” a turning point because nothing really turned.