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The Toronto Maple Leafs had a chance to relegate the Tampa Bay Lightning to the almost certain fate of playing the lower seeded division winner in the Eastern Conference playoffs two weeks from now with a strong effort, but unlike their first two meetings, the Leafs were as lethargic as they were in the third period of their win over Florida, losing 4-1 to the Lightning at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
The win narrowed the gap between Tampa and Toronto to four points and kept the Leafs four points in back of the second place Florida Panthers with less than two weeks to go in the regular season.
Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 63rd goal of the season to tie the game late in the first, but the game was short of positives other than a third period bout between Ryan Reaves and Tanner Jeannot. The Leafs were inconsistent defensively and Tampa seized on their offensive chances, as NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov showed more effort than he did the last time he graced the ice in Toronto, with three assists.
Joseph Woll continued his sporadic play since returning to the lineup after a three-month stint on the injured list, with 21 saves in the loss.
“I think we were in a pretty good spot to win the game, but we made a few more mistakes than they did.” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “(Tampa) played a really good, smart defensive game. They didn’t give us a lot. When we did get to their net, their goalie was outstanding. We didn’t get there enough. We made some mistakes they capitalized on. We left Point open and alone at the net. We gave Stamkos a 2-on-1. Ultimately, that is really the difference in the game.”
Morgan Rielly returned to the lineup after missing four games and resumed his role as the Leafs time-on-ice leader, playing 23:14 and assisting on Matthews goal. It is expected that Toronto will get Mitch Marner back in the lineup on Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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