In a game that meant nothing in standings and only represented a playoff primer, the Toronto Maple Leafs matched the Tampa Bay Lightning’s physical presence and took the game seriously.
TAMPA — You couldn’t blame the Toronto Maple Leafs if they looked past this one.
In their penultimate game of the regular season, the club's chaotic day that began with not knowing who their starting goaltender would be due to a 72-hour saga of cap gymnastics settled down nicely into a hard-fought and physical 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
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"It really is somewhat a meaningless game for the group, but the guys didn't give a meaningless type of effort and that's what I love to see," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. "They're just out there playing for each other."
The Maple Leafs rested star forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. They also gave defenseman Mark Giordano a break due to loads management. Due to some other injuries, the Leafs dressed 17 skaters and had defenseman Conor Timmins plays forward. Their starter, Joseph Woll, made 46 saves despite only finding out at 1 p.m. ET that he'd be permitted to play after an attempt to activate him under a salary-cap exemption failed on Monday before the club's game against the Florida Panthers.
Despite the chaos. Despite the fear of potential injury, the Leafs fought.
Luke Schenn, who found out 15 minutes before game time on Monday that he'd be needed to dress in a game after Erik Gustafsson sustained an upper-body injury in the warmup, fought.
In the first period, his former Lightning teammate and friend Pat Maroon, dropped the gloves with the Leafs defenseman.
"I talked to him this morning, when you win together in any sport you’ll be friends for life," Schenn said of Maroon. "But in saying that, it’s competitive out there, no problem flipping the switch and they’re doing the same"
Schenn also scored his first goal as a Leafs in his second go-around with the club, coming one assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Michael Bunting was involved in his first NHL fight with perennial Leafs playoff disappointer Corey Perry.
Tampa's game plan was to force their physicality on the Leafs and Toronto didn't back down.
Nylander scored a goal and two assists providing much of the offense needed from the Maple Leafs to edge out Tampa. With Toronto holding onto a 4-3 lead in the dying seconds, Jake McCabe came in with a game-saving blocked shot at the end of what was over three consecutive minutes on the ice to help preserve the win.
"The guy just gives everything he has all the time," Keefe said of the defenseman.
The plan was for McCabe to rest for load management but he went in after the injury to Gustafsson.
Maple Leafs rookie Matthew Knies showed promise in and elevated role. Playing in his second NHL game on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Nylander, the forward picked up his first point in the league, an assist that he thought might be a goal. The puck sat on the line before Ryan O'Reilly tapped it over the goal line.
Calle Jarnkrok also had a goal for Toronto, in his return after missing the last couple of games with an undisclosed injury. The Swedish forward hit 20 goals in a season for the first time in his NHL career.
Both teams will meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next week with Game 1 beginning in Toronto. As both teams tuned up before the games take on more meaning, the Leafs demonstrated an ability to hang with the physical game that has been Tampa's calling card.
It was a meaningless game in terms of significance, but at times when the Leafs have been questioned for their effort against lesser teams and the significance of those contests, Toronto rose to the occasion.
"The character of our group is really strong and the togetherness of the group in terms of just rallying around whatever the situation is and giving us all they have," Keefe said.
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