The Leafs had one of their most clutch performances of the last decade on Monday night. They found themselves down 4-1 with just over ten minutes remaining and somehow managed to tie it up. Alex Kerfoot scored the game winner in overtime to give Toronto a 3-1 series lead.
Ilya Samsonov stood tall early on. After Brandon Hagel drew a penalty shot shorthanded, Samsonov calmly denied the Lightning winger…
Samsonov denies Hagel on the penalty shot 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/j0WoXGb4KP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2023
A couple minutes later Alex Killorn got off the schneid. The two time cup champ hadn’t scored in 29 consecutive playoff games before this tally. He finished a beautiful touch pass from Nikita Kucherov to put the Bolts up 1-0…
Killorn converts on the power play to open the scoring! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/06ankloUW0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2023
Late in the first Mikhail Sergachev double Tampa Bay’s lead. Kucherov with another primary assist moving the puck across the seam…
Sergachev rips one past Samsonov to put Tampa up two! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/LVvFABBWws
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2023
Noel Acciari got things going for the Leafs in the second period. Ryan O’Reilly stripped Kucherov to keep the play alive. He found Justin Holl at the point and the Toronto defender threw the puck on net. Acciari tipped it past Andrei Vasilevskiy to bring the game within one…
COOKIE GETS US ON THE BOARD! 🍪 pic.twitter.com/HzVoV56zSm
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2023
The Lightning kept pressing for an insurance goal and nearly got it. Anthony Cirelli pushed the puck towards the net but Matthew Knies was there to prevent the goal…
Knies save Matthew 👀 pic.twitter.com/zfVNNpyQZi
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2023
A few minutes later Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the series. Just after his penalty expired Victor Hedman shot the puck off the foot of Stamkos to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead…
Stammer gets his first of the Stanley Cup Playoffs! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/8Y6Hxgx0dd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2023
With 1:11 remaining in the second period Killorn scored his second of the game. Sergachev hit Hagel with a beauty stretch pass and he dropped it off for Killorn who fired a shot off the post and in. 4-1 Lightning…
Have yourself a night, Alex Killorn! 👏 pic.twitter.com/cfAO4kVmUb
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2023
It took almost half the third for the Leafs to get the comeback started. William Nylander made a slick drop pass to Mitch Marner and he found Auston Matthews to cut the lead to two…
Auston gets us one back!! pic.twitter.com/gPbErFNGEI
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2023
A couple minutes later Matthews found the back of the net again. He tipped in a long wrist shot from Nylander for his second goal in less than three minutes. 4-3 Lightning…
TONE TIPS IT HOME!!! pic.twitter.com/2QgeSKlOHu
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2023
Morgan Rielly completed the comeback with 3:56 to play. His point shot found it’s way through a ton of traffic in front and beat Vasilevskiy to force overtime…
Morgan Rielly rips one home and just like that we got a tie game ‼️ pic.twitter.com/whg3dfJHC3
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2023
In the extra frame Kerfoot capped off a wild night for the Leafs. Mark Giordano put the puck to the net on the powerplay and Kerfoot deflected it to score the game winning goal and put a strangle hold on the series. Four unanswered goals by the Leafs to take a commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to Toronto for game 5. 5-4 Leafs final.
SIR ALEXANDER KERFOOT!!! pic.twitter.com/XzD8nVu5Y5
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2023
