The stage was set for an Atlantic battle tonight. Following yesterday’s overtime win in Nashville, the Bolts improved their record to 12-8-2 for a total of 26 points. Tonight’s opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs, came into the game just two points ahead of the Bolts in the Atlantic division standings. A win for the Lightning tonight would give the two teams identical records a quarter of the way through the season.
Setting the Stage for the Atlantic Battle
These two teams previously met on October 21st in Toronto. In that game, Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled midway through the game after allowing four goals on 14 shots. In injury news, the Bolts are without one of their big stars as Nikita Kucherov is listed as day to day. Meanwhile, the Leafs are getting their superstar goal scorer back. Auston Matthews returns to their lineup after missing the last nine games due to injury.
The Bolts started out strong in the game. In fact, it was over seven minutes into the game before the Leafs got their first shot on goal. Unfortunately, that shot from Matthew Knies sailed past Vasilevskiy to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Atlantic Battle Continues to Swing Toronto’s Way in Second
The first eight minutes or so of the second period were fairly uneventful. Both teams were mostly just dumping the puck in and out of their zones. And then, in the span of 33 seconds, the Leafs broke the game open. The Bolts failed on numerous attempts to clear the puck out of their zone. Eventually, Chris Tanev made them pay as he notched his first of the season.
As that goal was being announced, the Leafs were at it again. Nick Robertson fired his second of the season past Vasilevskiy and just like that, the Leafs were up 3-0.
They would add one more before the end of the period. John Tavares tallied his tenth of the season and the Leafs headed to the locker room with their heads held high leading 4-0.
Lightning Run Up Against Brick Woll in Atlantic Battle
The Leafs did not have to do much in the third period- just hold on to a four-goal lead. Going into the final period, Toronto goaltending had stopped 96.5 percent of Lightning shots this season. Anthony Stolarz was the star of the October game stopping 32 of 34 shots. Tonight, Joseph Woll stopped the first 30 he faced.
The Bolts finally managed to break Woll’s shutout at the 11:21 mark of the third period. Mikey Eyssimont (who had previously missed on a breakaway) slapped the puck past Joseph Woll to get the Lightning on the scoreboard.
We scored. pic.twitter.com/VkBuFOUbNp
— Lightning on FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Lightning) December 1, 2024
Victor Hedman Reaches Milestone in Atlantic Battle
The Lightning continued to fight this one out as the third period wound down. They pulled Vasilevskiy in favor of the extra attacker and Jake Guentzel found an opening for his tenth goal of the season. Brandon Hagel and Victor Hedman assisted on the goal. For Hedman, it was his 17th assist of the season and 589th as a member of the Lightning. He now has sole possession of the record of most assists in franchise history.
Jake finds a skate, which finds the net pic.twitter.com/3nDmuKO3q1
— Lightning on FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Lightning) December 1, 2024
The Bolts made this Atlantic battle interesting as they pulled to within a goal when the Leafs drew a penalty and the Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for a two-man advantage. Cam Atkinson quickly scored to pull the Lightning within one.
Oh? pic.twitter.com/uEMSXoqNrI
— Lightning on FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Lightning) December 1, 2024
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But that was as close as they would get. The Leafs got one more as William Nylander fired the puck into the empty Lightning net with 1:16 remaining.
The Lightning miss an opportunity to tie the Leafs for second place in the division as they lose this one by a 5-3 final and now trail the Leafs by 4 points in the battle for Atlantic division supremacy.
Three Stars
1- Chris Tanev- 1 goal, 1 assist- 2 points
2- Victor Hedman- 2 assists- new franchise record for assists
3- Joseph Woll- stopped 39 of 42 shots for a 92.86 save percentage.
Up Next
The Bolts will have a few days to rest as they do not play again until Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks come to town. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm.
