Won tampa bay lightning tickets12/20/2023 It certainly wasn't because they're not worthy of it. We've had some failures in the past and you just move on and you just gotta get over that that hump. "It's a great hockey team," Stamkos said. The Maple Leafs made Tampa Bay work until the final buzzer for the victory, and Toronto's efforts throughout the hard-fought series didn't go unacknowledged. We knew we were coming out to win that game. Everyone brought A-game, everyone was ready, everyone was confident. It's the plays that happened around it though. Tonight, they just happened to be going in. "I've been playing my heart out," Paul said. He was a flawless fit there too, finishing with four points in the seven games. This series was Paul's first playoff experience. Tampa Bay traded with the Ottawa Senators for the forward on March 20, and he tallied five goals and 14 points in 21 regular-season games. The fit between Paul and the Lightning had been seamless from the start. But listen, we want to win with this group and these guys. It's going to be as hard as ever as we saw with this series. I mean, we know what we've accomplished the last couple of years, but it really is a new year. Let's give these guys a chance for a Cup. "There's some players like Paulie that weren't here the past couple years," Stamkos said. They look forward now to seeing where some new faces can take them, including a certain trade-deadline acquisition coming off the biggest game of his career in Paul. But they have two titles already with the core of their group. It's not lost on the Lightning how special such an accomplishment would be. And now, the three-peat is still in sight, something that hasn't been done since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1979 to '83. They responded to that by orchestrating back-to-back Stanley Cup runs. Tampa Bay hasn't lost a first-round series since 2019, when the Lightning won the regular season's Presidents' Trophy only to be swept from the playoffs in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs failed on both counts, and the Game 7 defeat marked a fifth consecutive first-round playoff series loss for Toronto, which is now 0-5 in its last five games with an opportunity to close a team out. Toronto originally had two chances to send Tampa Bay packing after leading the series 3-2 following Game 5. We're a close-knit group, we've been through a lot together and that's a great feeling." "Doesn't matter how many shifts you get or if you're not playing at all. "Everything about our group is that everyone wants to be in the fight," Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman said. But safe to say, Point made his, well, point by sticking with the Lightning. Lightning coach Jon Cooper had no update on Point after the game. There he would remain for the duration, refusing to leave as his team waged on without him. Point did come back to start the second period, took one shift, and then retreated to the bench in pain. It's certainly a contagious feeling and attitude. We fell back on the standard that is set for this group, and let's just do whatever it takes. You've just got to give our group credit. "I can't even say how big of a loss that is for our group, in Game 7. "It could have been a night where you just said, 'Oh, Pointer is done it's going to be one of those nights,'" Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. That set a tone for Tampa Bay as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions topped the Maple Leafs 2-1 and advanced to face the Florida Panthers in the second round. Tampa Bay rose.īefore the end of that first period, third-line center Nick Paul scored his first of two goals on the night. Tampa Bay was suddenly in back-against-the-wall mode, and without one of its best players in the series, who had just scored the overtime winner to stave off elimination in Game 6.Īnother team might have wilted. Point couldn't put any weight on the leg and had to be helped off to the dressing room. The Lightning were scoreless in the first period of Game 7 against Toronto on Saturday trying to close out their first-round playoff series when forward Brayden Point went hard into the boards in the Maple Leafs' zone and his right leg buckled under. Tampa Bay could have let the chance at a third straight Stanley Cup slip away. NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs Unheralded Nick Paul steals show in Game 7 as Tampa Bay Lightning eliminate Toronto Maple Leafs You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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