TAMPA — After the Lightning lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff series in Toronto, captain Steven Stamkos sat at his stall and said that this series will be about managing emotions and avoiding the roller coaster that the intensity of the playoffs can create.
But with one hit in the third period of Saturday’s Game 3 at Amalie Arena, the Leafs brought out the ire in the Lightning.
Clinging to a one-goal lead, Lightning center Brayden Point was slammed into the boards by Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly at the 5:04 mark. Point, in obvious pain, stumbled out of the corner trying to get to the Lightning bench but fell to the ice holding his chest.