Leafs beat Lightning 5-2 in Game 3, take 2-1 series lead

Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Ilya Mikheyev (65) is congratulated as he scores a goal during the third period of Game 3 against the Lightning. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Maple Leafs defeat Lightning, 5-2, in Game 3, take 2-1 series advantage

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated May 7, 2022 12:05 AM ET

On Friday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.

The victory gives the Maple Leafs a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

LEAFS WIN!!!@SalesforceCA | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/p08W05zZwO
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 7, 2022

Toronto had a 3-0 advantage in the second period but had to withstand a late comeback attempt from Tampa Bay to earn the Game 3 victory.

Thanks to goals from Morgan Rielly and Colin Blackwell, the Maple Leafs took a 2-0 advantage after one period. Toronoto forward David Kampf scored to make it 3-0 early in the second period, but Ross Colton's goal midway through the period gave the Lightning hope, trailing 3-1 heading into the third period.

Just over five minutes into the third period, Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat scored to cut the deficit to 3-2. It would remain a one-goal game through much of the third period before Ilya Mikheyev scored twice with under two minutes left, helping lift Toronto to the Game 3 victory.

Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell was superb in net, turning away 32 of 34 shots.

Toronto will look to take a 3-1 series advantage over Tampa Bay in Game 4 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

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