Tag: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Second, close-up, video emerges of Kyle Dubas ‘yelling’ at fans.

Earlier today we brought you a report of a video that purports to show Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas ‘yelling’ at fans at Amalie Arena, and now a second video angle appears to corroborate those initial claims.

This second video was published on Tik Tok by user ‘buffyclements1972’ and it provides us with a much closer look at the action that we saw take place in the original video. In this video not only do we get a close up of Dubas himself, one that appears to show considerably more anger from Dubas, but it might even catch the Leafs GM launching a few expletives at the crowd.

We can clearly hear a few f-bombs go off during the clip, with Dubas appearing to mouth the words as well, and on top of that the user who published the video claims the following:

“[Kyle] Dubas with [the Maple Leafs] yelling at [Tampa Bay Lightning] fans at game 3 tonight. I’ve never seen a GM yell F*** off and f*** you at fans before. Great sportsmanship yall should be proud.”

Here’s a look at the second video angle:

@buffyclements1972 Keith Dubas with @mapleleafs yelling at @tblightning fans at game 3 tonight. Ive never seen a GM yell Fuck off and fuck you at fans before. Great sportsmanship yall should be proud #nhl #nhlplayoffs #tampabaylightning #torontomapleleafs #game3 #amaliaarena #hockey #nhlplayoffs2023 ♬ original sound – Buffy Clements

It was a very intense Game 3 on Saturday night and it seems emotions were running high all over Amalie Arena.

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Sheldon Keefe praises Matthew Knies for postseason debut

Yahoo Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs capped back in a huge way against the Tampa Bay Lightning, reversing the tables in nearly identical fashion of what had happened to them in the first game of the series with a dominating 7-2 performance, knotting things up at 1-1 before the two teams shift for Games 3 and 4 in Tampa Bay at Amalie Arena. 

The Leafs were led by captain John Tavares, who netted his first career postseason hat trick. Mitch Marner and William Nylander also tallied, while defenseman Morgan Rielly added four assists. Last night also marked the postseason debut of forward Matthew Knies, who is in the lineup following the three game suspension to Michael Bunting. 

Playing on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, head coach Sheldon Keefe had nothing but good things to say about Knies and his first postseason experience despite a 1st period penalty. 

“I thought the line was terrific. We will watch it all back and everything, but it felt to me like they were in the offensive zone — or at least out of trouble — a lot. Matt, in particular, took a penalty in the first period, but I thought he skated well. He was hard on the puck. He made a couple of great offensive plays. It was a real good performance from him. O’Reilly and Acciari were real pros tonight just with how they took care of him and took care of the game when they were out there.”

Knies would finish the night with two shots on net while also tying the team lead in hits in the game with five of his own. And needless to say, he was excited about it.

“It was unreal,” he said of playing in the playoffs. 

Tampa Bay and Toronto will play Game 3 from Amalie Arena tomorrow starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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Jon Cooper hints at a giant lineup change for Game 3.

Jamie Sabau/NHLI/Getty

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs have played the first two games of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series and the outcomes of both games couldn’t have been more different.

In the first game the Maple Leafs looked lost as they were thoroughly dominated by the Lightning on the Leafs’ home ice, but the situation was completely reversed in Game 2 when the Leafs had arguably an even more dominant performance than that of the Lightning in Game 1.

Given how poorly his team faired in their second outing it should come as no surprise that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will be looking to make adjustments ahead of Game 3 on Saturday night, but Cooper hinted at a potentially gigantic change to his lineup on Saturday.

Cooper indicated that we could see the return of massive Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman on the blue line tonight, although he did not confirm that officially instead listing Hedman as a gametime decision. More specifically, Cooper indicated that Hedman would take warmups with the Lightning tonight, something he did not do before Game 2, and that they would make their decision on his status at that point.

Additionally, Hedman was spotted on the ice with his teammates on Saturday and even participated in the drills, which to me is only more evidence of the fact that Hedman will likely make his return this evening.

The Maple Leafs manhandled the Lightning in Game 2 with the Lightning’s blue line severely depleted, and the Lightning will no doubt be hoping that they can temper the Leafs offensive onslaught with the return of Hedman on defense.

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VIDEO: John Tavares scores 1st career playoff hatty!

Sportsnet

The Toronto Maple Leafs needed to rebound in a huge way after Tuesday night’s embarrassing 7-3 setback at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their first round Stanley Cup Playoffs series. And they did so in spades tonight at Scotiabank Arena, led by captain John Tavares.

The Toronto native scored his first career playoff hat trick en route to a 7-2 victory, a near complete opposite result of what transpired on Tuesday night. Thanks to his efforts, the series is tied at 1-1 apiece as the two teams will shift for Games 3 and 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida. 

The hat trick from Tavares was the first by a Leafs player since Alexander Mogilny accomplished the feat in 2003. 

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Pat Maroon has words for Ryan O’Reilly

St. Louis Call Newspapers

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to renew their postseason rivalry with their second straight first round matchup that officially begins tonight. And among the former teammates that will be facing one another include Lightning forward Pat Maroon and Leafs forward Ryan O’Reilly, both of whom were key figures on the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. 

Maroon would score the game winning goal in double overtime of Game 7 against the Dallas Stars for St. Louis, while O’Reilly would go on to earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. They’re both good friends, but that’s gonna have to be put to the side for the next few weeks.

But that doesn’t mean that Maroon will feel any differently about O’Reilly regardless of how the series turns out.

“It’s going to be weird,” said Maroon. “I just wish the best for him no matter what. We won together. He’s honestly my best friend. I’m just so happy for him. He gets an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup again … I’m not happy the Leafs got him, but happy he gets an opportunity to play in his hometown.” 

Meanwhile, it’s former Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn who is now back on the Leafs, and he’s not talking to any of his former Lightning teammates – at least not for now.

“I’m not talking to them now,” he confirmed. “Phone has been shut off that way.”

The series gets underway from downtown Toronto later tonight.

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Ilya Samsonov admits the truth after brutal Game 1 performance

TSN

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov had himself a particularly brutal night in net during last night’s opening game of his team’s Eastern Conference Run 1 postseason series opener against the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

After allowing six goals through the first 40 minutes of play, Samsonov was yanked from action in favor of Joseph Woll; he would watch the rest of the game from the bench. And he knows that he must be better in Game 2 Thursday night if the Leafs are to have a chance to finally break their lengthy postseason drought.

“I will be better. I played like s**t today,” Samsonov said, per TSN’s Chris Johnston.

The good news is that Samsonov had himself a strong regular season in his first year with the Leafs, posting a record of 27-10-5 with a 2.33 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. The bad news is that the setback dropped his postseason record to a less than spectacular 1-7, with an inflated 3.45 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. 

Game 2 between the Maple Leafs and Lightning is tomorrow night from Scotiabank Arena.

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Jon Cooper has surprising take on Maple Leafs

NHL.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to renew their postseason rivalry with their second straight first round matchup that officially begins tonight. 

Last season, it was the Lightning overcoming a 3-2 series deficit thanks to Brayden Point’s overtime winner in Game 6 followed by Nick Paul playing the role of hero in Game 7, sending Toronto home for an early summer yet again. It goes without saying that this year is huge for Toronto, who are facing a summer of radical changes if they fail to win a postseason series yet again. 

Thank to their superior regular season record, the Leafs once again clinched home ice advantage for their series against the Lightning. And head coach Jon Cooper had nothing but good things to say about them, acknowledging their defensive improvements. 

“The Leafs, to me, keep making positive strides every year. They’re a dynamic offensive team with dynamic players. But they’ve really grown into like a bit of a defensive juggernaut as well,” Cooper told reports in Tampa. “That’s the recipe you need to win in this league.”

The Maple Leafs made several key additions to their team this year, including 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues, swapping Rasmus Sandin for Erik Gustafsson, and bringing back former 1st round draft pick Luke Schenn – all moves that they hope will finally put them over the top. 

“It’s a shame one of these teams has to be out, but it seems like every year you have one of these marquee matchups that hopefully you’d see down the line,” Cooper added. “With only eight teams in each conference making the playoffs, a lot of these matchups happen in the first-round matchups. But they’re good for hockey and a lot of fun.”

Tonight’s Game 1 begins at 7:30 PM EST from Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. 

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Lightning get a big weapon back hours before Game 1.

The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to have received some very good news on Monday morning, good news that comes just hours before Game 1 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A video published by Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times clearly shows recently injured forward Tanner Jeannot taking practice with his Lightning teammates for the first time since he was injured.

Jeannot was injured roughly two weeks ago when he got tangled up with the New York Islanders’ Scott Mayfield, resulting in the weight of both men coming down awkwardly on Jeannot’s leg.

Jeannot taking the ice this morning is no guarantee that he has been medically cleared to play in Game 1, but it certainly has to be viewed as an extremely positive sign for a Lightning team headed into a tough playoff series. 

Update: Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has officially confirmed that Jeannot will not play in Game 1, but is now being listed as “day to day.”

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Toronto and Tampa Bay Round 1 opening dates released

FTW USA Today

For hockey fans, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year, and it starts early next week.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially here, and all eyes are going to be on the several key matchups that the opening round has to offer. Perhaps none of them are carrying as much cache as upcoming series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning. 

As everyone knows by know, the Maple Leafs have yet to advance past the first round of the postseason since their 2004 opening round series victory over their Ontario rival Ottawa Senators, having suffered several humiliating and heartbreaking series losses against the likes of the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and last year against the Lightning. 

Meanwhile, the Lightning will be attempting to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the fourth straight year, which would make them the first team since the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980’s to accomplish the feat. They’ll have to get past Toronto, who earned home ice advantage thanks to a strong regular season campaign, and who also made several key additions along the way. 

And as announced earlier this morning, the Leafs and Lightning will officially get underway starting this Tuesday with Game 1, followed by Game 2 on Thursday. 

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Maple Leafs playoff ticket prices are insanely high

Puck Prose

The Toronto Maple Leafs have already punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 7th consecutive year, and they’ll be looking to finally break through to the 2nd round for the first time since 2004. They’ll once again be taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who knocked them out last season in a grueling seven game series. 

And thanks to their better record than Tampa’s this season, Toronto has secured home ice advantage throughout the opening round. But for fans in Toronto who are hoping to see their team on the ice from inside Scotiabank Arena, you’d better be prepared to pay up big time.

How about between five and six thousand dollars? 


Of course, fans can pack themselves into Maple Leafs Square outside of the venue for the live viewing party. And it sounds as though that will have to be the option for most people who are watching.