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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning don’t like each other. It’s the kind of animosity borne out of frequent divisional and playoff battles over the years, and it was in full display on Monday, as the Leafs chased Vezina Trophy winner Andrei “Snowman” Vasilevskiy in a 5-2 victory at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
William Nylander scored twice, Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Matthew Knies scored for Toronto, and Anthony Stolarz was sensational in a 32-save effort for his third win of the season. The Leafs followed up a spotty first period in which Nylander scored to open the scoring and nemesis Nick Paul tied the game with a four-goal middle frame.
Vasilevskiy was not sharp in the contest, allowing four goals on 14 shots and was pulled by Tampa coach Jon Cooper. The Leafs were the more physical of the two squads, with players like Pacioretty and Oliver Ekman-Larsson uncharacteristically throwing their weight around, but got into penalty trouble in the second.
A potential turning point was averted midway through the game, as Stolarz made a number of key saves during a Tampa two-man advantage. The Leafs killed off the Lightning power-play and minutes later Knies scored on a breakaway to extend the lead to 5-1.
With the win, the Leafs move into second place in the Atlantic with eight points. The club plays in the second of back-to-back games in Columbus on Tuesday, and it is yet clear whether the contest at Nationwide Arena will be the season debut of Joseph Woll or Dennis Hildeby’s second NHL start.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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