Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 2
James van Riemsdyk scored a pair of goals in the second period as Toronto pulled away from visiting Tampa Bay to snap a three-game losing streak.
Former Lightning forward Richard Panik and David Clarkson also tallied, defenseman Roman Polak added an empty-netter to go along with an assist and Jonathan Bernier made 26 saves for the Maple Leafs. Tyler Bozak set up two goals and defenseman Cody Franson notched an assist to extend his career-high point streak to nine for Toronto.
Alex Killorn recorded his third goal in as many games and captain Steven Stamkos scored his 13th of the season for Lightning, who have dropped two straight. Ben Bishop turned aside 16 shots and gave up more than three goals in a game for the first time this season.
Clarkson beat Bishop from the slot after a pass from Daniel Winnik 1:29 into the game and Killorn tied it with 70 seconds left in the first period while short-handed with a wrist shot from the right circle. Panik knocked down an aerial pass from defenseman Matt Carle with his hand in front of the net and deked Bishop for a 2-1 lead 2:45 into the second session.
The Maple Leafs extended their lead as van Riemsdyk scored from the left circle on the rush at 12:31 and flipped in a rebound on the power play with 4:45 left in the second for a 4-1 lead. Toronto, which gave up 15 goals in its previous two contests, killed off a pair of power plays in the third period before Stamkos scored on a rebound with 4:13 to go after Bishop was pulled for an extra skater.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf recorded an assist on van Riemsdyk’s second goal while playing in his 700th NHL game. … Lightning RW Brett Connolly returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury and logged 13:13 of ice time. … Bozak went 22-8 in the faceoff circle.