Maple Leafs destroy Lightning, 5-0
TAMPA, Fla. -- Toronto had 13 different players record a point and routed the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 in an important late-season meeting.
The victory vaults the Maple Leafs into the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference standings, leaping over both Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders with a game in hand on both teams.
Fredrik Andersen stopped 33 shots for his 10th career shutout and fourth of the season.
Morgan Rielly had a goal and an assist, the only Toronto player to record a multi-point game. Matt Martin, Roman Polak, James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown all scored for the Maple Leafs.
Rookie-of-the-year candidate Auston Matthews was held without a point for the seventh consecutive game.
But as well as the Leafs piled on the offense, it was the defensive play that was the difference one game after giving up seven goals in a blowout loss at Florida. The Leafs also killed off five Tampa Bay power-play chances after allowing a power-play goal in three consecutive games.
The Lightning, who came in on a 12-2-3 stretch, were shutout for the second time since Christmas.
Polack provided the first-period lead for Toronto. After Tyler Bozak won the faceoff in the offensive zone back to Polack, he one-timed a shot that glanced off the shoulder of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, popped up in to the air and landed in the net at 9:19.
Toronto erupted in the second period to pull away, scoring three goals in the opening six minutes of the period.
Rielly was all alone at the left point as too many Lightning players were down low, allowing the Leafs defenseman to find a seam through traffic for a shot that dropped down to the ice and slipped under Vasilevskiy's pad at 2:24. Just 10 seconds later, another point shot, this time from Matt Hunwick, hit the post before Martin pounced on the rebound and made it 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
The Leafs, with the top ranked road power play, extended that lead at 6:14 as Brown found another rebound around the crease for his 16th goal of the season to make it 4-0. The goal ended the night for Vasilevskiy, who allowed four goals in 15 shots after giving up just six goals total in his previous four starts.
Van Riemsdyk increased the lead to 5-0 with another rebound goal, jumping in to the open slot after a shot from Mitch Marner at 15:41.
NOTES: Toronto C Tyler Bozak became the 40th player in franchise history to play in 500 games for the Maple Leafs. ... Toronto scratched RW Ben Smith, C Eric Fehr, LW Josh Leivo and D Martin Marincin. ... Tampa Bay scratched C Tyler Johnson (lower body), C Vladislav Namestnikov (lower body) and C Cedric Paquette (lower body). ... Tampa Bay recalled C Byron Froese from Syracuse of the American Hockey League, just over 12 hours after assigning him to the Crunch. ... Former Lightning C Brian Boyle, who was traded to Toronto on Feb. 27, received a video tribute and a standing ovation during the first media time out.