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Lightning loses to Leafs

 
Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier makes one of his 26 saves.
Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier makes one of his 26 saves.
Published Nov. 21, 2014

TORONTO — Captain Steven Stamkos knew the Maple Leafs would come out "hungry" Thursday night, motivated after back-to-back bad losses.

The question is, why didn't the Lightning?

After all, as Stamkos pointed out, Tampa Bay was coming off a rough loss itself, 5-2 to the Islanders on Tuesday.

But Tampa Bay didn't match Toronto's desperation in a disappointing 5-2 loss that left coach Jon Cooper searching for reasons his team didn't "answer the bell." This is the first time this season Tampa Bay (13-6-2) has lost two straight games in regulation.

"We executed like it was the first day of training camp," Cooper said. "We couldn't make a 10-foot pass; we couldn't break it out. We play a speed game — that's what puts teams on their heels — and we were in quicksand all night. When we're playing slow and not executing, we're in trouble."

After an impressive 5-1 win over the Rangers on Monday, a victory Cooper said might have come "too easy," Tampa Bay failed to play its game on Long Island and in Toronto. And now the Lightning has one day before hosting the Wild, which embarrassed Tampa Bay 7-2 in Minnesota on Oct. 25.

"It's not good enough," wing Ryan Callahan said. "We have to respond."

The Lightning must play a lot better than it did Thursday, when it was dominated at times, including 44-24 in faceoffs. It outshot Toronto 28-21 but gave up too many great chances, and the Maple Leafs made the Lightning pay. The Lightning was so far behind, Cooper pulled goalie Ben Bishop with five minutes left, resulting in a goal by Stamkos and an empty-netter by Toronto's Roman Polak.

The Lightning was fortunate to be tied 1-1 after the first period. But it did kill off a five-on-three power play for the third straight game, and Alex Killorn scored a shorthanded goal with just over a minute left.

The Maple Leafs put the game away with three goals in the second. Former Lightning wing Richard Panik put them up for good nearly three minutes in. Defenseman Matt Carle made an awful flip pass from behind the Tampa Bay net, and Panik snatched the puck with his glove, put it down and backhanded it past Bishop.

"Just a soft play," Carle said. "And when that happens as a defenseman, it usually ends up in the back of your net."

Stamkos said when the Lightning doesn't play its game, it's just an "average team." But Cooper is confident his "(ticked) off" group will bounce back.

"Not to take anything away from them, but we weren't good," Stamkos said. "We didn't deserve anything."

Said Cooper: "We laid an egg."

Maple Leafs1315
Lightning1012
Maple Leafs1315
Lightning1012

First1, Tor, Clarkson 6 (Winnik, Polak), 1:29. 2, TB, Killorn 5, 18:50 (sh). Penaltiesvan Riemsdyk, Tor (rough), 13:15; Gudas, TB (trip), 16:32; Boyle, TB (high-stick), 17:41.

Second3, Tor, Panik 4, 2:45. 4, Tor, van Riemsdyk 8 (Bozak, Franson), 12:31. 5, Tor, van Riemsdyk 9 (Kessel, Phaneuf), 15:15 (pp). PenaltiesMorrow, TB (hold), 14:02.

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Third6, TB, Stamkos 13 (Kucherov), 15:47. 7, Tor, Polak 3 (Bozak), 19:52 (en). PenaltiesRobidas, Tor (elbow), 5:21; Komarov, Tor (trip), 8:30. SOGTB 8-13-7—28. Tor 9-8-4—21. PP oppsTB 0 of 3; Tor 1 of 3. GoaliesTB, Bishop 11-3-2 (20 shots-16 saves). Tor, Bernier 6-5-2 (28-26).