First round: Lightning-Maple Leafs Game 4 live updates

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Steven Stamkos, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Pat Maroon scored in the first eight minutes, and the Lightning rolled to a 7-3 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday at Amalie Arena.

Ross Colton scored twice, and Corey Perry and Ondrej Palat added goals as Tampa Bay turned a 5-0 lead early in the second period into a runaway victory.

The best-of-seven series is tied at two games apiece as it heads back to Toronto for Game 5 on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs replaced goaltender Jack Campbell with backup Erik Kallgren less than midway through the second period.

Toronto was held off the scoreboard until William Nylander’s power-play goal 2:27 into the third. Nylander and Jake Muzzin scored later in the period for the Leafs.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 of 25 shots as the Lightning improved to 16-0 over the past three postseasons in games immediately following a loss.

Here’s how it happened:

Third period

Ross Colton snap shot saved by Erik Kallgren

Ondrej Palat shot deflected up out of play by Justin Joll

Steven Stamkos one-timer from the right side of the net stopped by Kallgren.

Mikhail Sergachev penalized for roughing

MAPLE LEAFS GOAL: William Nylander scores on a tip in front. Lightning lead 5-1.

Michael Bunting penalized for high-sticking, putting the Lightning on the power play for the eighth time in the game

Stamkos shot saved by Kallgren

Victor Hedman wrist shot from the center point misses high

Sergachev breaks up Alex Kerfoot pass on a Toronto odd-man rush

Sergachev blocks Ilya Mikheyev shot on a breakaway

Brandon Hagel takes heavy hit from Ilya Lyubushkin

Mikheyev (roughing) and McDonagh (slashing) receive minor penalties, so the teams will play 4-on-4 for the next two minutes

Kallgren makes save on high shot from Hedman

MAPLE LEAFS GOAL: Nylander scores on a blast from the left circle. Lightning lead 5-2.

Pierre Engvall shot saved by Vasilevskiy

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The Maple Leafs pull Kallgren in favor of an extra attacker with just under six minutes remaining

LIGHTNING GOAL! Ondrej Palat scores into a net with 5:20 remaining. Lightning lead 6-2.

MAPLE LEAFS GOAL: Jake Muzzin scores from above the left circle on a shot Vasilevskiy never saw. Lightning lead 6-3.

Leafs again pull Kallgren

Killorn misses the empty net, so it will be an icing call

Brayden Point and Morgan Rielly get into it after Point cross-checks Rielly following a race to the puck

Vasilevskiy stops Matthew shot from above the left circle

LIGHTNING GOAL! Hagel misses the empty net, but Colton picks up the rebound off the end boards and tucks the puck into the empty net. Lightning lead 7-3.

Brandon Hagel and Pierre Engvall each receive game misconducts

(Lightning win 7-3, tie series 2-2)

Second period

We’ll start with four-on-four play for the first 1:33

Cirelli just misses connecting with Stamkos on a 2-on-1 after Rielly blocks the pass with his skate

McDonagh one-timer saved by Campbell

Point weaves through the Toronto defense but just misses from in close

Engvall shot from the point saved by Vasilevskiy

Hedman shoots wide after feed from Colton

LIGHTNING GOAL: Colton beats Campbell gloveside with wrister from left circle. Cal Foote makes a nice play at the blue line to keep the puck alive, and Brandon Hagel feeds Colton. Lightning leads 4-0.

John Tavares penalized for tripping Corey Perry.

Daniel Kampf penalized for delay of game, and Lightning now have 5-on-3 for nearly two minutes.

Victor Hedman not on the ice for the power play

LIGHTNING GOAL! Corey Perry scores from low in the left circle. Lightning lead 5-0.

Ondrej Kase now penalized four minutes for high-sticking after drawing blood from Nick Paul. We’ll have 15 seconds of 5-on-3, then nearly four minutes of 5-on-4 play

Hedman penalized for tripping Marner

Erik Kallgren replaces Campbell in the Toronto goal with more than 13 minutes remaining in the second period

Kallgren stops Colton from the right circle off the rush

Palat wrist shot misses wide

Hedman’s out of the box, so Lightning now have more than a minute of power-play time

Pierre Engvall penalized for slashing

Kucherov penalized for tripping Marner, ending the Lightning power play

TJ Brodie penalized for slashing Paul

(Lightning lead 5-0 after two periods)

First period

LIGHTNING GOAL! Steven Stamkos scores on a one-timer from the high slot one minute into the game. Lightning lead 1-0.

Zach Bogosian wrist shot saved by Jack Campbell

Ondrej Kase shot stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy

Brayden Point hits Alex Kerfoot

Victor Hedman slap shot saved by Campbell

Jake Muzzin hits Corey Perry

LIGHTNING GOAL! Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scores on a rebound from the low slot, up over Campbell’s shoulder on the glove side. Lightning lead 2-0. (5:20)

Jake Muzzin hits Brayden Point

LIGHTNING GOAL! Pat Maroon dekes Campbell to score on a breakaway. Lightning lead 3-0.

Jason Spezza penalized for cross-checking Maroon, and the Lightning go on the power play

Leafs win the faceoff and clear the puck

Campbell makes pad save on Kucherov shot from the right circle, and Leafs clear the zone

Leafs send the puck back down the ice

Point drives down the slot, but Campbell stops his backhand shot with a leg save

Stamkos one-timer from left circle misses

Nick Paul gets knocked down but still manages to get the puck out of the Lightning zone

Auston Matthews backhand shot hits the post

Morgan Rielly deflection stopped by Vasilevskiy

William Nylander blast from the high slot misses wide

Erik Cernak penalized for tripping Mitch Marner

Marner shot knocked down by Ryan McDonagh

Nylander shot saved

Lightning clear the puck out of the zone

Vasilevskiy stops Kase shot

Nick Paul draws cross-checking penalty against Kase on 2-on-1 with Anthony Cirelli, but Paul is penalized, as well, for tripping, so we’ll have 4-on-4 play

(Lightning lead 3-0 after one period)

Pregame scouting report

So, what do we think about the Lightning three games into their opening-round series?

They got blown out in Game 1, then returned the favor two nights later. It was hard to tell what to make of them in Game 3, since they played shorthanded for much of the early going and fell behind 3-0.

They were relentless in the third period, outshooting the Maple Leafs 14-7 and coming within inches several times of tying the game before allowing two empty-net goals late in a 5-2 loss.

I can’t imagine any playoff team would want to face the kind of pressure that Tampa Bay applied down the stretch. But can the Lightning play with that same level of energy for 60 minutes?

We should get a better sense tonight, when they host the Leafs in Game 4 at Amalie Arena desperately wanting to avoid falling into a 3-1 series hole.

If it can avoid the penalty box, Tampa Bay seemed to find some chemistry when it moved Nikita Kucherov onto Brayden Point’s line with Anthony Cirelli, and teamed Alex Killorn with Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat.

The Point-Cirelli-Killorn line was the Lightning’s best over the past two games and did a nice job against the Auston Matthews line in Game 3, holding the NHL goal-scoring leader without a point for the first time in the series. Breaking up the line trio spread the wealth and seemed to rejuvenate all four Tampa Bay lines.

The Lightning also did a better job of getting to the front of the net, putting shots on goal, keeping pucks alive and creating second and third chance opportunities. Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell kept the tying goal from getting past him, but the Bolts clearly made his job more difficult than they did at any point earlier in the series.

Which way will the momentum tilt tonight?

We’ll find out together, starting at 7 p.m.

Game day scene

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