Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies came back to health while Nick Robertson returned from a personal hell.
That’s why you probably heard Robertson’s long whoop of joy at Amelie Arena all the way to Toronto when he scored as part of Saturday’s hairy 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Robertson had gone 12 games without a goal and just one through 20 as he saw young talent from the Marlies begin to outshine him. His goal was part of two by Toronto 33 seconds apart in the middle period and a third before the frame ended.
Mitch Marner and Pontus Holmberg had worked the puck from the wall cross ice to an open Chris Tanev, who found the inside of the post, his first as a Leaf. That followed his assist on Toronto’s first-period strike, a Matthews pass and great Knies tip, one of two Matthews helpers on the night.
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Then it was Robertson’s turn, again catching goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy out of position to find the far post from a tight angle. Coach Craig Berube had underlined his faith in Robertson the day before as it became obvious someone would have to sit for the returning Matthews and Knies. Centre Fraser Minten, one of the impressive farmhand callups, had an assist.
It didn’t take the Arizonans too long to click in their comeback, Matthews gone nine games with an upper body mishap, Knies out two with a suspected head injury from a Zach Whitecloud bodycheck. It was Matthews’s 18th assist and 31st point in 14 games when returning from injury or suspension.
Moments later, they were featured in the return of the five-forward power play with John Tavares, William Nylander and Marner, though they didn’t get a shot on goal. Tavares worked into prime ice for a high backhand chop.
All Toronto’s goals were at even-strength, a noticeable weakness in Toronto’s blueprint as its sick list mounted. It was the second straight game Toronto made life miserable on Vasilevskiy.
A poised-looking Joseph Woll was looking to regain equal footing with Anthony Stolarz in the Leaf net with his fifth straight win, tested right off the hop by Gage Goncalves, with a big stretch pad save on Michael Eyssimont and a couple on Anthony Cirelli on the doorstep.
But things almost came undone when Eyssimont finally beat him on the 32nd shot, a turnover from a bungled Leaf breakout. Jake Guentzel banked one off of Conor Timmins’s skate during a 6-on-5 and a cheap retaliation penalty on Oliver Ekman-Larsson allowed Cam Atkinson to get the Lightning within one before Nylander found the open cage. Victor Hedman collected a Lightning career record 589th assist on Guentzel’s to pass Martin St. Louis.
The defeat came without Nikita Kucherov for the Bolts, who looked like a team that had played seven times in 12 days. The star forward, who had an assist in Friday’s win in Nashville, was scratched with a day-to-day injury. His 45 points in 36 games versus Toronto are his third best mark against any team.
One Leaf didn’t finish the contest, with defenceman Jake McCabe taking a puck off the side of his head late in the second period, down on the ice for a few minutes and not returning. After seven Leaf forwards were hurt around the time Matthews took himself out, McCabe could be the first blueliner in a while to need recovery time, the misfortune coming in his 600th NHL game.
The Leafs split their Florida series, conceding first place in the Atlantic Division with a loss to the Panthers, but putting four points between them and the third-place Lightning.
Toronto has a day off before facing Connor Bedard, former teammate Tyler Bertuzzi and the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Monday.
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