Tavares's 1st career playoff hat trick helps Maple Leafs bounce back, rout Bolts to even series
CBC
John Tavares doesn't tend to show much emotion.
The Maple Leafs' stoic captain usually leads by example with a head-down, dogged determination he's demonstrated since his days as a teenage phenom.
On the heels of a disastrous playoff opener, Tavares knew it was on him to drag his team into the fight.
The rest of Toronto's stars followed suit.
Tavares registered his first post-season hat trick as the Leafs bounced back in impressive fashion off an embarrassing Game 1 performance with an emphatic 7-2 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday to even their first-round playoff series 1-1.
Mitch Marner scored twice and set up another, while William Nylander had a goal and an assist. Morgan Rielly tied a franchise playoff record with four assists, and Auston Matthews added two of his own for the Leafs, whose big-name talent stepped up in a big way in a big moment.
"That's the type of performance you're looking for from those guys," Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We needed to have a good day today, and we did.
"Now we have a series."
WATCH | Tavares scores hat trick in emphatic Game 2 win:
Zach Aston-Reese provided the rest of the offence for Toronto. Pulled in Tuesday's ugly defeat, Ilya Samsonov made 20 saves.
"More fun to watch," said the Leafs goaltender. "Offensive zone, we dominate today. Defensive zone, we block ton of shots."
The performance lifted a cloud of angst from a city and fan base in a panic following a Game 1 performance that looked nothing like the 111-point club that cruised to second place in the Atlantic Division.
"Our focus is on what we can do," Rielly said. "We're not really trying to spend too much time worrying about the mood around us.
"We're trying to control what we have here."
