Chris Tanev scored a goal and added an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs, visiting Tampa Bay, jumped to a four-goal lead and held on to win 5-3 on Saturday night.
Matthew Knies, Nicholas Robertson, John Tavares, and William Nylander also scored for Toronto, which has won eight out of its last 10 games (8-2-0) and finished November with a record of 8-3-1, even though they were missing their top scorer, Auston Matthews, for most of the month.
Matthews returned after missing nine games due to an upper-body injury and contributed two assists. Mitch Marner also had two assists.
Joseph Woll, the Leafs’ goaltender, made 38 saves and has now won five consecutive starts.
Jake McCabe, who played his 600th NHL game, was hit in the head by a shot from Tampa Bay’s Nick Perbix in the second period and did not return to the game.
In the third period, Tampa Bay’s Michael Eyssimont, Jake Guentzel, and Cam Atkinson scored goals — the last two while Tampa Bay’s goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled for an extra skater. However, Nylander sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Victor Hedman and Brandon Hagel each recorded two assists.
Vasilevskiy made 24 saves for Tampa Bay, which finished November with a 5-6-2 record.
The Lightning played without star playmaker Nikita Kucherov, who was out with an undisclosed injury.
In a fast-paced first period, Tampa Bay controlled most of the play, but the Leafs scored on their first shot when Knies deflected Tanev’s blast for his ninth goal at 7:13.
Tanev scored his first goal of the season at 8:06, putting Toronto ahead 2-0. Robertson then made it 3-0 just 33 seconds later, scoring his second goal of the season from the left circle. It was Robertson’s first goal in 13 games.
Tavares extended the lead to 4-0, backhanding a loose puck with 1:01 left in the second period for his 10th goal.
In the third, Eyssimont scored at 11:21, and Guentzel added his 10th goal at 15:19, cutting the Lightning’s deficit to 4-2.
Hedman earned his 589th assist on Guentzel’s goal, setting a new franchise record for assists, passing Martin St. Louis.
Atkinson’s power-play goal at 17:38 made it 4-3, but Nylander scored into the empty net at 18:44 for his 15th goal to finish the game.
