2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series– Tampa Bay Lightning win 4-3 against Toronto Maple Leafs
The first game of Tuesday was hosted by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The match saw the home side up against Tampa Bay Lightning. There were around 19,000 fans that came in support of their respective teams with the home team playing
their 23rd game while Tampa Bay Lightning played their 25th game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made a great start to the match as they displayed excellent passing and shooting abilities. The home crowd backed them, which gave them more confidence. The confidence was reflected in their game and the determination led them to
scoring in the 2nd minute of the period to take the lead.
The goal was scored by Kris Versteeg through a wonderful flick shot which the goal keeper had no chance of stopping. The away side started to make attacks too after the home side preferred to stay back. As the period neared its end, the away side came up
with shots after shots but unfortunately couldn’t score.
The period ended with the Toronto Maple Leafs leading 1-0 as they made 7 goal attempts while the Tampa Bay Lightning made 17 goal attempts.
The Tampa Bay Lightning continued with the performance they put up at the end of the 1st period. The away side was determined to level the scores and in course of doing that some superb plays were developed by them.
Tampa Bay Lightning successfully levelled the score scoring in the 6th minute of the 2nd period. The goal was scored by Ryan Malone from a wrap around shot.
The Toronto Maple Leafs responded to this with some decent attacks. The home team worked hard to regain the lead and almost scored in the 10th minute. However, the Toronto Maple Leafs regained the lead scoring in the 12th minute.
The goal was scored by Nikolai Kulemin through a powerful strike. Both teams had a few more chances but the Toronto Maple Leafs led 2-1 as the teams went into the break. During the 20 minutes of play Maple Leaf made 13 goal attempts while the Tampa Bay Lightning
made 12 goal attempts.
The final 20 minutes started off with the home side attacking strongly. They managed to take the score to 3-1 as they scored in the 8th minute through Nikolai Kulemin once again. The goal was scored as a result of a brilliant backhand shot.
Tampa Bay Lightning worked hard and was rewarded for this with a goal in the 9th minute to cut the lead to just 1 goal. The goal was scored by Martin St. Louis. The Tampa Bay Lightning continued to pile pressure on the home side and scored once
again in the final minute to level the scores. The goal was scored by Martin St. Louis once again and that sent the match into overtime as the score was 3-3.
In overtime, it was the Tampa Bay Lightning who scored through Simon Gagne in the 2nd minute to clinch the match 4-3.
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