March 7, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guangel (59) celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal in Game 1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist and the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Saturday night.
Nikita Kucherov added four assists to give him 100 points on the season (32 goals, 68 assists).
Ryan McDonagh, Corey Perry and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for the Lightning, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli each had two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots.
The Lightning’s most recent win before the losing streak came against the Maple Leafs in their first game since the Olympic break.
Matias Maccelli and Nicholas Robertson scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost seven straight (0-5-2) since the Olympic break.
Anthony Stolarz made 28 saves for Toronto.
The Lightning led 4-1 after the first period.
Toronto took a 1-0 lead at 4:50 of the first period when Mazzelli converted William Nylander’s pass for a 2-on-1.
Tampa Bay answered 46 seconds later when McDonagh’s shot from the left circle deflected off Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe’s skate.
Guentzel hit a backhand rebound at 12:30. Perry blocked Hagel’s pass with his left skate, kicked it out with his stick and then scored with a shot from the bottom of the left circle at 13:48.
Perry was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline on Friday and arrived in Toronto early Saturday morning.
Bjorkstrand scored from the left circle during a power play at 15:06. Brandon Carlo was serving a hooking penalty.
The Maple Leafs provided more competition in the second period, but the Lightning effectively shut down the middle, preventing either team from scoring.
Toronto continued to apply pressure in the third inning. Standout center Auston Matthews hit a shot off the crossbar five minutes into the third quarter. Matthews has not scored in 11 games.
Vasilevskiy had a blocker on Matthew Knies’ 11-foot shot seven minutes into the third.
Stolarz shined when he impeded Hagel from close at 12:18.
Hagel scored an empty-net goal at 15:41 of the third.
Robertson scored on a wraparound at 19:29.
–Field level media
