Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs – East 1st Round Game 2 – Thursday 7 ET on ESPN (TB leads 1-0)

Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs – East 1st Round Game 2 – Thursday 7 ET on ESPN (TB leads 1-0).

Lightning: 7 goals is most in playoff opener in franchise history (previously 5); 4 power-play goals; ties playoff franchise record (2011 at Penguins & 2015 at Canadiens).

Nikita Kucherov (TB): Goal & 2 assists; 53rd career playoff goal breaks tie with Patrick Kane for 5th-most among active players.

Nikita Kucherov (TB); 21st career 3-point playoff game; tied for 4th most in NHL history (passes Jaromír Jágr – 20).

Most 3-Point Playoff Games
NHL History
Wayne Gretzky 59
Mark Messier 30
Jari Kurri 28
Nikita Kucherov 21
Denis Savard 21

TEAM SERIES HISTORY

(BEST OF 7 SERIES)
SERIES RECORD
Lightning lead 1-0                                13-2
Maple Leafs trail 1-0                           16-29

The Lightning have won 7 straight playoff series after taking a 1-0 lead. Their last such loss came in the 2016 Conference Finals to the Penguins, who went on to lift the Stanley Cup.

The Lightning have 13 best-of-7 series wins after winning Game 1 since their 1st such series victory in 2004 – only the Penguins (14) have more such series wins over that span.

The Maple Leafs have lost 5 straight best-of-7 series when trailing 1-0, but that’s just 1 part of a larger story about Toronto’s recent playoff misfortunes.  "Not So Fast!".  I have been talking about this for years.  See below!

The Maple Leafs have not won any playoff series – regardless of Game 1 result – since 2004. That’s the longest active span between playoff series wins in the NHL.

Their last best-of-7 series win after trailing 1-0 was also the last playoff series the Maple Leafs won – that was the 2004 Conference Quarterfinals against the Senators.

If Tampa Bay wins again on Thursday, history suggests the Lightning can all but get ready for the 2nd Round. Tampa Bay has won all 10 of its playoff series with a 2-0 lead.

The Lightning are 1 of 4 NHL franchises to close out 10+ playoff series with a 2-0 lead without losing such a series, joining the Flyers (18-0), Ducks (12-0) and Devils (10-0).

Toronto has a 4-17 playoff series record when trailing 2-0 in a best-of-7 series. It lost its last 2 such instances in 2018 and 2004 after posting its last such series win in the 1993 Division Semifinals against the Red Wings (Toronto lost Games 1 & 2 at home).

The original Yankees stadium opened in April of 1923 in front of 74,000 fans.  It's hard to believe that Yankees Stadium would have been 100 years old.  Of course, it didn't last long enough to see its 100th birthday as it was demolished in 2010 to make way for a newer, better model.  Never the less, the old one is worth remembering because it was so important to sports history.  Nicknames like, The House that Ruth Built, The Cathedral of Baseball, The Stadium, and The Bronx Zoo, cemented its proper place in history.

So today we will do Yankees trivia on Wiki-Pete-ia on the Shemon and Sheppard Show on ESPN Southwest Florida.

For those of you who are new to the show, we test Pete's trivia (and trivial) knowledge during Wiki-Pete-ia every weekday at 4:45ish for prizes. Just be lucky caller number 9 at 239-337-ESPN. That's 239-337-3776. If you are not lucky enough to get through, then play at home or at work with your friends with the questions and answers posted below!

So give it a shot and as we celebrate that the old Yankees Stadium would have been 100 years old during Wiki-Pete-ia today on the Shemon and Sheppard Show.

Good luck to you. I'll be rooting for you to win!

-Craig Shemon
ESPN Southwest Florida