MITCHELL MARNER

Ross Colton scored twice, Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a fast start and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-3 in Game 4 to even their first-round playoff series.

For a team accustomed to winning — not only the Stanley Cup the past two years but in the regular season at a high level — it has been a challenging few weeks. After coaching Tampa Bay on several long runs, missing the postseason entirely, enduring a stunning first-round sweep and then hoisting the Cup twice, Jon Cooper understands the answer won’t be clear until after the regular season. With that comes fatigue but also the perspective of what the regular season means in the grand scheme of trying to win a championship. The experience of that series undoubtedly played some role in Tampa Bay winning it all the past two years. Cooper called it a “pivotal” game, and a few more like it stand in the way before Tampa Bay can even try for the three-peat.

The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't been through struggles like this in many years.

Hurricanes Maple Leafs Hockey Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek (35) and right wing Mitchell Marner (16) celebrate after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) (Frank Gunn)TORONTO — (AP) — Mitch Marner scored the tying goal late in the third period and then got the winner 2:51 into overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. The Maple Leafs finally beat Andersen on their third power-play situation. Matthews put Toronto in front 3:21 later, in the final minute of the second period, on a 37-foot blast from the high slot. Maple Leafs: At Calgary on Thursday night to open a three-game trip.