Corey Perry's return sparks Lightning as they snap losing streak in Toronto

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 7, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Lightning came to Toronto in desperate need of a win, and coach Jon Cooper tinkered with his forward line and defenseman pairings against the Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

But it was the addition of veteran forward Corey Perry, acquired Friday ahead of the trade deadline, into the Lightning’s new-look lineup that really seemed to spark Tampa Bay.

The Lightning fell behind early again — something that has happened too often during their four-game losing streak — but they had an inspired first-period response, scoring four times over a nine-minute, 30-second stretch, on their way to a much-needed 5-2 win over the struggling Leafs.

And wouldn’t you know that the 40-year-old Perry was in the middle of the Lightning’s first-period scoring run, finding the back of the net from low in the left circle after Brandon Hagel fed him the puck after gaining possession on the forecheck.

With the win, the Lightning (39-18-4) maintained their narrow Atlantic Division lead over the Sabres going into Sunday’s road trip finale in Buffalo. The Sabres beat the Predators earlier Saturday, so both teams have a division-best 82 points, though the Lightning have a better point percentage by having played two fewer games.

Without making too much of Saturday night’s win, the Lightning were playing a Toronto team that’s in free fall. The Leafs have lost seven straight, a tailspin that began with a loss in Tampa in their first game out of the Olympic break on Feb. 25. That was also the Lightning’s last win before Saturday night.

But there certainly was more energy Saturday from a Lightning team that lacked urgency and execution in road losses at Minnesota and Winnipeg in the first two games of this four-game road trip.

Perry, 40, played two seasons with the Lightning, including on the 2022 team that advanced to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Colorado, and he looked at home playing primarily on the team’s fourth line and at the net front on Tampa Bay’s second power-play unit.

After an overnight flight from Los Angeles that landed in Toronto at 4 a.m. Saturday before customs opened, Perry played 14:58 of ice time.

Perry has made a living by wreaking havoc in front of the net, and the Lightning definitely had a better presence around the crease and around the net because of him.

With the Lightning up 2-1 following goals by Ryan McDonagh and Jake Guentzel, Perry was skating on a line with Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, who went to work on the forecheck.

Hagel brought the puck to the front of the net, drawing three Leafs players to him on the edge of the crease, then sent the puck to an unmarked Perry below the left dot. Perry kicked the puck from his left foot to his stick blade, dropped to one knee and wristed a shot past Anthony Stolarz.

Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov had four assists on the night, his assist on Hagel’s empty-net goal in the third period giving him 100 points on the season; he reached the milestone for the fourth straight season.