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Tampa Bay Lightning vs Toronto Maple Leafs: Preview, Matchups, Odds

ByBenjamin Henderson|
May 14, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul (20) celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period of game seven of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul (20) celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period of game seven of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 2-0 at home and 0-2-1 on the road. Good news, tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs is at home.

Toronto comes into Amalie Arena having finally slayed the dragon the last time they were on the ice in Tampa (only to then bounced by Florida in five games. But to be fair, it was uncharted territory for the Leafs).

Tampa Bay Lightning: You look familiar

  • When – 7 PM
  • Where – Amalie Arena
  • TV – Bally Sports and NHL Network
  • Radio – 102.5 The Bone

With Steven Stamkos back in the lineup on Thursday, the Lightning were able to come from behind to beat Vancouver off the strength of two power-play goals, one from Nick Paul and the other from Nikita Kucherov.

Outside of two braindead giveaways by Mikhail Sergachev, it was a much cleaner game from the Tampa Bay Lightning compared to what we saw during their winless road trip.

With Tyler Motte still out, Jon Cooper seems to have settled on having Brayden Point
Alex Barré-Boulet, Kucherov pair up as one forward group, while Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, while Stamkos make up the other top-six forward group.

The first pairing was solid enough, but the second pairing did not have a great night, as they were outshot as a unit 11 to 1, with the line of Phillip Di Giuseppe, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser doing the bulk of the damage.

Who to watch on Toronto

At this point, most Lightning fans probably know most of the big names that play for Toronto:

  • Auston Matthews – He scores lots of goals, keeps showing up on the cover of NHL, and gets paid too much money for Toronto to be a legit Cup contender
  • John Tavares – Did you know he was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan as a kid?
  • Mitchell Marner – He had 99 points last season, but a Stanley Cup ain’t one
  • Morgan Rielly – Not to be confused with Morgan Wallen, but he spends the month of May “sittin’ at that house, livin’ room couch”

Matthews and Marner have been getting paired together with Tyler Bertuzzi. He has been banged up so Toronto used  Calle Jarnkrok during their game against Florida, but all signs point to Bertuzzi playing in this game.

Tavares and William Nylander will pair up, with Matthew Knies getting the nod to be in the top six if Bertuzzi is not.

Vegas Says…

Tampa is a +110 underdog (Bet $100, profit $110), while Toronto is a -130 favorite (Bet $130, profit $100).

So far this season, the Lightning are 0-1-1 when listed as the underdog, while Toronto has been listed as the favorite in every game they have played but are only 2-2 on the season.

The over/under is set at 7. Tampa this season is 3-1-1 at hitting the over.

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