Toronto vs Tampa Bay: Lightning will do all they can to avenge November’s loss to the Leafs

The NHL game of the day will be played in Toronto. The local Maple Leafs will try to upset the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the second time this season. The first meeting between the teams also took place in Toronto and ended with a 2-1 overtime victory for the Leafs.

All in all, however, the Maple Leafs can live with that now. Sheldon Keefe’s team finished the first championship too successfully and, by the end of the first third, is entitled to some slippage in terms of results.

Toronto have two defeats in their last three games. Ahead of their game against Tampa Bay, the Leafs outscored Columbus 5-4 on their home ice, but before that, they first failed in a shootout with Minnesota 3-4 and then lost to Winnipeg 3-6. Toronto played both of these games away, also in back-to-back formats.

Overall, Toronto have 18 wins in 27 games since the start of the championship. The team is second in the Atlantic Division standings, behind first-place Florida.

The Lightning, by the way, are ahead of Toronto in terms of points lost. Jon Cooper’s team potentially ranks 2nd in the Atlantic Division. It’s also likely that the real second line from Tampa Bay isn’t going anywhere soon. The Lightning have four straight wins before the game in Toronto and the face of a very difficult calendar. After a home win over St. Louis, Tampa Bay went on the road to take turns against Boston, Philadelphia, and Montreal.

In the game against the Canadiens, the Lightning struggled. Their opponent led 2-1 for another 2.5 minutes before the final siren. However, the Lightning managed to level the score and take the win in regulation time. Corey Perry scored first, and 38 seconds before the end of the 3rd period, Ondrej Palat scored. 3-2 - a hard-fought win for Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay are not a team worth betting against at this point in hockey history. And especially in a divisional showdown. The Lightning have already lost to Toronto once this season and will surely do their best to take revenge.

• X2 for 1.64;
• W2 for 2.60;
• Individual Total 1 Under 1.5 for 4.40.