Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) congratulates center Anthony Cirelli (71) after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period at Amalie Arena. [Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images]

Lightning to Host Maple Leafs in Atlantic Division Face-off

Abigail Justice April 9, 2025 Florida Panthers, Hockey, NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning 117 Views

With five more regular season games left, the Tampa Bay Lightning will host the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night.

Players to Watch

Tampa’s Brayden Point had a three point game in their previous face-off against the New York Rangers. The center scored two of the five goals to help the Lightning win 5-1.

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Since his start with Tampa, Point has recorded 652 career point with 72 of those points coming from this season. Another fan favorite in Tampa is Nikita Kucherov. The right wing has recorded five goals and 15 assists over the past 10 games.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has a save percentage of 0.923 for the season, is projected to start in net. The goalie is 0-2-0 against the Maple Leafs this season.

Toronto’s star center Auston Matthews trails behind Point with 71 season points. Matthews has five points against Tampa this season, two from goals and three from assists. Mitch Marner is a right winger you can expect to see on the line with Matthews. Marner has a flat number of 70 assists for the Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs won 5-3 in the last matchup between the teams. Left wing Matthew Knies found the back of the net twice for the win.

The Lightning and Maple Leafs will be at full capacity for the matchup with no players listed as injured.

Standings

Both teams have clinched a playoff spot for the season. The Lightning sit just below the Maple Leafs in the second spot of the Atlantic Division. After the Florida Panthers handed Toronto a 3-1 loss south of Tampa, the Lightning are favored to win the game.

Toronto is 13-8-1 against the Atlantic Division this season. Tampa isn’t as steady with a 9-12-1 record. The Lightning are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games with an average of 3.9 goals per game.

The Lightning have the home ice edge and know how to take advantage of that this season. The team have a 27-8-2 record at home.

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