Tampa Bay Lightning (38-18-4, 80 Pts) at Toronto Maple Leafs (27-25-11, 65 Pts)

Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: 7:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet, NHL Network
Radio:
Tampa Bay – Lightning Radio Network
Toronto – SN 590

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Tampa Bay Lightning News & Notes:

The Tampa Bay Lightning arrive in Toronto looking to snap a four-game losing streak. The team has struggled coming out of the break, which has allowed the Sabres to match their points, but the Lightning have two games in hand to reclaim that lead. Tampa will look to get things back on track quickly, and find their stride down the final stretch of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs News & Notes:

The Toronto Maple Leafs passed the deadline this year as sellers, which saw them trade away Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Nicolas Roy. This is the first time in the Matthews era that Toronto has sold at the deadline and looks unlikely to make playoffs. This will be a chance for Toronto to give some of their younger players ice time. The Leafs will need to build a competitive team around Matthews for next season, but that is an offseason problem.

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

Guentzel-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Bjorkstrand
Girgensons-Gourde-Holmberg
Sabourin-Geekie-Perry

Moser-Raddysh
Hedman-Carlile
McDonagh-Cernak

Vasilevskiy
Johansson

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Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Maccelli-Matthews-Nylander
Knies-Tavares-Cowan
Robertson-Domi-Joshua
Lorentz-Quillan-Jarnkrok

Rielly-Carlo
McCabe-Stecher
Benoit-Ekman-Larsson

Stolarz
Woll

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Players To Watch:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Corey Perry finds himself back on the Tampa Bay Lightning after a deadline trade with Los Angeles. At the time of writing, it’s unclear if Perry will be ready to play in time, but having played under Cooper before, Perry knows the system well. Perry is a nice fit for this Tampa team that has succeeded for most of the season and will look to add some snarl and scoring to the Lightning lineup in their playoff push.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Jacob Quillan finds himself in a golden opportunity to prove he belongs at the NHL level as the Maple Leafs shift their focus toward youth development following the trade deadline. The 24-year-old forward was recalled from the Toronto Marlies on March 5th after the organization traded Nicolas Roy to Colorado, and he will be given opportunities to earn ice time with Roy and Laughton both no longer around. Quillan has excelled in the AHL this year with 12 goals and 33 points in 38 games, and playing solid hockey all around, which is part of what Toronto saw in him at Quinnipiac University.

Head coach Craig Berube has praised Quillan’s energy and competitiveness in the past, and Quillan will look to compete hard towards the end of the season. On a slower Leafs team, injecting speed into the lineup is a welcome change. While Quillan is still searching for his first NHL point across five career games, tonight represents a fresh start. With Toronto out of playoff contention, Quillan can play freely without the pressure of a postseason race, making this an ideal situation for the young forward to showcase his abilities and earn a roster spot for next season.

Injury Report:

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Max Crozier – Out
F Nick Paul – Out
F Gage Goncalves – Day-to-Day
F Dominic James – Out

Toronto Maple Leafs

D Chris Tanev – Out For Season

Next Game

Tampa Bay – March 8 at Buffalo Sabres
Toronto – March 10 at Montreal Canadiens

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