MAPLE LEAFS (27-36-11) at LIGHTNING (43-27-5)
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SNO, SUN, NHL.TV
Season series: The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in three of four games. Vladislav Namestnikov scored 2:01 into overtime in a 5-4 win Dec. 15 at Air Canada Centre. Steven Stamkos' power-play goal was the difference in a 1-0 win Jan. 27 at Amalie Arena. Tyler Johnson had two goals and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in a 2-1 win Feb. 29 at Air Canada Centre. Ben Smith had a goal and an assist for Toronto in a 4-1 win March 15 at Air Canada Centre.
Maple Leafs team scope: Rookie forward Nikita Soshnikov remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury, coach Mike Babcock told the Toronto Star. "He won't be back for a bit, and obviously we wouldn't rush him back and the way he plays, he's got to be healthy to play," Babcock said. Soshnikov, who has two goals and three assists in 11 games, has missed the past three games, including a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Toronto, last in the League in points, is 6-3-1 in its past 10 games. "We're in a much better situation now probably than I could have even hoped, so it's gone that way, which is good," Babcock said. "And I'm talking about the setup moving ahead; we have some really good kids, the Marlies (of the American Hockey League) have done a really nice job with development. I think we have a nucleus there and we're set up to have a good draft."
Lightning team scope: Tampa Bay fell from first place in the Atlantic Division following a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. They trail the Panthers by two points atop the division, and lead the third-place Bruins by three points. It was their first game without defenseman Anton Stralman, who sustained a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula Friday against the New York Islanders. "He's an extremely important part of our team and has been since the day he got here," coach Jon Cooper told the Lightning website. "But, as we said in our locker room, his season's not over. Nobody's going to replace him. He's a top defenseman in this League. But, the way we defend as a group and the depth we have there, we should be OK."
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