The Tampa Bay Lightning (14-8-1) play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs (15-5-5), who will be out to prolong their winning streak, at Amalie Arena on Saturday. Toronto is coming off a 3-1 win over the Sharks on Wednesday, their fifth consecutive win. Pierre Engvall, Auston Matthews, and Mitchell Marner each scored once for the Maple Leafs.
Alexander Kerfoot had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Ilya Samsonov had a great performance with 23 saves (.958%) in the win. Tampa Bay is back home for a six-game homestand after a 4-1 win over the Flyers on Thursday. Nicholas Paul scored twice to lead the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 21 of 22 shots in the win (.954%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams last met in the first round of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Lightning secured their place in the second round with a 2-1 win (4-3 series).
FACING OFF
Toronto is averaging 3.04 goals per game for the season, 18th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 3.09 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.48 times a game on average, sixth in the league, and the Maple Leafs are holding opponents to 2.48 goals per game (3rd).
The Lightning’s 28.74% power play percentage is the fourth-best in the league, while the Maple Leafs rank ninth with a conversion rate of 24.05%. When it comes to defending power plays, Toronto has the league’s 11th-ranked PK% at 80.52%, while Tampa Bay is 20th at 77.78%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Marner and Matthews have been the top skaters for the Maple Leafs this season with 29 and 27 points. Marner is among the league leaders with his 21 assists (5th). In the net, Samsonov (7-2-0) is Toronto’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.09 GAA, second-best in the league, and a .924% save percentage, fifth-best. Erik Kallgren (3-2-4) leads the Maple Leafs in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 2.67 and a save percentage of .898%.
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 35 points (4th in the league). He has a league-best 25 assists and 10 goals (). Vasilevskiy (8-7-1) is the top goalie for Tampa Bay with a goals against average of 2.88. He has a save percentage of .906%.
HOME AND AWAY
Toronto is pursuing a seventh straight win away from home this season. Tampa Bay is 7-3-1 at Amalie Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-130)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
