The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the First Round. The Maple Leafs lost Game One but bounced back in Game Two and won the recent game 4-3 in overtime to take the series lead. The Lightning meanwhile trail in the series and are looking to bounce back in Game Four on their home ice. The Maple Leafs look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead while the Lightning look to even up the series and the upcoming game should be a great one.
The Maple Leafs have taken control of this series with their offense leading the way, scoring 14 goals including 11 goals in the last two games. Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and Ryan O'Reilly have scored five goals and 13 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has been great as well. John Tavares, Calle Jarnkrok, and William Nylander have combined for six goals and four assists while defenseman Morgan Rielly has added a goal and four assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has struggled, allowing 12 goals in the series. T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe have led the top pairing but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing the Lightning to control the puck and create open shots on the net. In addition, goaltender Ilya Samsonov has struggled, allowing 11 goals on 90 shots.