The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the First Round with both teams entering this series with great seasons and unique playoff histories. The Lightning went 46-30-6 this year and are looking to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the fourth year in a row. The Maple Leafs went 50-21-11 with a four-game win streak to close out the season but they haven't won a playoff series since 2004 and haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, both of which are the longest droughts in the NHL. The Lightning edged out the Maple Leafs in a dramatic seven-game series last year and this series, starting with Game One looks to be a great one.
The Lightning put together another remarkable season with their offense carrying them, scoring 3.41 goals per game. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Steven Stamkos scored 115 goals and 177 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Brandon Hagel, Alex Killorn, and Nick Paul have combined for 74 goals and 86 assists while defensemen Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev have added 19 goals and 94 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has struggled, allowing 3.07 goals per game. Hedman and Sergachev have combined for 9.0 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. The one bright spot has been the play of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy who has a .915 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average on 1875 shots with 20.5 goal s saved above average.