The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Five of the First Round. The Lightning won Game One but have fallen flat since and back-to-back overtime losses have them one loss away from elimination. The Maple Leafs have won the last three games and with a win, they can advance to the Second Round for the first time since 2004, snapping the longest playoff drought in the NHL. The Lightning look to keep their season alive while the Maple Leafs hope to win a playoff series for the first time in 19 years and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Lightning have watched the series slip away despite their offense stepping up and scoring 16 goals in the first four games. Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry have scored three goals and eight assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has also stepped up in this series. Brayden Point, Alex Killorn, and Brandon Hagel have combined for five goals and seven assists while Anthony Cirelli, Steven Stamkos, and Ross Colton have added four goals and five assists to the backend of the forward unit, making the Lightning offense tough to stop.
The offense has been great but the defense has struggled in this series, allowing 19 goals including 16 goals in the last three games. Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman have led the top two pairings but the rest of the unit has been awful, allowing the Maple Leafs to find open shots on the net at will. Additionally, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is typically dominant in the net, has been awful in this series, allowing 19 goals on 132 shots.