The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Three in what has been a back-and-forth series thus far. The Maple Leafs were blown out in Game One but battled back and dominated in Game Two with a 7-2 victory to even up the series. The Lightning were in complete control of Game One, winning 7-3 but fell apart in the recent game and head back home hoping to rebound after a brutal defeat. Both teams are looking to take a series lead and Game Three looks to be a great one as a result.
The Maple Leafs evened up the series with their offense leading the way, scoring 10 goals in the first two games including seven goals in Game Two. Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares have scored five goals and nine assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also been great. William Nylander, Ryan O'Reilly, and Zach Aston-Reese have combined for four goals and two assists while defensemen Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie have added five assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense hopes to improve, allowing nine goals in the first two games of the series. Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake McCabe have led the top two pairings but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing the Lightning to control the puck in the offensive zone and generate shots on the net. Additionally, goaltender Ilya Samsonov has struggled in the series, allowing eight goals on only 51 shots.