Tip of the Tower
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Toronto Maple Leafs to face another tough test against Lightning

By Ryan Patrick

Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets set to step around Brayden Point #21 of the Tampa Bay Lightning for a goal during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets set to step around Brayden Point #21 of the Tampa Bay Lightning for a goal during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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After losing a close game to the defending Stanley Cup champions on Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs are enjoying their longest period of time off between games so far this season.

Playing four games in six nights is never easy, but the Toronto Maple Leafs came away with a 2-1-1 record and two losses that could’ve easily turned into W’s.

The loss to the Montreal Canadiens was a huge letdown for sure. Choking away a third-period three-goal lead that Toronto eventually tied back up with just over a minute to go in regulation. Montreal eventually won in a shootout, but the single point earned didn’t feel like much of a consolation prize knowing it should’ve been two.

Monday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues was more of a back and forth game, with the Leafs playing very well but ending up on the losing side after a third-period goal by Alex Pietrangelo sealed the deal.

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Now the attention turns to the Tampa Bay Lightning come into town on Thursday night. It’s no secret that last year’s President Trophy winners will be a tough test for Toronto. Many experts and fans have picked them to not only repeat as Atlantic Division champions, but to also go on to win the Stanley Cup.

That remains to be seen, as the Lightning are coming off a historic 2018-19 season that saw them get swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was an upset that almost no one saw coming.

Tampa is 1-1-1 to start the year and captain Steven Stamkos hasn’t been happy with his team’s performance. After a 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, Stamkos had this to say per the Tampa Bay Times:

"“We just continue to be the freewheeling team that thinks we can just come into games and win because we’re skilled. We keep falling back into the same old bad habits that we’ve been doing, that cost us the season we had last year.”"

As for the Maple Leafs, so far we’ve seen some very positive early signs from this team. Auston Matthews has wasted no time putting himself in the Art Ross conversation, with 10 points in four games. William Nylander looks to be back to his old self playing alongside Matthews, with four points of his own. And the defensive pairing of Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci seems to be working, as Ceci looks to prove all of his doubters wrong.

Sure this is only Game 5 of a long season, but it’ll be a good early test for Toronto to see how they stack up. It’s easy to overreact to small sample sizes. Win or lose, this game against the Lightning isn’t going to make or break the Leafs season. However, it is going to give us a good indication of where this team is at against some of the top competition in the league though.

This should be a good one.

Are you excited to see what the Leafs can do against a powerhouse team in the early part of the season? Let us know in the comments below.

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