TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning will start their latest quest for the Stanley Cup on the road in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, the National Hockey League announced Friday.
Tampa Bay will face the Leafs starting Tuesday, April 18, in Game 1. The second game of the seven-game series will also be in Toronto on Thursday, April 20.
The Lightning have won two of the last three Stanley Cup Finals and lost in the Stanley Cup Finals last season to the Colorado Avalanche.
Tampa Bay enters the series after posting a 46-30-6 record this season against a Toronto team that finished the season with a 50-21-11 record. The two teams are the number two and three seeds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
During the season, Tampa was 1-3 against the Maple Leafs with the last two games being losses. However, the postseason is typically when the Lightning start clicking on all cylinders.
All eyes will again be on goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. He's been lights out in the playoffs the last few seasons, and another strong performance would propel Tampa toward another Stanley Cup run.
Still, Toronto won't be an easy out for Tampa Bay and even if the Lightning do dispose of the Leafs, the second round will see Tampa face the best team in hockey this season, the Boston Bruins.
