Tampa at their most dangerous tonight?

Let's be honest, Tampa Bay was embarrassed in Game 1 of their series against Toronto on Monday, losing decisively 5-0. The Bolts were outshot, outscored, and frankly, outplayed in nearly every aspect of the game. It might be a stretch to say that Game 2 in Toronto tonight is a "must-win" in a long, best-of-7 series, but the defending champs take pride in their ability to bounce back after losses, especially in the playoffs.

Since getting swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in their historical 2019 season, the Lightning have not lost consecutive games in their two-cup runs during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 postseasons. Furthermore, Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy seems to play even better in such situations.

Head coach Jon Cooper also reminds us that his team has been in this situation before, losing Game 1 of a series, just to adjust, bounce back, and win the series. Cooper has proven to be one of the premier coaches in the league the past few seasons, getting into chess matches of move-countermove with other elite coaches during playoff runs during his tenure in Tampa Bay.

On the other hand, many have speculated that the Lightning looks tired and exhausted this season: two years of deep runs in the playoffs, bubble hockey, condensed schedules and the grueling hockey that goes along with it may have finally taken their toll on the squad.

This is not to take anything away from the Maple Leafs, who imposed their will on the Lightning, most notably on an early 5-minute penalty kill, and then later in the game when a line brawl broke out. Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews didn't miss a beat from their career-best seasons this year.

Will Tampa respond with a bounce back game tonight? Or will Toronto take both home games and head to the Sunshine state up 2-0 in the series? Tune in tonight at 7pm EST to find out!

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