The Toronto Maple Leafs seized on their opportunity to play the spoiler in a 4-3 comeback overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but that win may have been a blip for the struggling club.
Toronto ended a seven-game losing streak against the provincial rival over the weekend but it is questionable whether they will have the same motivation against Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the final game of their four-game homestand at Air Canada Center on Tuesday.
The Lightning have 101 points and are in a heated battle with Montreal and New York for top spot in the Eastern Conference and with Anaheim for the President’s Trophy, which would guarantee home-ice advantage for the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs.
A 5-3 victory over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Monday moved Tampa to within one point of the Habs for top spot in the Atlantic Division, but at a heavy cost.
Lightning blueliner Victor Hedman suffered an undisclosed injury and returned to the locker room after playing one shift in the third period, which forced head coach John Cooper to use big center Brian Boyle on defense for the remainer of the game.
There is no update on the extent of Hedman’s injury, but coming on the heels of losing two defensemen (Andrej Sustr and Jason Garrison) to upper body injuries last weekend and of veteran blueliner Braydon Coburn earlier in the month, it will leave the Lightning rather thin on defense against the Leafs.
Tampa will go with veterans Anton Stralman and Matt Carle, sophomore Mark Barberio and rookies Luke Witkowski, Nikita Nesterov and 2012 first rounder Slater Koekkoek who was recalled from Syracuse on Tuesday and and will make his NHL debut vs. Toronto.
After registering his first win since February 7, James Reimer will get his second straight start against Tampa, which likely means that Jonathan Bernier will be in goal in the second of back-to-back games in Buffalo on Wednesday.
Ben Bishop made 25 saves in the win in Montreal and also played in Tampa’s 4-0 loss on Saturday, which could mean rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy could get the start.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. PHILADELPHIA 77(76), 7. COLUMBUS 72(73), 6. NEW JERSEY 74(76), 5. CAROLINA 67(75), 4. TORONTO 62(76), 3. EDMONTON 59(76), 2. ARIZONA 54(77), 1. BUFFALO 50(76)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(9.5%) Same
Games to watch: Carolina at Washington
Monday’s results : The victory on Saturday was costly in terms of the Leafs hopes of getting lower in the standings, but Edmonton countered with a 4-1 win in Colorado on Monday. The victory moves the Oilers to within three points of Toronto with six games remaining in the season.
Edmonton appears to be motivated to make a case for keeping interim bench boss Todd Nelson as head coach and could catch Toronto, who have four of their last six games against teams in a battle for playoff spots or positioning.
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
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