Co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke were joined by NHL.com's Toronto-based staff writer Mike Zeisberger to talk all things Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, who are in a best-of-7 series that could end as soon as Thursday when they play Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN).
The Maple Leafs lead the series 3-1 after coming back from three goals down in the third period to win Game 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa 5-4 in overtime Monday.
Toronto has not won a playoff series since 2004 and has lost its opening round series each of the past six seasons, but Zeisberger went over reasons why this year looks and feels different, most notably the fact that their top players are coming through in the clutch and the additions of forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline are paying big dividends.
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Rosen and Roarke also talked with Zeisberger about the Edmonton Oilers, specifically their power play, and how it has been the big difference in them taking a 3-2 lead against the Los Angeles Kings in their best-of-7 series in the Western Conference.
The Oilers are 8-for-14 on the power play in the five games.
In addition, Rosen and Roarke went around the rest of the playoffs, touching on each series.
They offered reasons why the New Jersey Devils have come back from 2-0 down to make it 2-2 going into Game 5 against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on Thursday. They both don't like the Winnipeg Jets' chances of winning three straight against the Vegas Golden Knights, and neither expressed concern for the Colorado Avalanche despite being locked in a 2-2 series against the Seattle Kraken going into Game 5 at Ball Arena on Wednesday.
The "NHL @TheRink"podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
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