3 Keys: Lightning at Maple Leafs, Game 1 of Eastern 1st Round

(3A) Lightning at (2A) Maple Leafs
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 1
7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSUN

TORONTO --The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for redemption when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round for the second consecutive season.
The Lightning eliminated the Maple Leafs in seven games a year ago in a tight series that culminated with Tampa Bay winning 2-1 in Game 7 at Scotiabank Arena thanks to a two-goal game from forward Nicholas Paul.
Toronto has gone 19 years without winning a Stanley Cup Playoff series and has not won the Cup since 1967. In an attempt to change that narrative, the Maple Leafs added forwards Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari and Sam Lafferty, and defensemen Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn, each player with a penchant for playing a grinding, physical style suited for the postseason.
"Obviously they brought in a ton at the (NHL Trade) Deadline," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said Tuesday. "Really good quality players and players that you want on your team this time of year.
"They're an improved team from last year. And so it's going to be an extremely difficult series."
The Maple Leafs (50-21-11) finished the regular season with 111 points, 13 more than the Lightning (46-30-6). But Toronto understands it's a new season starting Tuesday, especially when facing Tampa Bay, which is attempting to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a fourth consecutive season; the Lightning won back-to-back Cup titles in 2020 and 2021 and lost the Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche in six game last season.
"Hearing them talk about the process they have for the formula they have to win, it's a very difficult formula to beat, obviously, and they have a strong belief in that," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "It's on us to figure that out and rise to that challenge and occasion, and how we can fine-tune out what our formula is and how we can break them down."
Here are three keys for Game 1:

1. Lightning must flip the switch up to playoff intensity

Stamkos and coach Jon Cooper each said Tuesday that Tampa Bay has not been hitting on all cylinders for a number of weeks now after clinching a postseason berth. The Lightning staggered over the regular-season finish line with a 1-4-0 record in their last five games and 4-8-0 in their last 12.
The physical and mental grind on Tampa Bay players over the past three seasons was noticeable down the stretch. In the end, they know that now is go time.
"We've known about this potential playoff matchup for a long time, so yeah, it's tough," Stamkos said. "At the same time we wanted to feel good about ourselves and we didn't."
They'd better find a way to change that narrative beginning Tuesday.

2. Time for Samsonov to walk the walk

On Saturday, Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov declared that Toronto was probably
the best team in the League
. He didn't say it maliciously or to provide bulletin board fodder; he truly believes it.
This much is certain: Toronto cannot live up to his expectation and description without good goaltending against the likes of skilled offensive players like Stamkos, forward Nikita Kucherov and center Brayden Point. In other words, if Samsonov feels that way, he's going to have to play that way; he had a great regular season, going 27-10-5 with a 2.33 GAA, .919 save percentage and four shutouts, each an NHL career best. Now comes crunch time.
"We have all the confidence in the world in Ilya," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "He's shown us he deserves it."

3. Quick starts imperative

It seems like a cliche to say a team is looking to get out of the gates quickly, especially to open a playoff series. But when it comes to the Maple Leafs and Lightning, there are layers to this.
For Tampa Bay, not only is it an opportunity to get its game on track, it also puts pressure on the home team. The Maple Leafs are the higher-seeded team so the giddiness in the stands could quickly be siphoned with a couple of early Lightning goals.
The "here we go again" school of thought would then re-emerge quickly for a fan base that hasn't seen Toronto win a postseason series since 2004, let alone potentially create doubts in the heads of Maple Leafs players. The best way to keep that from happening? Get off to a good start.

Lightning projected lineup

Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul -- Michael Eyssimont
Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Nick Perbix
Mikhail Sergachev -- Darren Raddysh
Ian Cole -- Erik Cernak
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched: Zach Bogosian, Haydn Fleury
Injured: Tanner Jeannot (leg)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
John Tavares -- Ryan O'Reilly -- William Nylander
Alex Kerfoot -- Noel Acciari -- Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese -- David Kampf -- Sam Lafferty
Jake McCabe -- TJ Brodie
Mark Giordano -- Justin Holl
Morgan Rielly -- Luke Schenn
Ilya Samsonov
Joseph Woll
Scratched: Erik Gustafsson, Timothy Liljegren, Conor Timmins, Wayne Simmonds, Matthew Knies, Erik Kallgren
Injured: Jake Muzzin (neck), Victor Mete (upper body), Nicholas Robertson (shoulder), Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder), Matt Murray (head)

Status report

Jeannot participated in the Lightning's optional morning skate Tuesday; the forward will not play in Game 1, but coach Jon Cooper did not rule him out yet for Game 2. Jeannot has not played since April 6 when he was injured falling backward awkwardly while tangled up with New York Islanders forward Scott Mayfield in a 6-1 loss. ... The Maple Leafs recalled Kallgren, a goalie, from Toronto of the American Hockey League.
NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report