The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to continue their hot play when they take on the slumping Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
Toronto had been a major player in the Roberto Luongo sweepstakes this summer. Most pundits felt that the team was too weak at the goalie position with James Reimer and an unproven Ben Scrivens as the main tandem. While the duo seemed to prove the skeptic right early on, the goaltending has turned into the team's greatest strength in the last few weeks. After James Reimer was injured a few games ago, Ben Scrivens took over the net in Toronto and responded with two straight shutouts. In his latest endeavor, the keeper made 30 saves as he slammed the door on the Florida Panthers. Despite his strong display, Scrivens refuses to take all the credit. ''I said it two days ago, a shutout is a team stat, it's not strictly a goaltender stat,'' Scrivens said. ''The guys did a great job killing penalties, blocking shots, making smart plays at both the offensive and defensive blue lines and letting me see the puck. So, much of the credit goes to them.''
Toronto will take on a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that recently snapped a six game losing skid. The Lightning held a 2-1 lead after the first period against the Florida Panthers on Saturday but fell behind 5-3 early in the third. Fortunately, the team got goals from Steven Stamkos and Teddy Purcell to salvage one point. Benoit Pouliot eventually scored just 1:19 into overtime to hand Tampa Bay its first win in two weeks.
"We've showed character all year," Lightning head coach Guy Boucher said after the win. "And it's finally paying off."
Prediction: Tampa Bay defeats Toronto 4-2.
Star Time: 7:30 PM EST
TV: LEAFS TV, SUN