The Lightning are off to a 1-1-1 start and aren’t particularly happy with their play so far this season. Tampa generated just two shots on goal in the final two periods of their recent OT loss to the Hurricanes and managed the puck terribly through the second half of the game. After the loss, captain Steven Stamkos called out his team’s “freewheeling” style and said it would be “a really long year” for the team if the Lightning, “think we can come into games and win because we’re skilled.”
That the Lightning have been issued a challenge by their captain coming into the game isn’t a welcomed sight necessarily for the Leafs, but it also means they should get the Lightning’s best effort tonight — and that’s a pretty good opportunity to measure up early in the year.