Maple Leafs at Lightning
With the hopes of All Star Steven Stamkos’ return on the weekend now gone, the Tampa Bay Lightning start a pair of important Atlantic Division games before the Olympic break with a visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Stamkos, who broke his right tibia Nov. 11, had shown strong progress and targeted playing in Saturday’s game versus Detroit but was not cleared to play after a CT scan on Wednesday. The Lightning come in off a 1-3-0 road trip that included a 3-2 loss against Toronto.
The Maple Leafs suffered only their second regulation loss in 12 games Tuesday at Florida and are tied with Montreal – three points behind second-place Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs won’t be in a good mood after managing only 21 shots in the 4-1 loss at Florida. Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, a possible replacement for Stamkos with the Canadian Olympic team, is due after being held without a goal in seven games since scoring four against San Jose.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Leafs TV (Toronto), SunSports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (30-22-6): Toronto averaged almost four goals in the 11 outings before the Florida loss, a game in which coach Randy Carlyle told reporters his team did not play with passion. Nazem Kadri recorded an assist against the Panthers to extend his point streak to six games, including two goals against the Lightning. Leading scorer Phil Kessel (61 points) was shut out at Florida, but has collected nine goals in his last 10 games and James van Riemsdyk continues to build on his best season with 45 points.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (32-19-5): Stamkos said in a prepared statement: “I honestly believe that we did everything possible in order to have my injured leg ready in time for the Olympics, but I realize you can’t force healing.” Tampa Bay has battled on to remain in playoff position with a 20-14-5 record since the injury to Stamkos, who will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks. One of the biggest areas where Stamkos has been missed is on the power play, which ranks 20th in the league after a fast start and is 0-of-15 in the last six games.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for January, registering 16 points and a plus-13 rating in 15 games.
2. Toronto RW David Clarkson scored Tuesday after missing eight straight games with an elbow injury.
3. The Maple Leafs have won six of the last eight meetings – both losses coming at Tampa Bay