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

(2A) Maple Leafs at (3A) Lightning
7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN
Best-of-7 series tied 1-1

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a different look to their lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Friday.
Forward Jason Spezza and defenseman Justin Holl each will play his first game of the best-of-7 series. With Lightning coach Jon Cooper holding the last change now that the series has shifted to Tampa, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said the changes give some flexibility to the roster.
Spezza replaces Wayne Simmonds on the fourth line, where he'll be joined by Colin Blackwell and Pierre Engvall. Holl steps in for Timothy Liljegren and will play on the second defense pair.
"I think I bring a lot of experience this time of year," Spezza said. "This is the best time of year to play hockey. I think I bring enthusiasm to the game and also can help on the power play."
Spezza, who is in his 19th NHL season, has scored 75 points (28 goals, 47 assists) in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars and Maple Leafs.
Tampa Bay will use the same lineup from its 5-3 victory in Game 2.
The Lightning will attempt to extend their postseason home winning streak to seven; the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions' streak dates to Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals against the New York Islanders.
The last team to win at least seven straight home playoff games spanning seasons was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won seven in a row from 2017-18.
"Hopefully our crowd will be as loud as ever," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "I thought the atmosphere in Toronto was great. So now it's our fans' turn to show what we've really got here in Tampa. Plus, we're really looking forward to it."
The Lightning understand taking a lead in the series would put the pressure squarely on the Maple Leafs for Game 4.
"In most instances the odd-number games are important," Cooper said. "In this instance it's not quite what Game 5 would be, but it certainly is [important]."
When a best-of-7 series is tied, the winner of Game 3 holds a series record of 227-110 (67.5 percent), including a 4-3 record in the 2021 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for Game 3:

1. Tavares, Nylander back together

After playing on the third line for the first two games of the series, forward William Nylander has been bumped up to the second line, where he'll be reunited with center John Tavares. The two spent significant time playing together during the regular season, and Keefe said he feels it gives Toronto more offensive punch if Tampa Bay puts its top checkers on the Maple Leafs' first line of Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner and Michael Bunting.

2. Surviving the early storm

With the raucous home crowd urging them on, the Lightning are expected to make an early push in Game 3. As such, it's imperative the Maple Leafs keep their composure, something they've had difficulty doing at times this far.
In Game 1, forward Kyle Clifford took an undisciplined boarding penalty and subsequently was suspended for Game 2 by the NHL Department of Player Safety. In Game 2, Toronto's penalty woes resulted in three power-play goals by Tampa Bay.
The Maple Leafs must stay out of the penalty box, especially in the early going when the teams are grasping to find momentum.

3. Vasilevskiy's back

So much for the "What's wrong with Andrei Vasilevskiy?" narrative that came out of Tampa Bay's 5-0 loss in Game 1. The Lightning goalie responded with a flawless 13-save performance in the first period of Game 2, allowing Tampa Bay some breathing room for a 1-0 lead en route to a 5-3 victory.
The most impressive stat about Vasilevskiy, who made 31 saves Wednesday: He's 15-0 coming off a postseason loss dating to 2020. He appears to be back on top of his game, which spells trouble for Toronto.

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
William Nylander -- John Tavares -- Ondrej Kase
Ilya Mikheyev -- David Kampf -- Alex Kerfoot
Pierre Engvall -- Colin Blackwell -- Jason Spezza
Morgan Rielly -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Mark Giordano -- Justin Holl
Jake Muzzin -- TJ Brodie
Jack Campbell
Erik Kallgren
Scratched: Wayne Simmonds, Timothy Liljegren, Nick Abruzzese, Kyle Clifford, Joey Anderson
Injured: Rasmus Sandin (knee), Petr Mrazek (groin)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Brayden Point
Brandon Hagel -- Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul
Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Ryan McDonagh -- Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev -- Cal Foote
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Riley Nash, Jan Rutta
Injured: None

Status report

Kase missed the Maple Leafs morning skate because of a personal issue but will play, Keefe said. ... The Lightning held an optional morning skate Friday.