Maple Leafs at Lightning preview

MAPLE LEAFS (28-15-2) at LIGHTNING (36-9-2)
7:30 p.m.; ESPN+, TVAS, SUN, SNO, NHL.TV

Toronto has lost its past two games and is 2-5-0 since a 4-2 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29. The Maple Leafs are second in the Atlantic Division but trail the first-place Lightning by 16 points.
Tampa Bay is 11-2-0 in its past 13 games and has scored at least four goals in 12 of its past 17 games. Forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 75 points (22 goals, 53 assists) but has been held scoreless in the each of the past two games. He hasn't gone three games without a point this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 48 saves against Toronto in a 4-1 win on Dec. 13, will start for the Lightning. Toronto's Frederik Andersen will make his second start after returning from a groin injury.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center John Tavares has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his past 13 games.
Lightning center Brayden Point has seven points (five goals, two assists) In his past five games.

They said it

"I think you make your own luck, and if you create chances it's up to you to actually capitalize on those opportunities. No excuse for that. We've got to play better and play to the level that we're capable of as a team. That's on all 22 of us." -- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews
"We need to be a little bit quicker in our defensive zone to stop their cycle game. We can't let one shot turn into three or four. We like to use our speed offensively for sure, but we have to be solid in our own end and do the job there as well." -- Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Kasperi Kapanen
Par Lindholm -- Frederik Gauthier -- Connor Brown
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott -- Igor Ozhiganov
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
Scratched:Justin Holl, Martin Marincin
Injured:None

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Yanni Gourde
Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Adam Erne
J.T. Miller -- Cedric Paquette -- Ryan Callahan
Victor Hedman -- Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Mathieu Joseph, Braydon Coburn
Injured:None

Status report

Each team held a full morning skate. …Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock shuffled his lines and reunited Hyman and Matthews for the first time this season.

Stat pack

Marner has three goals and one assist) during a three-game point streak. Matthews has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past six games. … Vasilevskiy is 3-1-0 with a .958 save percentage and two shutouts in his past four starts. Stamkos has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in his past 17 games.