Safe to say, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs most important game this year, and maybe of the last few years. Leading the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 in their opening round playoff series, the Maple Leafs have a chance to do something tonight the team hasn't done in years; make it to the second round. With the all-important game just hours away, Toronto has released it's projected lineup for tonight.
Michael Bunting, who is now eligible to return from a suspension he earned in game 1, will sit as a healthy scratch so rookie Matthew Knies, who has impressed Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe mightily, can continue to play. Here's what Keefe will be going with as they look to eliminate the Bolts:
Forwards
Calle Järnkrok — Auston Matthews — William Nylander
Matthew Knies — John Tavares — Mitch Marner
Alex Kerfoot — Ryan O'Reilly — Noel Acciari
Zach Aston-Reese — David Kämpf — Sam Lafferty
Defence
Jake McCabe — T.J. Brodie
Mark Giordano — Justin Holl
Morgan Rielly — Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Ilya Samsonov
Joseph Woll
While game 5, which starts at 7 PM ET, is not technically a must win for Toronto, you have to think the last thing the team wants to do is start faltering with a 3-1 series lead once again. This one should be very interesting.
Will the Leafs close it out tonight?
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