Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 3 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/6/2022

Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eastern Conference First Round, Game 3 -- Series tied 1-1

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to watch: TBS, Bally Sports Sun, CBC, Sportsnet

DraftKings: Lightning -120, Maple Leafs +100

BetMGM: Lightning -120, Maple Leafs +100

Caesars: Lightning -115, Maple Leafs +105

I think we all anticipated the Tampa Bay Lightning to bounce back in Game 2. Anyone who didn’t think the two-time champs wouldn’t bounce back in a resounding way is kidding themselves. What the first two games have shown is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are willing to play great hockey and make this an entertaining series.

But with the series shifting to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Friday, I don’t really have any idea which way this game is going, but it should be a very fun game in what’s going to be one fun of an atmosphere at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning laid an egg in Game 1, but bounced back in a big way thanks to Victor Hedman’s four-point night for a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 2. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in a huge bounce-back effort, and Nikita Kucherov also scored.

Tampa Bay needed the big boys to play better in Game 2, and that’s exactly what happened.

"A win is a win in the playoffs," Hedman said. "I think we were a little more desperate and we battled hard, that's the bottom line. On the power play, at 5-on-5, we did a pretty good job most of the night.

"We take it personal, that's the bottom line. If you lose two in a row in the playoffs, it's never good since it's first to four. We go out there with the philosophy that we want to bounce right back, and today was another example of us doing that."

The Lightning have won 15 straight after a playoff loss, which is exactly why they take things like this personal. But outside of giving up two goals late in the third period, it was a dominant defensive effort before they took their foot off the gas.

"I don't know how far teams go when their big guys aren't going," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You need them especially at times when your back is against the wall. I can't say our back was against the wall, it was one game, but we needed them tonight and they stepped up, and it started with our goaltender. He was outstanding."

The Maple Leafs may have used all the bullets in the chamber in Game 1 while running out of gas on Wednesday. There wasn’t a lot of help from the depth guys. Mitch Marner scored again, and Auston Matthews had two assists, but that was about it.

"That's what you have to overcome to get to where we want to get to," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "There's times when it goes great like Monday, when we really executed and everything was unflappable and we played a pretty darn good game. We had a pretty good first period (tonight), and obviously a tough break (on Hedman's goal) and then their goalie makes a good save."

But again, just like we all should’ve expected it, the Maple Leafs got a much better attack from their side, as well.

"I thought they played better," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That's really the team that we prepared for. Obviously, the difference in the game was special teams. At 5-on-5 it was a pretty even hockey game. Their power play was better. We took too many penalties."

Now that it’s a best-of-5, this series is pretty much even given the results. I think the Lightning are in a good spot coming back home, and should rely on that crowd like Toronto did and take a lead in the series. Lightning win 4-2

Maple Leafs are 30-17 this season off an over.

Maple Leafs are 8-1 this season when revenging a home loss to an opponent.

Lightning are 18-9 after a division game this season, 79-44 the past three seasons.

Maple Leafs:

Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner

Ilya Mikheyev -- John Tavares -- Alexander Kerfoot

William Nylander -- David Kampf -- Pierre Engvall

Nicholas Abruzzese -- Colin Blackwell -- Jason Spezza

Morgan Rielly -- Ilya Lyubushkin

Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren

Jake Muzzin -- TJ Brodie

Jack Campbell

Lightning:

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Brandon Hagel

Nicholas Paul -- Brayden Point -- Ross Colton

Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry

Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak

Ryan McDonagh -- Cal Foote

Mikhail Sergachev -- Zach Bogosian

Andrei Vasilevskiy