Full cat and mouse scenario in play.
Tampa Bay certainly is signaling they want to play Carolina. Toronto most likely wants to play Boston and who do the Bruins want?
With their 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning failed to lock down third place in the Atlantic Division, meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs still don't officially have a first-round opponent.
The Lightning could have locked up the first-ever Lightning-Leafs playoff matchup with a win (of any kind) over the Blue Jackets, or backed into clinching if the Sabres had beaten the Bruins in regulation, or if the Lightning got a point out of the Columbus game and the Sabres won in any fashion. The Bruins pasted the Sabres, 5-0, on Thursday.
This also means that there is a mathematical chance that the Maple Leafs could face the Boston Bruins in the first round. The Leafs and Bruins go head-to-head in their final game of the season, which is Friday at 7 p.m. ET. The clearest scenario for setting up Leafs-Bruins is if the Bruins beat the Leafs and the Lightning lose to the Islanders on Friday.
In the season series against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Maple Leafs won two and lost two, including splitting their last two meetings. On April 4 in Tampa, the Leafs blitzed the Lightning, 6-2, only to be crushed 8-1 in the return match back in Tampa on April 21.
Against the Lightning, Auston Matthews is the leading Leafs scorer, with three goals and four assists for seven points in three games. For the Lightning, Steven Stamkos leads with two goals and seven assists for nine points in four games.
