The Maple Leafs and Lightning have a long-lived playoff rivalry, as the two tend to meet in the postseason on a regular basis.
The Leafs in 13 all-time playoff series against the Lightning, have a 7-6 record over them. Their most recent being their first round victory over Tampa Bay during the 2022-23 playoffs, which sent them to the second round.
Tampa Bay, coming off two Stanley Cup championships in the last 4 years, has been known as one of the most consistent playoff performers, while Toronto has been known for their frequent first round exits.
Recently, one of Tampa Bay's defensemen took a jab at Toronto and their frequent first round exits.
Sergachev takes jabs at the Leafs
Mikhail Sergachev of the Lightning threw shade at the Maple Leafs ahead of their first meeting of the season.
"We lost and (had) a long summer ... and that's probably what they feel every year". Said sergachev following the highly anticipated matchup on Saturday night.
Both teams have not been off to the starts they had hoped for. The Lightning are 2-2-1 to start the year, while the Maple Leafs are 2-2-0.
This will be a key matchup as both teams look to improve their records beyond .500 win percentage.
While the Lightning have certainly been a more successful playoff team, it would appear their window of victory is closing and the Maple Leafs have several of their stars entering their primes.
It will be interesting to see these two teams go head-to-head in the playoffs once again this year.
More likely to win a best-of-7 series this year
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