The stretch drive to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is heating up.

At this point, it feels like everyone – aside from the Florida Panthers – continues to win in the Atlantic Division. Tampa smothered the New York Rangers 5-1 on Monday night, which means, once again, they’re just two points back of the Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division. That said, tonight’s game will be Toronto’s game in hand on the Lighnting. On top of that, they’ll visit Jon Cooper’s Lightning tomorrow night.

That’s where the conversation started on the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take as David Pagnotta filled in for Jay Rosehill as co-host. We talked a lot about the standings and how the tables have turned in the Eastern Conference. The Metro has been the superior division for years, but this year, the Atlantic has ruled the day.

Thanks to GRETA BAR YYZ, we offered up a full game preview. Of note, Florida’s icing a much more competitive roster than they did on Sunday night in Detroit. Even Aleksander Barkov, who’s missed a few games, will be back in the lineup. Furthermore, the Cats did disclose today that Sam Bennett will rest for the balance of the regular season. He will, however, be good to go for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Meantime, Joseph Woll is expected to get the call for Toronto, which means Anthony Stolarz will get the back end of the back-to-back in Tampa. William Nylander is six goals away from 50 and Mitch Marner needs six points to hit the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career. We talked a lot about load management. Due to the salary cap, the Leafs really can’t do it. With that in mind, they could play their bottom six more and give their big boys a few minutes off here and there. Obviously, we gave our thoughts, too, on Florida’s supposed sandbagging the past few games. Are they tanking for the Leafs? We’ll never get an honest answer, but it sure feels that way. At any rate, the Leafs can’t control that. They can just go out there and play their game. They’ll play who they’ll play.

Jay Rosehill will be back in the mix for the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Join us at 11 AM ET for a full recap of Leafs/Panthers. Also, we’ll preview Leafs/Bolts. Additionally, U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer John Vanbiesbrouck will stop by the show.

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