Defensive Group
Toronto Maple Leafs:
- Morgan Rielly
- Jake Muzzin
- T.J. Brodie
- Mark Giordano
- Ilya Lybushkin
- Timothy Liljegren
- Justin Holl
- Rasmus Sandin
Tampa Bay Lightning:
- Victor Hedman
- Erik Cernak
- Ryan McDonagh
- Cal Foote
- Mikhail Sergachev
- Zach Bogosian
- Jan Rutta
Advantage: Tampa Bay Lightning
Hedman is the reason why the Lightning get the advantage here. He’s arguably a top-three defenseman in the world and he’s shown over the past two years that he can dominate a playoff series.
It’s not like it’s a huge advantage, but Tampa’s size on the blue-line will be Toronto’s biggest kryptonite, but if their speed can get through their physicality, the Leafs still have a chance to score a lot of goals.