<p>It&#8217;s a crucial game Wednesday night for the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/toronto-maple-leafs/line-combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> in pursuit of their first ever Atlantic Division title, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on the tail end of a back-to-back in the Sunshine State. Following <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-florida-panthers-toronto-maple-leafs-final-matchup">Toronto&#8217;s 3-1 loss Tuesday to the Panthers,</a> the Lightning now only trail the Leafs by two points and would overtake them for first in the division with a regulation win. With just four games remaining in the regular season after tonight, it&#8217;s not something Toronto would like to let happen with the margins so razor thin, especially with the Panthers becoming the likely opponent if they finish second in the Atlantic.</p>
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<p>Despite the fresh sting of Tuesday&#8217;s defeat, the Leafs do have some momentum on their side against the Lightning this season, having won all three of their battles this year. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixnQXHVaUQ">Speaking to media Wednesday morning,</a> head coach Craig Berube touched on the key players that could cause trouble for Toronto as they attempt the season series sweep. Chief among them is Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, who Berube praised as he talked about the difficulty of shutting down a player like that.</p>
<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s such a good playmaker, he has eyes on the back of his head almost,&#8221; Berube said. &#8220;He knows where his players are, his linemates, he&#8217;ll just make a play under pressure to them. He&#8217;s very good at it. He&#8217;s an elite player, we all know that. At the same time, we gotta go at him, we gotta take time and space away from him, we gotta have good sticks against him. That&#8217;s important. Good stick details and taking away his options.&#8221;</p>
<p>As he&#8217;s done his whole career, Kucherov continues to put up big numbers this season with 115 points–trailing only Nathan MacKinnon&#8217;s 116–and 17 points in his last seven games. However, the Leafs have done a decent job containing him in his two appearances against them this season, allowing him only one assist each game.</p>
<p>Another Russian star the Leafs will have to watch out for tonight is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who sits top three in major categories this season with 37 wins, six shutouts, a 2.14 GAA and .923 SV%. Toronto has done a good job of solving him so far this year, with eight goals against in his two appearances vs. the Leafs this season. Asked about the team&#8217;s confidence in facing the Vezina-winning goalie, Berube said it&#8217;s all about building on what they&#8217;ve already done.</p>
<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re confident anyhow, but it&#8217;s about traffic, it&#8217;s about rebounds and things like that against him,&#8221; said Berube. &#8220;You gotta out compete the goalie. We gotta get pucks to the net with traffic and then win those battles. I can think of two or three goals we&#8217;ve scored against him this season with those types of situations.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Leafs certainly have their work cut out for them facing Kucherov, Vasilevskiy and the Lightning squad tonight, but Toronto&#8217;s head coach added that he thinks his team is up to the challenge of bouncing back after last night&#8217;s tough loss, as they have done all year.</p>
<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve been good,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They come out a lot more competitive the next game, and get a response out of them. I expect the same thing.&#8221;</p>
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It's a crucial game Wednesday night for the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/toronto-maple-leafs/line-combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> in pursuit of their first ever Atlantic Division title, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on the tail end of a back-to-back in the Sunshine State. Following <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-florida-panthers-toronto-maple-leafs-final-matchup">Toronto's 3-1 loss Tuesday to the Panthers,</a> the Lightning now only trail the Leafs by two points and would overtake them for first in the division with a regulation win. With just four games remaining in the regular season after tonight, it's not something Toronto would like to let happen with the margins so razor thin, especially with the Panthers becoming the likely opponent if they finish second in the Atlantic.
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Despite the fresh sting of Tuesday's defeat, the Leafs do have some momentum on their side against the Lightning this season, having won all three of their battles this year. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixnQXHVaUQ">Speaking to media Wednesday morning,</a> head coach Craig Berube touched on the key players that could cause trouble for Toronto as they attempt the season series sweep. Chief among them is Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, who Berube praised as he talked about the difficulty of shutting down a player like that.

"He's such a good playmaker, he has eyes on the back of his head almost," Berube said. "He knows where his players are, his linemates, he'll just make a play under pressure to them. He's very good at it. He's an elite player, we all know that. At the same time, we gotta go at him, we gotta take time and space away from him, we gotta have good sticks against him. That's important. Good stick details and taking away his options."

As he's done his whole career, Kucherov continues to put up big numbers this season with 115 points–trailing only Nathan MacKinnon's 116–and 17 points in his last seven games. However, the Leafs have done a decent job containing him in his two appearances against them this season, allowing him only one assist each game.

Another Russian star the Leafs will have to watch out for tonight is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who sits top three in major categories this season with 37 wins, six shutouts, a 2.14 GAA and .923 SV%. Toronto has done a good job of solving him so far this year, with eight goals against in his two appearances vs. the Leafs this season. Asked about the team's confidence in facing the Vezina-winning goalie, Berube said it's all about building on what they've already done.

"They're confident anyhow, but it's about traffic, it's about rebounds and things like that against him," said Berube. "You gotta out compete the goalie. We gotta get pucks to the net with traffic and then win those battles. I can think of two or three goals we've scored against him this season with those types of situations."

The Leafs certainly have their work cut out for them facing Kucherov, Vasilevskiy and the Lightning squad tonight, but Toronto's head coach added that he thinks his team is up to the challenge of bouncing back after last night's tough loss, as they have done all year.

"They've been good," he said. "They come out a lot more competitive the next game, and get a response out of them. I expect the same thing."
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Berube discusses shutting down Kucherov, beating Vasilevskiy ahead of match vs. Lightning

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