Maple Leafs lineup tonight: Toronto's projected lineup for game against Tampa Bay Lightning | Oct. 21, 2024

The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The Maple Leafs are coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers at home on Saturday.

Ahead of this massive divisional game against the Lightning, here is what the Leafs' projected lineup is expected to look like.

Predicted Maple Leafs lineup

Forwards

• Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
• Bobby McMann - Max Domi - William Nylander
• Pontus Holmberg - John Tavares - Nick Robertson
• Steven Lorentz - David Kampf - Ryan Reaves

Toronto's lineup should remain the same as Max Pacioretty looks to be the odd-man out for the forward lineup for the time being.

"I'm dealing with it the best I can — just work. Would I rather be playing? Of course," Pacioretty said, via Sportsnet. "Anyone up here talking honestly would say they want to play and feel they deserve to play, but it is what it is. I'm having a lot of fun right now working on my game."

However, the Maple Leafs offense has struggled this season, and through five games, Toronto is averaging just 3.0 goals per game.

Defenseman

• Morgan Rielly - Chris Tanev
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Jake McCabe
• Simon Benoit - Conor Timmins

Toronto's defensive unit has been solid this season and been a key reason for the team's success. Conor Timmins appears to have won the sixth defenseman role for good as Timothy Liljegren should be a healthy scratch again.

Goalies

• Anthony Stolarz
• Dennis Hildeby

Stolarz has been fantastic for the Maple Leafs as the starting goalie. To begin the year, Stolarz is 2-2 with a 1.79 GAA and a .937 SV%.

Maple Leafs vs Lightning: Preview

Toronto is a -142 favorite while the Lightning are a +120 underdog, with the over/under set at 6.5 goals.

This could be a playoff preview between Toronto and Tampa Bay. Both teams should be off to the playoffs later this year, so this is a good test to see where both teams are at.

The Maple Leafs are playing much better defensively this season but their offense has been an issue. Going against Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is one of the best goalies in the NHL, should be an issue. Thus, take Tampa Bay as the underdog here.

Prediction: Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2.

Maple Leafs October NHL schedule

Toronto's remaining schedule for the first month of the season is as follows:

• vs. Tampa Bay, Oct. 21
• @ Columbus, Oct. 22
• vs. St. Louis, Oct. 24
• @ Boston, Oct. 26
• @ Winnipeg, Oct. 28
• vs. Seattle, Oct. 31