Lightning, Maple Leafs have much on line in Game 7 of Eastern First Round

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs have more at stake than usual at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN), even for a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round.

The Lightning are trying to stay alive in their pursuit of three straight Stanley Cup championships, a modern-day dynasty. The Maple Leafs are trying to win a series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004, a source of frustration in one of the most passionate hockey markets in the world.

One team is chasing history. The other is fighting it.

“We have a great opportunity on home ice, Game 7, do or die, win or go home, and we should be excited about that opportunity,” Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews said. “We’ve got to be ready to go and go out there and take it.”

[RELATED: Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]

The Lightning have nothing to prove, other than, well, that they still feel they have something to prove.

They have already become the second team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the NHL introduced the salary cap in 2005-06, joining the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the Cup in 2016 and 2017. Do they have the energy and hunger to push through four grueling rounds to win the Cup again?

“Has it been taxing?” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “It has. I wouldn’t even sit here and say physically, but probably mentally, because to get yourself up every single day to have to fight through some things, [it’s hard] when you’re just like, ‘You know what? We’ve done it, and it’s OK if we don’t.’

“But these guys won’t accept that. It’s been pretty impressive, and so it’s been a blast these three years. And like I’ve told the guys, our story, it’s not finished being written, and so we’ve got a lot left in us, we feel.”

The Lightning have shown fight in this series, coming back from down 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Win Game 7, and they’re a step closer to becoming the first team to win three straight titles since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83. This is not an opportunity to squander.

“It really is history now,” Cooper said. “Like, we are in the history books, and we’re going to go down as two-time champs, and it’s not like people do that every day. It rarely happens. But to do three, now you’re becoming one of the best teams of the decade. …

“That’s what we’re chasing. First of all, it’s really hard to have it within your grasp, let alone get it, and right now it’s within our grasp, and we’re chasing it.”

The Maple Leafs have to prove they can win a series before they can worry about the ultimate goal: ending the NHL’s longest championship drought by winning the Cup for the first time since 1967, the end of the Original Six era.

Since defeating the Ottawa Senators in seven games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2004, Toronto has lost seven straight series. That includes one series each of the past five seasons and a winner-take-all game each of the past four.

These are not the same old Maple Leafs. They set their records for wins (54) and points (115) in the regular season, and Matthews set a Toronto record for goals (60).

They have gone toe-to-toe with the two-time defending champions in this series, a back-and-forth affair that has been almost dead even in terms of goals (23-21, Toronto), shots on goal (190-185, Tampa Bay) and shot attempts (352-345, Tampa Bay).

Their best players have shined. Matthews has eight points (four goals, four assists). Forward William Nylander has seven (three goals, four assists), and so does forward Mitchell Marner (two goals, five assists). Center John Tavares has six (three goals, three assists).

They came back from down 2-0 in Game 5 to win 4-3, and they came back from down 2-0 in Game 6 to take a 3-2 lead, though they lost 4-3 in overtime.

“I think it just speaks to the fact that our team and this season is unique and different,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s the belief we have within our group. You look at the fact that it’s our top players here executing at critical times and helping us find our way back. The team’s playing well as a group. All those things combined give us great confidence going into the final game here.”

Problem is, they drew the Lightning in the first round, anything can happen in Game 7, and only one team will survive.

“We feel like this team has got lots of fight in it, lots of confidence and belief in what we’re doing,” Keefe said. “Doesn’t make the game and the challenge from the opponent any easier, but we certainly aren’t uncomfortable as we go into this game. We’re ready for it.”