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The struggling Toronto Maple Leafs will visit the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Sun in Lightning markets, but if you don’t have cable, live out of market or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
For everyone in the United States, the Leafs vs Lightning game will be streamed live on on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable required) that has exclusive coverage to NHL games–and several other sports–every day.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
For those who live in the Lightning market, Fox Sports Sun is included in the main Fubo bundle, which has 75-plus channels and is tailored towards sports. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
For those who live in the Lightning market, Fox Sports Sun is included in the “Hulu with Live TV” channel bundle. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Leafs vs Lightning Preview
The Lightning have an NHL-leading 74 points through 47 games (36-9-2), scoring a league-leading four goals per tilt. The team also surrenders 2.83 goals per game, the eighth-best mark in the NHL. Tampa Bay has lost just three times in their last 22 contests, including one overtime defeat.
Their last time out, they bested the Stars 2-0 to bounce back from a 5-1 defeat to the Islanders, their second-worst loss of the season. Goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots to post his second shutout in a week despite the Stars’ six power plays.
“When you’re holding onto a 1-0 lead, it’s hard to get anything going when you’re killing that off,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “But they did a phenomenal job killing that off and when pucks did get by, [Vasilevskiy] was there. He was in the zone tonight and put a goose egg up on the board.”
The netminder’s 10-2-1 since returning from a broken foot.
“I think the main difference was for every penalty we kill off, you get a little more confidence and you feel good being out there,” defenseman Anton Stralman said, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t know if they got frustrated. We take pride in what we do out there, and tonight it paid off.”
Mikhail Sergachev scored his second goal of the season. The 20-year-old defenseman now has six points in his last seven games.
“You can tell, when he has the puck on his stick, and he has that confidence, to carry and protect it and use his size — sometimes he doesn’t realize how big he is — he can do a lot of damage,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos recently told the Tampa Bay Times.
The Maple Leafs sit in second place behind the Lightning in the Atlantic Division, with 58 points through 45 games. The squad is fourth in goals per game, at 3.58, and ninth in scoring defense, at 2.84. But they’ve lost two in a row and five of their last seven.
On Monday, they fell to the Avalanche 6-3.
“We just didn’t win enough races, enough puck battles,” Toronto center John Tavares said, according to the Associated Press. “It starts with guys like myself, we have to do a better job consistently.”
Goalkeeper Frederik Andersen returned to the ice after missing eight games with a groin injury, surrendering four goals on 36 shots before the Avalanche netted a pair of empty-netters.
“I’ve been working hard on making sure it feels well and feels good to play on, and is something that won’t linger,” Andersen said before the defeat, according to the CBC. “That’s why we took a little bit extra time to make sure I was feeling great.”
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