Tampa Bay Lightning First Round Playoff Schedule 2023 (Times, Dates and TV Channel for Maple Leafs Series)

Tampa Bay Lightning First Round Playoff Schedule 2023 (Times, Dates and TV Channel for Maple Leafs Series)

Updated:

The Tampa Bay Lightning are back in the NHL Playoffs for the sixth straight year following a solid 2022-23 regular season. Head coach Jon Cooper's team has its sights set on earning the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup, but up first is an opening-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here's everything you need to know about the Lightning's first round series.

What Seed Are the Lightning in the 2023 NHL Playoffs?

The Lightning finished the 2022-23 regular season with a 46-30-6 record, which earned them the No. 6 overall seed in the Eastern Conference. Nikita Kucherov led the way for Tampa Bay, recording a team-high 83 assists and tallying 30 goals while playing in all 82 games. The Lightning's most recent playoff appearance came in 2022, when they fell to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Who Are the Lightning Playing in the 2023 Playoffs?

As the third-place finisher in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning will play the Maple Leafs -- who posted the second-best record in the Atlanta Division -- in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. This will be a typical best-of-seven series that follows the 2-2-1-1-1 format. That means the better seed (Toronto) will host Games 1 and 2, plus Games 5 and 7 if those are necessary. The worse seed (Tampa Bay) hosts Games 3 and 4, plus Game 6 if that is necessary.

Looking ahead, if the Lightning win this series and advance, they would face either the 1-seed Boston Bruins or the Florida Panthers (second wild card team) in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Lightning First Round Playoffs Schedule 2023

The Lightning's first-round playoff schedule is not fully set yet. We'll update this space once Tampa Bay's full series information is available.

Game

Date/Time

Location

TV Channel

1

Tuesday, April 18 (7:30 p.m. ET)

Scotiabank Arena

ESPN

2

Thursday, April 20 (7 p.m. ET)

Scotiabank Arena

ESPN

3

Saturday, April 22 (7 p.m. ET)

Amalie Arena

TBS

4

Monday, April 24 (7:30 p.m. ET)

Amalie Arena

TBS

5* (if necessary)

TBD

Scotiabank Arena

TBD

6* (if necessary)

TBD

Amalie Arena

TBD

7* (if necessary)

TBD

Scotiabank Arena

TBD

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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