The Toronto Maple Leafs are once again entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs with high expectations, despite their long track record of falling short.

And their first round opponent is none other than the Tampa Bay Lightning, who eliminated the Leafs in heartbreaking fashion on their home ice in game seven of the opening round last year.

The Lightning went on to make the Stanley Cup final – leaving Leafs fans wondering what their team could have accomplished had they made it out of round one.

Now, they'll get a second chance.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight's Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round series between the Leafs and Lightning. 

THE MATCHUP

As three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, Tampa Bay has the far superior post-season resume, however Toronto had a better regular season, and comes into the playoffs with more momentum than the Lightning.

The Leafs have won four straight games, and seven of their last 10, while the Lightning struggled down the final stretch of the season, losing eight of their last 12.

The two teams also look a little different than they did last year.

The Leafs overhauled their goaltending core at the beginning of the season, and may have found a gem in 26-year-old free agent signing Ilya Samsonov, who will get the start in net tonight.

“He's been awesome,” Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “Came in and fit right in and played extremely well. He rose to the challenge. It's not easy coming into a new team, it's not easy being (on a one-year) deal.

“He deserves all the credit in the world.”

Toronto also added a number of playoff-hardened veterans at the trade deadline, including former Lightning defenceman Luke Schenn and 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly.

Meanwhile, the Lightning’s major trade-deadline acquisition, forward Tanner Jeannot, remains inactive due to a lower body injury and won’t suit up for tonight’s game. His status for the rest of the series is day-to-day.

‘A very difficult formula to beat’

Despite securing home ice advantage, and making some astute personnel moves in the off season and at the deadline, the Leafs know that beating the Lightning won’t be an easy task.

“[There’s] different players, different pieces on both sides but obviously [we’re] two teams that are pretty evenly matched, [but] I think we’ve earned the right to be confident heading in,” Leafs superstar Auston Matthews told reporters after Monday's practice. 

“After a strong regular season I think through the ups and downs, definitely a lot of things that we went through – adversity and stuff like that – that [makes you] grow together. They’re obviously a confident group as well, I mean, they’ve been to three Stanley Cup finals in a row so they obviously know what it takes and it’s up to us to try to push ourselves and try to get over that hump.”

The Lightning have been underwhelming since the all-star break, but they still employ one of the best net minders in the league – Andrei Vasilevskiy – who has consistently performed at a high level for Tampa Bay in the playoffs, not to mention their veteran core of Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brayden Point, Alex Killorn and others.

“The formula that they have to win is a very difficult formula to beat obviously and they have a strong belief in that,” Leafs captain John Tavares told reporters earlier today. 

“So it’s on us to figure that out and rise to that challenge and to the occasion and fine-tune what our formula is and how we can break them down and assert our game and get the results that we need to push us forward.”

TICKETS, TAILGATE, WEATHER

Tickets are still available for tonight’s game on Ticketmaster as of 2 p.m., with the cheapest ones going for around $282.

Fans hoping to join the tailgate party outside Scotiabank Arena in Maple Leaf Square will have to try again as passes for tonight’s game are sold out, but tailgate parties will continue to be held in the square for each Leafs playoff game this year, both home and away.

The forecast in Toronto is calling for grey, overcast skies throughout the evening, with some rain or even light snow expected this afternoon.

But luckily for those fans planning on watching the game outdoors, the chance of precipitation drops significantly by 7 p.m.

Temperatures in the city are expected to be between 2 and 4 C for the duration of the game.

The puck is set to drop tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena. 

With files from The Canadian Press.