'It's still hard work and that's what our group's been good at. 'Just because you've gone through it doesn't mean you're automatically, 'Well, hey, we've done this before,'' head coach Jon Cooper said ahead of Game 1. On the other side, the Lightning will look to do something no team has done since the New York Islanders in the early '80s: a 3-peat. 'That's the special part about being here.' 'We know we're in a special market, special fan base that is going to add a lot of fuel for us and push us along,' Leafs captain John Tavares told reporters ahead of Monday's Game 1.

Step one toward a deep playoff run comes Monday night when they host the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series. In 2022, they'll aim to put an end to the drought. The Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004 and haven't hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1967, when there were six teams in the NHL. The pieces seem like they're in place for a potential Maple Leafs Cup run - a run that's long overdue. They'll have home ice advantage in front of what will be a raucous Stanley Cup-starved fan base that'll make Scotiabank Arena a tough place for any of the team's opponents in the playoffs. They have the league's best goal scorer in Auston Mathews, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy after scoring a franchise-record 60 goals. Sheldon Keefe's men finished second in the Atlantic Divison behind the President's Trophy-winning Florida Panthers.

It's the sixth straight season they've qualified for the postseason. The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in the playoffs.

Tor maple leafs schedule