Leafs star Mitch Marner is in the midst of one of his best seasons, and the 27-year-old was the catalyst of a 5-3 victory over the Lightning.

On Feb. 12, the Toronto forward will exchange the blue-and-white maple leaf on his chest for the red-and-white one of Canada for the opener of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Sweden (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

Lightning star winger Nikita Kucherov, minus-3 on the night, was trying to make a pass at the Toronto blue line, but his turnover led to a breakaway for William Nylander that he buried for his 28th goal of the season and a 2-0 Toronto lead.

Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg gets hit with a punishment for his hit during a game over the weekend against the Red Wings.

There was an abundance of star talent on the ice Monday, and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best players rose to the occasion in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche trading star Mikko Rantanen signifies a change in their team-building approach from front-loading their squad to improving their depth.

TORONTO — Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs held on late to down the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Monday night. Auston Matthews and William Nylander also scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 27 saves. Mitch Marner added ...

Knies netted a backhand with 23 seconds left in the second period and then found the back of the net again on a power play after Tampa Bay had trimmed Toronto’s lead to 3-2 in the third. The 22-year-old left winger now has 18 goals for the season, a career best.

The Toronto Maple Leafs held off the Tampa Bay Lightning, notching a big 5-3 win on Monday Night at Scotiabank Arena. Matthew Knies scored twice for the Leafs, setting a career-high in goals with 18.

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in a matchup within the Atlantic Division Monday. Toronto is 29-16-2 overall with a 10-4-1 record against the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have gone 12-5-1 in games they convert at least one power play.

As the Maple Leafs went about dismantling the Montreal Canadiens in the second and third periods on Saturday night in a 7-3 win, the Lightning was beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 at home for its third win in four games

This pair served as the shutdown group, seeing plenty of the Lightning’s top line and keeping them off the board. Both Ekman-Larsson and Tanev did a good job winning puck battles in their own zone and transitioning the puck up the ice.