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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

As Bissonnette explained on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs should pursue the signing of new Carolina Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen if he gets to free agency and Toronto lets Mitch Marner walk.

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).

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat their fierce division rivals Tampa Bay ... play for the Lightning, once again making it a one-goal game. But the Leafs iced the contest with Mitch Marner's empty ...

Tampa Bay is dealing with having to beat out Toronto ... Nikita Kucherov is third in the NHL in points. Mitch Marner and William Nylander lead the Maple Leafs on the offensive end.

A generation ago, it felt like the best hope a short guy had of thriving in the NHL was in the crease. Today, the dynamic has largely flipped. Ryan Dixon takes a look at each team’s undersized players in this week’s Power Rankings.