The Lightning are two points back of the Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division.

The Tampa Bay Lightning closed their season series against the Boston Bruins with a 3-1 win on Wednesday night, inching them closer to the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division standings.

Tampa has won eight of their last 10 games — with a loss in overtime as well — securing 17 of a possible 20 points in that span. Toronto, on the other hand, has won just five of their last 10 games and has secured 11 of a possible 20 points.

The Maple Leafs have a big game against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. They could be playing without Auston Matthews tonight who's dealing with an illness, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Thursday morning.

They'll also be missing Morgan Rielly (upper-body injury), Mitch Marner (ankle injury), and Joel Edmundson (undisclosed injury).

"These things are kind of piling up on us," Keefe said on Thursday morning, "which again, is sort of a red flag in taking practice off yesterday. It seems like we're losing one or two guys every game now to an injury, and that, of course, at this time of year, we don't want to have. 

"We have to prioritize rest to try to keep guys fresh and healthy, then we're going to have to make those adjustments. But it's piling up here and we're not through it right now."

Toronto currently has a game in hand over the Lightning. The two teams, though, still have two games against each other, which could likely decide who gets the third seed in the Atlantic Division and the first wild card spot entering the postseason.

"We're just trying to win our games and play well in our games. Tampa's been playing as good of hockey as anybody in the league and we can't control that until we play them coming up here," Keefe said. 

"But, in our case, we just gotta get our game going, get as many points as we can, and wherever the chips fall, they'll fall. We just gotta do what we can to secure a playoff position and be ready."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ8tJoa_e-o[/embed]

Related

"It's Going to Be (Decided) On How He Feels Today': Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews a Game-Time Decision Against Capitals Due to Illness

'You Really Want To Be At The Top Of The List For Being Accountable': Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares Responds to Being Called Out by Sheldon Keefe Following Loss to Devils

'I'm Available Right Now': Ilya Samsonov Feels Good But Sheldon Keefe Says Joseph Woll Will Get the Net Against Capitals on Thursday

News from THN.com

Capitals' Ethan Bear to Receive Care from NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

Archive: Former Toronto Forward David Clarkson Earned Reputation As Sandpaper NHL Force

NHL Sour Rankings: How Celebrini Could Fit In Among the NHL Draft Lottery Hopefuls