Mikhail Sergachev takes blatant shot at the Leafs ahead of tonight's playoff revenge game

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Mike Armenti
October 21, 2023 (11:27)

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Tonight should be an exciting night, with 15 games on the docket, but perhaps none more interesting than the first round rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs/Lightning series this past season was one of the more exciting series' of the entire first round. Now, it appears as though one Lightning defenseman isn't interested in a friendly rematch.

Lightning defender Mikhail Sergachev was asked on Friday what he recalled most from the Tamp/Toronto series in April. His response was less about his recollection and more about taking a blatant shot at the Maple Leafs before tonight's grudge match.

"Probably that we lost and (had) a long summer so, yeah, that's probably what they feel every year."

The 25-year-old appears to have no love lost for the Leafs. Sergachev hasn't had a great start to his season, logging almost 23 minutes a night, but only having one assist and an ugly -7 to show for his efforts through 5 games.

The Lightning come into the game with a record of 2-2-1 on the season without their backbone Andrei Vasilevskiy. Backup Jonas Johansson has been worse than expected to begin the season, posting a 3.53 GAA and .894 SV%, but the team is still managing to remain over .500 to start out.

The Leafs are also struggling to begin the year, going 2-2-0 and not looking overly spectacular early, despite adding several noteworthy pieces this summer, including Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, among others.