6:50 PM ET

Cernak did not return to Game 1 and has been ruled out for Thursday’s Game 2 as well. The veteran defenseman plays a key role on Tampa Bay’s blueline, clocking 19:14 time on ice per game in the regular season.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after Game 1 he trusted the NHL to make the right call.

“I will give you the company line: The league will look at that. To me, it seems to check a whole bunch of boxes [to warrant supplemental discipline],” Cooper said.

Bunting led the Leafs in regular-season penalty minutes (103) and had vowed to conduct himself more carefully during the playoffs to avoid putting Toronto at a disadvantage. Now, the Leafs will have to adjust without a top-six winger for a sizable portion of their postseason series.

At Wednesday’s practice — which Bunting attended — Toronto’s coach Sheldon Keefe slotted Calle Jarnkrok into Bunting’s former spot with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

On Tampa Bay’s side, defenseman Victor Hedman — who left Game 1 after the first period with an undisclosed issue — is possible to return for Game 2. Tanner Jeannot (right leg) also participated in the team’s Wednesday practice and could return Thursday following a three-game absence.