The puck drops at Nationwide Centre in Columbus to officially commence the home and home, a back-to-back matchup between the Maple Leafs and the Blue Jackets. With Columbus being ranked worst in the league, one would guess that the team would use this opportunity to break their losing streak. The Maple Leafs, however, would be looking to come back from the break and a loss against the Boston Bruins with a performance worthy of a win. A performance they certainly delivered.
A Recap of Events
Mitch Marner having since recently come off of winning an NHL All-Star championship, had the shortest break of anyone on his team. He returned to his team with a similar performance from the All-Star game. He assisted captain John Tavares in scoring his 22nd goal of the season on a power play at 5: 45 seconds in the first period. Michael Bunting with the secondary assist.
Penalties in the first period were for the Maple Leafs and Zach Aston-Reese for tripping. For Columbus, Matthieu Olivier for interference, and Cole Sillinger for slashing.
There was no scoring in the second period. The only excitement in this period were the cannons going off, testing everyone’s startle reflex in the building. The penalties were from Columbus, Vladislav Gavrikov for interference, and from the Maple Leafs, Timothy Liljegren, a double minor (4:00) for high sticking.
Pierre Engvall scored at 7 minutes 49 seconds in the third period with help from David Kampf and Morgan Reilly. Putting the boys in white and blue up 2-0 for the second half of the third period. To close out, the scoring captain finished the game by getting the puck in the back of the net with yet another assist from record-breaking All-Star champ Mitch Marner. Marner is now on a 5-game point streak Going into the duel on Saturday.
Our starting goalie for this game, Ilya Samsonov, has collected 30 saves in this win resulting in a shutout of 3-0. When the team returns home tomorrow for the second matchup with the Blue Jackets, Samsonov will rest. AHL All-Star goalie Joseph Woll will start in net on Saturday in Toronto. This will be Woll’s first home start appearance, as he spent some time with the team on the road when he was called up from the Marlies on an emergency basis last season.
Honorable Mentions
Some honorable mentions for tonight’s game include Rasmus Sandin, who showed his toughness on a clean legal hit to Columbus’ Kent Johnson.
Alex Steeves had a shot on net, and that almost went in. This could have been Steeve’s very first NHL goal. This has to have put some fire under him to make that special goal happen soon. Playing with this team will help him get there.
Also, William Nylander, who got in some extra solo work with his brother over the break, got some solid chances to put himself on the board in this game. Unfortunately, his relentless efforts did not produce a goal. Nylander is the highest-scoring Maple Leaf at the moment, with 28 goals so far this season. He won’t be putting his foot on the gas anytime soon.
A Look Ahead
Both teams headed to Toronto for a rematch at Scotiabank arena Saturday evening. Columbus is looking for a comeback win with a record of 15-33-4, while the Maple Leafs look for back-to-back victories with a 32-13-8 record.
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