The Maple Leafs beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 in Columbus tonight. The Jackets outshot the Leafs 34-32, out shot attempted them 65-55 (55-46 at 5v5), but could only get two pucks past Frederik Andersen. The Leafs got on the board first, with Leo Komarov scoring at 8:55 of the first period. That was followed shortly by Auston Matthews’ 33rd goal of the year. The Blue Jackets got back into it quickly during the second period with a goal from David Savard (assisted by Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner) just 43 seconds into the frame. Brandon Saad would tip in a Zach Werenski shot to tie the game up 6:58 into the period (bonus assist to Sam Gagner). Later in the second, Alexander Nylander would bury to give Toronto a lead they would never relinquish. Nazem Kadri and Nikita Zaitsev added goals in the third period to cement the victory. Joonas Korpisalo fought the puck a bit tonight, making 27 stops on the 31 shots he faced. The Jackets are back in action tomorrow night in Washington, taking on the Caps in a game that could have huge implications for the playoffs. The Caps are currently first in the NHL, followed by the Penguins one point back, and the Jackets one point behind them. Pittsburgh is in Ottawa tomorrow night to play the Senators. After tomorrow night’s games, any of Pittsburgh, Washington, or Columbus could be first place in the NHL.
Bad: Polak’s Hit on Bjorkstrand
That hit was awful on its own, but was even more enraging because it was at least the third hit of its ilk the Leafs pulled off during the game (and the first to actually draw a penalty). Hey fun fact players, if you see the big numbers, maybe stop. Don’t drive through the hit and plaster faces and heads and such into the boards. Bad things happen that way, people’s futures get messed up, and then they have mush for brains in their forties and fifties (if they make it that far). In youth hockey, many teams in many places have these little STOP signs on the back of the jersey, just above the number. Maybe that would help differentiate between the big number on the back, and the little number on the side. Few things drive me more nuts than players who see numbers the whole way, then drive right through them. The Polak hit was even more infuriating given the fustercluck to follow…
Awful: Six Minutes and Fifty-Four Seconds
I had to spell it out completely. Using 6:54 looks far too short to describe the interminable awfulness that was that powerplay. Thanks to the Leafs choosing to not put a player into the penalty box right away, the CBJ were gifted a two minute powerplay after their five minute powerplay. It went poorly. Six minutes and fifty-four seconds of time with five Blue Jackets players versus only four Maple Leafs players. That is more players for the CBJ than the Leafs. I double checked the math on that twice, usually while the Jackets were trying to get the puck into the Leafs zone. When they did manage to get it there, they certainly were not putting pucks on the net. During that six minute and fifty-four seconds of time with more players on the ice than their opponent, the CBJ managed one piddly shot. One shot! One shot during six minutes and fifty-four seconds of 5v5 play is terrible! One shot during six minutes and fifty-four seconds of game play equates to about nine shots on goal during a game. Nine! That is terrible! Awful! No good! A nine shot period isn’t even a really great period, it’s pretty much average. Point being that one shot on goal during six minutes and fifty-four seconds of play is bad, and all the players on the ice for that stretch should feel shame for being so awful during that powerplay. It came at an absolute critical stretch of the game, and a goal (or two, or three) during that SIX MINUTES AND FIFTY-FOUR SECONDS of powerplay time would have flipped a 3-2 Leafs lead into something that was not a lead for the Leafs. Instead the Jackets farted around for six minutes and fifty-four seconds, then proceeded to not score for the rest of the game, while Nazem Kadri scored a goal that maybe should have counted, and then there was an empty-netter. As noted youth Avery Kreemer stated in our Buckeye State Hockey Slack chat: ” if you only get one shot on goal on a 7 minute powerplay then you pretty much deserve to lose the game.” Amen Avery. Amen.
Quote of the Night: John Tortorella on the Jackets’ Powerplay
“We needed to do something and we didn’t. We needed to at least generate some momentum and we didn’t even do that, let alone score a goal, so we were just ineffective.”
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