Maple Leafs report cards: A familiar script but a different ending against Blue Jackets

By / / Sports / 5 minutes of reading


For much of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 5-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the game followed a familiar script.

Despite playing a less talented opponent, the Maple Leafs started slow and let Columbus dictate the pace of play. The Blue Jackets won the shot battle 19-14 through two periods, but Toronto seemed poised to earn a close, relatively uninspiring win, thanks to Anthony Stolarz holding his ground between the pipes and Nick Robertson coming up with two quality finishes.

Instead of sitting back in the third, Toronto put the pedal down against the Blue Jackets. Columbus was unable to chase the game because the Maple Leafs were consistently on the attack — and despite some pushback in the final minutes, Toronto earned 85.27 percent of the expected goals in the final period. Along with that dominant control of the play came two goals from William Nylander and one from Auston Matthews, allowing for a comfortable finish.

Toronto didn’t impress from start to finish but earned its second five-goal win on the season on the strength of a stellar third. That’s good for an ‘A’.

Unit grades

L1 (Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner): B+

In the first period and much of the second, both Matthews and Mitch Marner were unusually quiet, with Knies taking centre stage. The young power forward had a couple of notable chances highlighted by a Michigan attempt.

Matthews and Marner woke up as the game progressed, and Toronto’s top centre even locked in the ninth 30-goal season of his career with a late-game wrister.

This line has had better, more consistent nights, but it’s tough to complain about their workmanlike effort against Columbus.

L2 (Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander): A

The second line didn’t come alive until later in the night, but it provided some handy insurance early in the third period on a pair of goals from Nylander.

Elvis Merzlikins likely didn’t feel good about either of those scores, but Nylander buries more than his share of seemingly low-danger opportunities. Neither John Tavares nor Bobby McMann stood out on Saturday, but their linemate did enough to put the game out of reach.

L3 (Scott Laughton — Max Domi — Calle Järnkrok): C-

While Max Domi assisted on Robertson’s second goal during a line change, the third line didn’t have a banner night.

The Maple Leafs were outshot 6-2 in their minutes, and they didn’t provide anything in the way of quality chances. Arguably, the biggest mark they made on the game was an ill-advised penalty on Scott Laughton that gave the Blue Jackets a chance to grab an early lead.

Denton Mateychuk might disagree with that assessment, though, considering the way Domi impacted his evening.

L4 (Steven Lorentz — Pontus Holmberg — Nick Robertson): A

The fourth line showed notable life in its first couple of shifts of the game at a time when the same couldn’t be said for the other units. The energy was rewarded with the game’s first goal as the Blue Jackets got clumsy in their own zone, Pontus Holmberg made a clever read to find the trailing Robertson, and the shooter beat Merzlikins.

This group wasn’t done there, as Steven Lorentz threw some fists in the second period, and Robertson capitalized on a brutal breakout by Columbus to score again.

D1 (Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Chris Tanev): C

On a night when most Maple Leafs had strong on-ice numbers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Chris Tanev had a five-on-five shot share above 35 percent, and they were among just four players on the team who weren’t present for any goals.

The pair’s performance was far from catastrophic, but it’s hard to say they made a strong positive contribution. That said, Tanev achieved a notable milestone by setting Toronto’s all-time single-season block record.

D2 (Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo): A

Rielly and Carlo were the only two Maple Leafs with a +3 rating in the win; they both played at least 20 minutes, and the Maple Leafs earned at least 70 percent of the shots in each of their five-on-five time.

Add in a combined three assists, and you’ve got a nifty night at the office.

D3 (Simon Benoit — Philippe Myers): B

The absence of Jake McCabe left Toronto using a third pair with some puck-movement limitations, but the duo held up fine on Saturday.

Neither Simon Benoit nor Philippe Myers topped 16:05 or ice time, but they posted solid possession numbers and were on the ice for two goals.

Benoit also showed off his physicality with a third-period fight.

Power play: B-

Toronto got a single power-play opportunity and didn’t convert, but the first unit did a good job of maintaining possession. Top-notch chances were elusive, but given more opportunities, it’s not hard to envision a different result.

Penalty kill: A-

The Maple Leafs’ PK unit was only called on once, and it didn’t let Columbus get much going. The Blue Jackets produced two shots on net and just 0.2 expected goals with the man advantage.

Goaltending (Anthony Stolarz): B

Stolarz wasn’t asked to be spectacular in his second shutout of the season, but the Blue Jackets put a steady stream of shots on net, in the first two periods. If the American netminder had a subpar night, the Maple Leafs could’ve found themselves chasing in a game where they didn’t have much offensive juice early on.

Instead, Stolarz was steady, turning away 27 shots.

The Blue Jackets managed a relatively modest 1.62 expected goals on the night, but the Maple Leafs goaltender gave them nothing.

Game Score

Single HockeyStatCards com 18

What’s next?

The Maple Leafs head to Sunrise, Florida, to take on the Panthers on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on TSN

(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)





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