Toronto's top six forwards combined for nine points in their 4-1 win against the Blue Jackets.
Toronto's top six forwards combined for nine points in their 4-1 win against the Blue Jackets.
The Martin Jones stopgap seems to be working early on.
The 33-year-old was named the starter for Saturday's game following the Maple Leafs' practice in Columbus on Friday. It turned out to be the right call as the veteran goaltender played very strong in Toronto's net.
Jones allowed one goal on 28 shots, proving that he can be of value when the Maple Leafs need him most. A good sign for Toronto as they try to get through this tough period with Joseph Woll injured and Ilya Samsonov going through a difficult mental stretch.
Along with the saves, the Maple Leafs got some much-needed scoring in the game from their top two lines.
Both teams traded several chances in the first period. However, it was Auston Matthews putting Toronto on the board before Columbus. It's a great setup in the offensive zone by the Maple Leafs, and Mitch Marner makes a special feed that Matthews slaps home.
The 26-year-old continues finding the back of the net at an incredible pace. The more he scores, the more it feels like this is just a normal occurrence.
Spoiler alert: it has become a very normal occurrence.
Because nearly halfway through the game, Toronto would head to the power play after an Adam Fantilli holding penalty. And that's when Marner — once again — found Matthews, who put the puck past Daniil Tarasov.
Matthews has goals in seven straight games, scoring 12 times in that span. On the season, he has 28 goals in 30 games.
There seems to be some chatter as of late about Matthews possibly being a better goalscorer than Alex Ovechkin. The 26-year-old has Ovechkin beat when it comes to goals in their first 511 regular season games. (Matthews has 327 goals, Ovechkin has 315 goals.)
But when looking at the first 511 games in general (regular season and playoffs), Ovechkin has 326 goals while Matthews has 309.
Matthews still has a ways to go to catch the man who's trying to reach the other man, Wayne Gretzky, for the most goals in NHL history. Nonetheless, this is a promising feat for the 26-year-old.
The first period came to an end early after a scary situation involving Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly. The 30-year-old took a hit from Jake McCabe that shook him up and then appeared to be hit in the chest by the puck.
Kuraly got to the bench before Columbus' medical staff threw towels on the ice to stop play and have paramedics come to the bench to attend to the player.
Good news came at the beginning of the third period, though, with the Blue Jackets saying Kuraly suffered an abdominal injury, and though it doesn't appear to be serious, they're still going to take him to a hospital in Columbus for further .
Maple Leafs head coach altered the lines ahead of Saturday's game in Columbus. He returned William Nylander to John Tavares' wing and Marner to Matthews' wing (which worked out). The moves were more to get the trio of Tyler Bertuzzi, Tavares, and Nylander to have more success since they achieved a good amount earlier in the year.
Early in the second period, after a Blue Jackets breakaway goal from Justin Danforth, we saw a glimpse of vintage Tavares, with a sprinkle from Nylander.
That goal is Tavares' 10th of the season, and it ends up being the game-winner. But there's more where that came from for Toronto.
Late in the third period, Max Domi took a high-sticking penalty. Who hopped on the ice during the penalty kill? Nylander did.
The 27-year-old had a two-on-one with TJ Brodie and snapped some just his second-career shorthanded goal. His first came on Nov. 10 vs. the Calgary Flames.
Matthews had an assist on the shorthanded goal, giving his first-career point while on the penalty kill. Three points on the night for Nylander, and three for Matthews as the Maple Leafs head into the holiday break with their 17th win of the season.
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