“A lot better than our past two outings,” Auston Matthews said, following the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. “We can be more proud of the effort tonight.”
Which isn’t saying much, considering how low the bar had slunk against the St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens over Family Day weekend.
But Matthews and the Leafs indeed responded with a much more respectable defensive effort at Nationwide Arena Tuesday.
It was a good-news-bad-news night that resulted in Toronto’s first three-game losing skid since October but also some positive signs that the slump should be short-lived.
“Our guys competed hard today. The play was structured, and I thought we easily could have had two points here,” coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“They played hard against us, so it wasn’t any easy night for us, and I liked a lot of things about how we played.”
Another night dressing the second-best goalie
The question must be asked: Is Toronto simply regressing to the mean? Or is goaltending going to be an issue here?
Once Petr Mrazek got healthy, we were expecting he and Jack Campbell to battle it out for the crease. But, lately, it seems neither wants to snatch it outright.
Since Dec. 1, the Maple Leafs rate 31st in 5-on-5 save percentage. The club’s overall save percentage spiked early but has tumbled to the middle ground of 11th overall (.909). Just OK.
The Jackets’ canon blasted at least once too often Tuesday.
The Leafs held a decided edge in scoring chances (30-16) and high-danger chances (10-3), yet emergency call-up J.F. Berube stopped 39 pucks and out-duelled Campbell.
“I thought we deserved two points,” Campbell said. “They just shot and beat me, and it’s not acceptable on my part. We should’ve won 3-0 or whatever.”
Yes, Campbell was screened at times. Yes, he had to deal with an elite spot-picker in Patrik Laine. But his team needed one more save.
Campbell has surrendered four or more goals in seven of his past 13 appearances.
Keefe singled out this Adam Boqvist’s end-to-end game-tying power-play rush early in the third that beat Campbell clean:
Marner, Matthews keep making magic
After going a couple of games without a point, Mitch Marner popped back on the board with one of the better assists you’ll see this month.
Marner’s gift to Michael Bunting gave the 26-year-old his 17th on the season, tops among all rookies:
Not to be outdone, centreman Matthews factored in on all three Leafs goals and ripped a game-high 11 shots.
His pair of assists and 34th goal resulted in his 21st multi-point night this season and sixth consecutive 60-point campaign.
Matthews is the only Leaf to start his career with such a productive run.
We got a flash of the old 2016 draft class duel, as Matthews and Laine traded goals less than 10 minutes apart.
Laine was supposed to be backchecking Matthews, who simply out-positioned the No. 2 pick and deked Berube off a pretty backhand feed from David Kämpf.
“I was screaming for it, and Kämpfer made an unbelievable pass,” Matthews said of the defensive centre. “His playmaking ability is pretty underrated.”
Lyubushkin takes baby steps in debut
No practice. Just directly into the fire.
Keefe first met with Sunday’s trade acquisition, Ilya Lyubushkin, Tuesday morning to gauge his readiness for action.
“There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to get right in, so that speaks to his character,” Keefe said. “We got to understand that it’s going to be a process for him to really adjust to our team and his teammates.”
The coach scratched righty Justin Holl, who’s had a rough go lately, paired the Russian Bear with Rasmus Sandin, and sheltered his minutes.
The former Coyote stuffed some plays in the D-zone, skated 15:28 (lowest among all Toronto defenders), threw a solid hit, drew a tripping penalty on Jakub Voracek, and (over?)played the pass when Laine sniped a puck past Campbell on an all-day 2-on-1 rush.
“When you’re a big, stay-at-home defenceman like that, it’s gotta be hard to play on a team that loses a lot and has different objectives, that is rebuilding and stuff like that,” Jason Spezza said.
“He’s probably pretty excited to come to a team that’s trying to contend, get some playoff experience, and he’s going to help.”
It helps that Lyubushkin already knows Ilya Mikheyev.
“I’m so excited to play here,” he said. “It’s big experience for me. It’s, like, unbelievable.”
Some appreciation for Spezza, shall we?
Jason Spezza is the only Leafs skater that took Monday’s highly optional skate at the Bell Centre, taking shootout attempts on Campbell (that evening’s backup) and claiming that he pulled “a Radulov!” when he deked the goalie high with a backhand.
Later that night, Spezza was the one to drop his gloves and stick up for Justin Holl when the D-man got steamrolled (cleanly, mind you) by Nick Suzuki.
Then, on Tuesday, as a 38-year-old making minimum wage and playing the tired half of a back-to-back, he’s the one tapped to be the extra attacker with Campbell pulled.
He goes and scores the tying goal on a maybe kicked in but definitely foot-directed goal to salvage a standings point.
The world would be a better place if we all fight for our dreams so hard.
How’s Muzzin doing?
Considering Jake Muzzin has a recent concussion history and was laying down on the Bell Centre ice for nearly two minutes Monday night after a fluke collision with Chris Wideman, Tuesday was a positive day for the tough D-man.
Muzzin went to a Montreal hospital for observation and tests after Monday’s loss, slept at the hotel, then flew home to Toronto Tuesday.
He is resting with his family and will undergo concussion protocol for the second time in 2022.
The Maple Leafs will exercise caution and patience here and are not placing a timeline on return.
“The head stuff is scary. It’s scary when you see a guy that you’re close with go down,” Spezza said. “It definitely puts guys a little more on notice than a normal injury.”
Marner has been checking in with Muzzin regularly since he skated off the ice. Just as he did when Muzzin was at home dealing with January’s concussion.
“Probably the guy I’m closest with on this team, realistically speaking, just hanging out with and stuff like that,” Marner said.
“I think it gets lonely at times, because you’re kinda sitting at home some days and not feeling great. You just gotta be by yourself and being in quiet spots.”
Laine is on a heckuva heater
The NHL is a more fun league when Patrik Laine is relevant.
Over the pending RFA’s current 10-game point streak, he has scored 12 goals, 20 points and ripped three game-winners, including Tuesday’s clock-freezer 20 seconds into the fourth period.
Laine also drew a critical hooking penalty on Morgan Rielly with 11 seconds left in the second period that helped set up Columbus’s game-tying power-play strike early in the third. Keefe highlighted that penalty and goal as the night’s turning point.
The winger has flipped from a minus-29 skater last season in Columbus to a plus-5.
“This year, I’ve gone back to my old days, how I used to play. I feel like I’m better than I used to be, but there’s so much more — so much more — there. I’m not even close to hitting the ceiling.” Laine told The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline
There is much consternation in Ohio over whether Laine would be willing to ink a long-term deal with the Jackets.
“Of course,” Laine said. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about this place, the organization, the city, the players.
“I don’t think about (the contract). It’s pretty much up to them. What are they thinking? I do what I do on the ice, and the rest is in their hands.”
Tavares shows frustration
John Tavares is the posterboy for even keel. But a rare 10-game(!) goal drought is eating at him.
Tavares and William Nylander, the offence drivers of Toronto’s second line, came into Columbus averaging 2.2 and 2.7 shots, respectively, in February. Too many nights the ice has been tilted against them.
So, although neither found the net Tuesday, it was at least a positive that that duo combined for nine shots, played solid defence, and generated a number of good looks.
When the captain couldn’t get anything to fall, however, he wore it on his face more than usual, and slammed his stick in annoyance.
“The offensive stuff is going to come,” Keefe assured. “My focus was how they how they defended, and I thought they did a good job today.”
