TORONTO — On a day the Toronto Maple Leafs evened their qualifying round series, the only thing that really mattered was the health of Jake Muzzin.
The defenceman was stretchered off the ice at Scotiabank Arena with 1:52 remaining in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He fell awkwardly after being cross-checked behind the net and remained down for more than 10 minutes before the stretcher took him off.
Muzzin moved his arms and legs and was able to speak with trainers and doctors while being attended to in a scene made more frightening by the empty arena.
That dampened any enthusiasm the Leafs were feeling on an afternoon where they completely dominated the Blue Jackets to tie the series 1-1.
Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly — into an empty net — scored for Toronto while Frederik Andersen made 20 saves for his third career playoff shutout.
