National Post (National Edition)
Leafs’ stars lead way in shutout victory
MATTHEWS, TAVARES BREAK THROUGH BLUE JACKETS’ STIFLING DEFENSIVE SCHEME
Silent stars no more. Not for the Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the bestof-five qualifying series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Shut out in Game 1 by Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo, and with an impatient fan base wringing its hands, the Leafs got goals from Auston Matthews and captain John Tavares in a textbook post-season victory, beating the Jackets 3-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
The best-of-five series is tied 1-1.
The Leafs were sound defensively, allowing just 12 Columbus shots on goal through the first two periods.
Frederik Andersen finished with 20 saves for the shutout.
The Leafs lost defenceman Jake Muzzin with under two minutes to play in the third. As he was falling to the ice in the corner the left of Andersen, Muzzin struck his head on Columbus forward Oliver Bjorkstrand. After lying on the ice for several minutes and with medical staff tending to him, Muzzin was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
Muzzin missed 17 of the Leafs’ 70 games during the regular season because of injuries.
The expectation is that one of Martin Marincin, who took the warm-up before he was scratched, or Rasmus Sandin would play in Game 3.
Teams that win Game 3 in an NHL best-of-five after splitting the first two games have gone on to win 21 of 28 series (. 750). Not that we needed to stress that the match on Thursday — at 8 p.m., the NHL announced on Tuesday — will be large.
We were getting the feeling that the Leafs might not score, but then Matthews redirected a Zach Hyman pass behind Korpisalo at the 16-minute mark of the second. The goal came on the Leafs’ 28th shot, equalling their output in Game 1.
The relief was evident as the Leafs celebrated with Hall & Oates’ You Make My Dreams reverberating in the empty building.
Not long after the Matthews goal, Andersen made a couple of bang-bang saves on Cam Atkinson and Zach Werenski while the teams were playing four on four.
Tavares scored on a breakaway at 4:56 of the third, the goal coming on his eighth shot of the game. Morgan Rielly scored into an empty net in the final minute.
The Leafs had 39 shots on goal, bursting the bubble that had been the Jackets’ defensive structure in Game 1. The Leafs got inside for better chances more than they did in the opener, and will have to come with something similar in Game 3.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe made some changes to his lines, putting Mitch Marner, who did not have a shot on goal in Game 1, on the right side with Matthews and Zach Hyman. William Nylander took Marner’s spot on the right on a line with Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev.
The changes brought just about everything Keefe might have wanted in the opening 20 minutes, except a goal.
There was no letdown from Toronto after failing to score in the series opener, and the Leafs’ determination was evident from the opening faceoff.
After failing to record a shot on goal in Game 1, Marner got one out of the way early and the Leafs rolled in the offensive zone for stretches. A big hit by Kyle Clifford on Jackets defenceman Dean Kukan, who left the game but returned later in the period, helped serve notice that the Leafs’ minds were in it.
Tavares and Matthews also had good looks, but Korpisalo was there every time. The Leafs had 16 shots in the first period.
Keefe made one lineup change, inserting Pierre Engvall on the fourth line and taking Frederik Gauthier out. The move instantly gave the trio more speed.
Rookie Nick Robertson had a couple of good looks during a Leafs power play in the second period. The 18-year-old’s ability to know when to shoot — whether with a man advantage or at even strength — should serve him well in the NHL.