Leafs lose finale, will face Caps in playoffs

TORONTO — There will be no Battle of Ontario in the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their regular-season finale 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets Sunday night and will now face the Washington Capitals in the opening round of their first post-season since 2013.

James van Riemsdyk scored a pair in defeat and Curtis McElhinney made 29 saves for Toronto, a 2-0 lead melting away in a porous second period.

Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson scored in the comeback for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30of-32 shots to earn the win for the Jackets, who are set for a first-round matchup against Pittsburgh.

Had they earned even a point, the Leafs would have faced the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but instead get the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals.

Toronto has never faced Washington in the post-season before — the two teams were in different conferences for a long stretch — and they’ll be heavy underdogs the first time around. The Capitals had the NHL’s best regular-season record for the second straight season, loaded at every position as they bid for a first Stanley Cup.

There’s Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie to tangle with up front, Kevin Shattenkirk and John Carlson to cause problems on a deep back-end and Braden Holtby, the reigning Vezina trophy winner, to beat between the pipes.

The Leafs went 1-1-1 against the Caps in the regular season.

Asked on Sunday morning about pressure on his young team heading into the playoffs, Leafs coach Mike Babcock deflected with apparent aim at the Capitals.

“You have nerves when you win the Presidents’ Trophy and you’re playing a real good team in the first round,” said Babcock before the Leafs opponent was known.

“That’s when it’s a totally different program though. We’re so far away from that program though. We’ve got two years left before that happens.”

Easily the biggest question mark for the Leafs heading in is the health of No. 1 starter Frederik Andersen. The 27-yearold sat out Sunday’s game after exiting a playoff-clinching tilt with Pittsburgh one night earlier, following a hit to the head from Penguins forward Tom Sestito.

Babcock said Andersen suffered no concussion symptoms from the hit and would be ready for the start of the postseason. The Dane has a history of head injuries, though, including one from all indications late last month that caused him to miss a start.

His absence would dampen the Leafs’ chances considerably, McElhinney a so-so option at best at age 33.

The Leafs had an extra bounce to their step early against Columbus, fresh off the clinching victory over Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t enough.