Clarkson returns, but penalties cost Leafs in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Ohio — David Clarkson’s return was supposed to help the Toronto Maple Leafs find an identity.
In his first game following his suspension, Clarkson set the tone for a penalty-filled effort in a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
Clarkson was the first Toronto player to take a penalty less than five minutes into his debut, and Ryan Murray scored his first NHL goal shortly after. It was the only power play goal the Blue Jackets scored, but the Leafs’ parade to the penalty box hurt the flow of their game.
Centre Nazem Kadri took three penalties, and defenceman Morgan Rielly and forward Dave Bolland had two apiece. The Leafs spent 11 minutes 23 seconds short-handed and were outshot largely because of that.
Brandon Dubinsky scored the game-winner short-handed at the 12:27 mark of the third. It was a 4-on-3 situation in part because of Kadri’s third penalty of the night.
Clarkson finished with four shots, a penalty and a minus-1 rating in 15:10 of ice time.
Despite a 36-25 shot disparity, goaltender Jonathan Bernier was solid in his third straight start, finishing with 31 saves.
Bernier gave one up early with Clarkson off for hooking Nick Foligno. Defenceman James Wisniewski’s shot from the point went through a crowd, hit Bernier and bounced to Murray, who buried the rebound to score his first NHL goal.
Bernier made up for it by robbing Cam Atkinson with his stick across the goal-line to keep the Leafs from falling behind 2-0.
After Dubinsky’s short-handed goal, Bolland scored to make it 3-2. But Ryan Johansen scored an empty-netter, and Foligno added another against Bernier in the waning seconds. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced.