Jackets steal victory late
Columbus stuns Leafs, brings back memories, with two third-period goals and an overtime winner
Did the Leafs turn the clock back 12 months Monday night when they blew a two-goal lead while dropping at 3-2 verdict in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets? The quick answer is no. “I don’t think we sat on (the lead),” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after Toronto gave up a pair of goals 108 seconds apart late in the third period to drop a game in which they scored first and then controlled much of the third period.
“We lost the game but we didn’t drop back on our heels, so that doesn’t even concern me. What con- cerns me is you gotta learn, you gotta learn just how hard it is to win.”
The Leafs certainly appeared as if they were on their way to the win, against a Columbus team that had played Sunday on home ice.
After a weak start to the second period, James van Riemsdyk and William Nylander, on the power play, put Toronto up 2-0. With only three shots to show in the first 11 minutes of the second period, Toronto rebounded admirably, and went on to outshoot Columbus 35-29 in regulation.
But Columbus, desperate for goals and points, struck on the opportunities they managed.
Jordan Schroeder’s shot bounced high and landed in the crease before Nick Fo- ligno coaxed it the rest of the way home, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, alone in the slot, scored less than two minutes later to force the overtime.
Artemi Panarin was right on the crease to tap in the game-winner in overtime, a goal which the Leafs protested, thinking that Panarin had kicked the puck in.
“It looked that way from my angle,” Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen said about the game-winner, which stood up after the review.
Toronto had controlled much of the offensive zone time, even with the game-tying goals.
But on the Schroeder goal, which came off a faceoff, the Leafs failed to box out the Columbus forwards. Travis Dermott, playing in his second career game, and to solid reviews, gave up a shade too much position to Foligno. The result was some confusion in front of Andersen, who never quite picked up the puck once it bounced high in the air.
Morgan Rielly, who is on pace for a career high in points, and is having an all-star worthy season, made a small mistake on the Dubois goal, which came off a Leafs line change.
Babcock pointed out both instances, but was not about to slam his team for what was otherwise an embarrassing loss.
“I thought our (defencemen) were fine, no concerns,” Babcock said. “It’s over with, we’ve got to get back to work. I think we can get better as a team, and I’ll tell them (Tuesday, in practice).
“I think we have a whole other gear yet.”
While Toronto played well enough to win — and they may have had a much wider lead if it were not for another brilliant goaltending performance from Columbus’s Sergei Bobrovsky — they brought back memories of a year ago, when they struggled to protect leads.
The Leafs, though, found that they can live with Tuesday’s result. They came back and dominated the possession time in the third period, and held almost 53 per cent of the puck time overall.