Leafs Postgame: Greaves Jettissoned (6-2 Toronto)
You really don’t know what kind of game you’re going to get sometimes. We all expected a barn-burner against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, and instead they we got a snoozy win. We expected this game to be the tough one of the trip and as tight as the Monday game given the travel, lack of rest, and Columbus’ inability to score very much and… well, I guess we were right about the Columbus part, but the Toronto Maple Leafs were firing on all cylinders on Tuesday night.
The Rundown
This was a game that could’ve went sour in a hurry. Before the average viewer could settle in, it was clear that the Leafs weren’t particularly settled themselves, and Jake Christiansen took advantage of a chasing Leafs fourth line and let a wrister go from just behind the hashmarks to put Columbus up 1-0.
It would’ve been easy to assume the worst from here, but the Leafs were having none of that tonight. On an early powerplay, with boos raining down for Kirill Marchenko, the ex-Jacket carried the puck into the zone, slipped the puck to William Nylander, who sent it over to Auston Matthews to bank off of Marchenko’s skate and into the net. Quick and swift revenge.
The Blue Jackets thought they’d tied the game in the last second of the first period with a still-impressive set play off the faceoff, but the puck didn’t cross the line in time. They’d soon regret it, as the Leafs exploded in the second period. William Nylander ripped a cross-body wristshot just two and a half minutes into the middle frame, and 46 seconds later, Auston Matthews fired a snapshot past Jet Greaves to make it 3-1. A Marshall Rifai penalty gave Columbus a chance to pull back into the game a few minutes later, but instead we saw Easton Cowan take in a shorthanded stretch pass, consider his options on a 2-on-1, and choose to rip home his fourth of the season. Jack Roslovic tipped in a feed from Morgan Rielly at the twelve minute mark, and Greaves’ night was over.
The Blue Jackets gave a moment of intrigue in the third when Charlie Coyle banked a puck off of Marchenko’s stick and past Anthony Stolarz to make it 5-2, but despite the Leafs going to a shell and letting their opponents outshoot them 14-3 in the third period, that was all they’d get. The last of Toronto’s shots, a blast from Marshall Rifai, was the exclamation point that cemented the game, along with giving the 28-year-old his first NHL goal.
Notes
- Of all the former’s in this game, I don’t think many of us thought that Jack Rosovic would be the star of the show. But here we are. He carried the puck well, went to good areas, used his body well and got himself involved in half the game’s goals. He’s now up to 9 points in 11 games. Far and away the most rewarding of Toronto’s summer free agent signings so far.
- What a night for Kirill Marchenko. Gets torched by the crowd, scores a goal against his former team, scores a goal for his former team, and doesn’t actually do anything but stand in the way for either the goal or the own-goal. My guy had plot gravity tonight.
- This penalty kill is one of the most unsustainable things I’ve ever seen in my life but you can’t look away at this point. Another perfect effort. When I saw Brandon Duhaime chuck the puck over the glass with a second left in a kill to start the clock all over again, I was convinced the unit was just taunting Columbus.
- Another multi-point night for Auston Matthews. I still hold that the player of the last two years was better than given credit for, but it’s undeniable that Megastar Matthews was missed. Punish anyone responsible for taking that away from us.
- Zack MacEwen bought himself a lot of love with a hit-response fight against Erik Gudbranson tonight. I’m not going to argue too hard against it, but I’d also be cautious of being too attached to the necessity of this, especially as the Leafs continue to be a black hole offensively below their top handful of forwards.
- Jake McCabe took a high stick in the first period and did not return to the game. Jim Hiller said it was a precautionary decision and that he appears to be okay, so we’ll see if that holds true for the next game.
Up Next
The Leafs get to fly home to get a day of rest before hosting the New York Rangers on Thursday. That game will be a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.
Numbers Game
| Top Performers | Bottom Performers | Top Opponents |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jack Roslovic (4.52) 1G, 2A, 2 SOG, +3, 51% xG | 1. Teddy Blueger (-2.51) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, -2, 6% xG | 1. Emil Andrae (2.20) 0G, 1A, 0 SOG, +1, 92% xG |
| 2. Auston Matthews (4.18) 1G, 1A, 3 SOG, +3, 52% xG | 2. Vinni Lettieri (-1.25) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, -1, 0% xG | 2. Charlie Coyle (1.75) 1G, 0A, 2 SOG, +1, 71% xG |
| 3. Easton Cowan (3.46) 1G, 2A, 2 SOG, +2, 45% xG | 3. Brandon Duhaime (-0.98) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, 8% xG | 3. Damon Severson (1.39) 0G, 0A, 0 SOG, 67% xG |
| Shots On Goal | 37-22 TOR | Faceoffs | 30 for 57 |
| 5v5 Shot Attempts | 47-26 CBJ | Hits | 31-14 CBJ |
| 5v5 Expected Goals | 2.23 – 1.16 CBJ | Blocked Shots | 15-5 TOR |
| Best Period (xG) | 5v5: 2nd (50%) All: 1st (65%) | Powerplay | 1 for 5 (5 shots) |
| Worst Period (xG) | 5v5: 3rd (16%) All: 3rd (14%) | Penalty Kill | 6 for 6 (9 shots) |
Table 1: Game Score via Dom, HockeyStatCards reccomended for full-game results
Table 2: Derived from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick
Gameflow: via Natural Stat Trick
Photo via @mapleleafs on Twitter / X
