Columbus Blue Jackets show growth in comeback win over Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO — Growth and maturation have become staple talking points for the Blue Jackets, but evidence of those things is tough to find.
It’s been a frustrating season in Columbus, filled with injuries and struggles related to inexperience and, too often, ineptitude. Those foibles are also what made the Blue Jackets' 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena feel bigger than just an impressive come-from-behind road win against one of the NHL's top teams.
The evidence of what the Blue Jackets could become was obvious throughout the second and third periods, when they outscored Toronto 4-1 while outshooting the Maple Leafs 36-18. Captain Boone Jenner dominated with a goal, assist and nine shots. Sean Kuraly scored a clutch goal late in the second. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins made several huge saves among his 26 stops and a trio of youngsters — Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger ― played key roles, including Johnson's eventual winner in the third.
It doesn’t get much bigger than beating the Maple Leafs on a “Hockey Night In Canada” telecast from the center of the hockey universe, and yet, that’s exactly what the battered and bruised Blue Jackets (16-33-4) did.
“It’s a tough building and this is a top five team in the NHL,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “(The Maple Leafs) have been building for years. It’s not like they just got themselves on the map. This has been coming for a while, this core they have, so we’ve got to slowly build here — and it’s been tough sledding with the injuries and everything we’ve gone through. But there’s moments within these seasons where we can grow."
This was one of them.
Jenner, Marchenko and Johnson led the way offensively with a goal and assist each. Merzlikins earned his first goaltending win since Jan. 14 in Detroit, after allowing two goals on 11 shots in the first period. Kuraly scored a go-ahead goal late in the second, completing a comeback push from a 2-0 deficit, and Johnson’s goal in the third became the winner after the Blue Jackets fought off Toronto's late push.
The two standings points didn’t lift Columbus (36 points) out of last in the league, but downing the Maple Leafs (32-14-8) under the bright lights in Toronto did generate a lot of smiles in the visitor’s room. It was a saturation of maturation, even if it was just one game in the middle of February of a lost season filled with disappointment and frustration.
“You’ve got to be in these games to feel that,” Jenner said. “There’s no doubt we felt it tonight, where every little play mattered and we were just grinding each shift, winning our battles and we got rewarded because of it. I think that’s contagious. We’ve got to build on it. It’s a gutsy win to come back like that.”
William Nylander’s penalty helps Columbus Blue Jackets complete comeback over Toronto Maple Leafs
The Blue Jackets were already on the comeback trail when they got additional help from Maple Leafs forward William Nylander with 8:20 remaining in the second period.
Nylander didn’t like Nick Blankenburg finishing a check on him behind the Columbus net and reacted by attempting to elbow the defenseman in the face. The elbow missed, but the butt end of his stick appeared to catch Blankenburg, who grabbed his face and immediately fell to the ice. The play was initially ruled a five-minute major penalty, but a video review reduced it to a two-minute minor for roughing.
The Blue Jackets didn’t score on the power play, but did score goals by Marchenko and Kuraly 57 seconds apart late in the second to take a 3-2 lead and outshot the Maple Leafs 12-6 in the period's remaining time. Columbus also outshot Toronto 27-14 for the rest of the game following Nylander’s hit, including Johnson’s winner in the third off a Sillinger wrist shot.
Nylander finished with a goal and assist, but his ill-advised penalty assisted the Blue Jackets’ comeback effort.
Columbus Blue Jackets stun Toronto Maple Leafs with dominant second
Seasons like this require struggling teams to relish moments of accomplishment.
The Blue Jackets' second period against the Maple Leafs on Saturday was one of those milestones, when Columbus caught Toronto off-guard with a dominant 20 minutes that ended with the Jackets up 3-2 on goals by Jenner, Marchenko and Kuraly.
After being outshot 11-4 and falling behind 2-0 in a rough first, the Blue Jackets flipped a switch in the second to completely turn the tables. They outshot the Maple Leafs 21-10, took a 3-2 lead and had Toronto players more worried about retaliating physically or getting off the ice to rest than scoring goals.
“We simplified,” Larsen said. “We took care of the puck a whole lot better. We got them on that three-quarter ice game, where we were spending time in their zone, we were peppering them with some shots. They had to ice it. They were having to change when they were tired and we were getting fresh legs out.”
If that sounds familiar to the Blue Jackets, it should.
It’s exactly what they’ve dealt with in reverse most of this season. The “long change” period has wilted their legs on many occasions when opposing teams pinned the Jackets into their own end and forced them to burn energy just trying to get the puck far enough down the ice to change lines and defense pairings.
“We’ve been caught in that spin cycle before in the second period,” Larsen said. “It was nice to be on the other side of it, but that was a really good rebound period after the first.”
Marchenko, Johnson and Sillinger give Columbus Blue Jackets a boost
The slew of injuries the Blue Jackets have dealt with has forced a lot of rookies and other young players into key roles they weren’t ready to handle.
That’s a big reason they’re last in the league. The flip side is those youngsters are getting loads of NHL experience in key situations they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise, and now they’re starting to show occasionally how bright the future could be in Columbus.
Consider the impact young players had against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, starting with Marchenko’s first career NHL assist in his 30th game. Tapping the puck to Jenner for a shot in traffic that beat goalie Joseph Woll, the Russian rookie was finally rewarded for his playmaking skill after starting his NHL career with a 13-0-13 scoring line in his first 29 games.
"It's important that we scored," Marchenko said. "It doesn't matter who (scores)."
Marchenko added his 14th goal about 11 minutes later, tying it 2-2, and two more young Blue Jackets combined to net the winner in the third. Just 4:26 after Morgan Rielly tied the game 3-3 for the Maple Leafs early in the third, Sillinger and Johnson teamed up to retake the lead for good on a shot that Johnson tipped into the net after Woll's deflection.
The play was reviewed to see if Johnson touched the puck with a high-stick, but replays confirmed it was a legal goal. Sillinger's assist broke a 12-game point drought. Johnson's two points on a goal and assist pushed him to 11 goals, 15 assists and 26 points in 50 games. Marchenko's goal and assist brought his season totals to 14 goals, one assist and 15 points in 30 games.
Johnson is tied with Minnesota's Cale Addison for fourth in scoring among the league's rookie skaters and Marchenko is second in goals behind Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (17) in 20 fewer games. Sillinger, meanwhile, is centering the Blue Jackets' second line and handling key shifts late in close games.
“They came up with big plays at big times and that’s huge for them, playing a lot in these key situations in these tight games and they got it done,” Jenner said of his young teammates. “Hats off to them. They’ll continue to keep growing.”
Columbus Blue Jackets finally welcome Lane Pederson
It took nearly two weeks, but Lane Pederson joined his new Blue Jackets teammates for some drills Saturday morning at Scotiabank Arena.
After being claimed off waivers Jan. 28 from the Vancouver Canucks, a day after playing for his former team against Columbus, the Canadian-born forward began a lengthy immigration process that didn’t end until Friday. Pederson, 25, met the Blue Jackets in Toronto and went through a lengthy skate with skills coaches Kenny McCudden and Jared Boll to start getting his legs and lungs back in playing shape.
When ready to play, Pederson will join the mix up front for the Blue Jackets as a versatile forward who’s spent most of his career playing center at lower levels.
“It means a lot,” said Pederson, who has previously played for the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Canucks. “It’s a huge opportunity for me and where I’m at in my career. I’m really appreciative of them taking a chance on me and giving me this opportunity, so I’m just excited to move forward here.”
Pederson is expected to start out playing a wing position. He has logged 55 NHL games, including 11 this season with the Canucks — who acquired him Oct. 28, 2022 from the Carolina Hurricanes along with defenseman Ethan Bear. Pederson had a goal and two assists for Vancouver and 7-17-24 in 18 games with Abbotsford in the American Hockey League.
Liam Foudy enjoys another homecoming with Columbus Blue Jackets
The last time Liam Foudy played in Scotiabank Arena, the Blue Jackets were in the 2019-20 postseason “bubble” set up in Toronto for Eastern Conference teams to complete that COVID-19 shortened season.
The 18th overall pick of the 2018 NHL draft scored his first NHL goal in the clinching game of a postseason “play-in” series against the Maple Leafs, helping the Blue Jackets eliminate the team he grew up cheering while growing up in Scarborough, Ontario. That game was played inside an arena devoid of fans, so Foudy was looking forward to seeing the arena full for a game.
It was a crowd that included a lot of familiar faces.
“I’ll have a ton of people there, a lot of friends and family,” Foudy said before Saturday’s game. “Any kid getting to play against their hometown team is pretty special and to do it in a playoff series was a lot of fun. I’ve never played them when there were fans in there, so it’s a lot different.”
This was a quick trip to conclude a home-and-home set against Toronto, so there wasn’t time for a visit to Scarborough. Good thing Foudy spent his “bye” week at home visiting his family rather than lounging on a beach like many of his teammates.
“It was nice to have that mental and physical break,” Foudy said. “I drove home to Toronto, so I got to spend time with my friends and family. That’s what I was looking forward to. I got some of mom’s home cooking too.”
As for his goal against the Maple Leafs three years ago, it remains Foudy's only NHL goal to date. He's looking for his first regular-season tally after being held off the scoresheet and not playing in the third period Saturday in his 56th career game.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets stun Toronto Maple Leafs with comeback win
