Leafs Lose to Blue Jackets, Draw Capitals in Rd.1

A pair of James van Riemsdyk goals had the Maple Leafs up 2-0, with fans excited as realistic thoughts of Toronto drawing the Ottawa Senators in Rd.1 began to creep into their minds. Unfortunately, within the span of 8-minutes, the Maple Leafs would allow the Blue Jackets to take a lead that they would not relinquish.

Little under 6 minutes after the Toronto Maple Leafs bursted out to a thunderous 2-0 lead to start the 2nd period, Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner dropped a pass down low for Matt Calvert who on his backhand was able to tuck the puck between the legs of a spread out Curtis McElhinney to cut the Maple Leafs lead in half, 2-1.

Within 5-minutes of the Blue Jackets first marker, the Jackets forward Josh Anderson would gain possession off of a face-off in their own zone and bolt down the ice. Anderson was able to blow by Jake Gardiner who fell on the play which created a two-on-one where Anderson would rip a wrist shot passed Anderson making it a tied game with under 3-minutes to play in the 2nd period.

The backbreaker for the Toronto Maple Leafs would occur as the Leafs had the man advantage. Columbus with a gutsy display while shorthanded rocketed up the ice on a 3-on-2 which saw Jack Johnson joining the rush with Cam Atkinson, and Matt Calvert who had possession of the puck. With Johnson creating traffic in front of the net, Calvert would drop the puck for Cam Atkinson who wired one past Curtis McElhinney with 40 seconds remaining in the 2nd period. The Leafs lead was vanquished, and as both teams finished the 3rd period without netting a goal, it was official. The Maple Leafs were not going to receive the favoured playoff matchup against the Ottawa Senators, but they must now get set to battle the Washington Capitals in Round One of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The major storyline stemming from the Maple Leafs loss tonight is the status of Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. Zaitsev left the game with what was initially reported as a lower body injury, but Leafs PR sent out a tweet shortly later correcting the previous statement saying he was out with an upper body injury. I'm no doctor, but I think establishing the difference between someone's lower and upper body should not be too difficult. However, the hope is that Zaitsev, who averaged 22:12 of ice-time this season for the Buds and appeared in all 82 of their games will be ok as it will be nearly impossible for the Leafs to find a way to replace the quantity and quality of minutes Zaitsev has given the club.

The other Maple Leaf making headlines because of injuries if Frederik Andersen, the Leaf who in my opinion is most responsible for taking the Toronto Maple Leafs to the postseason. The latest report on Frederik Andersen is that although he did not dress for today's matchup, Coach Mike Babcock said he should be able to practice on Monday and be ready for the postseason opener. Here's to hoping that Mike Babcock knows Frederik Andersen's situation better than Leafs doctors and PR are at distinguishing upper from lower body.

While the Maple Leafs did not get their desired playoff matchup, with the way the team was playing down the stretch, I believe they will still be a formidable opponent for the Washington Capitals. Although many will draw to the Capitals playoff struggles as a sign of hope for the Leafs, I would not. I believe the best chance the Maple Leafs have at establishing success in this series lies in the play of goaltender Frederik Andersen. If Andersen is completely healthy and outperforms Braden Holtby, the Maple Leafs will beat the Washington Capitals.

*** Next Toronto Maple Leafs Game

@ Washington Capitals, Thursday, April 13th