The Maple Leafs finally strung together a pair of wins, and they did it in style Tuesday night with a 6-2 dismantling of the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Toronto got goals from Kirill Marchenko, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Easton Cowan, Jack Roslovic and Marshall Rifai, while Anthony Stolarz turned aside 35 of 37 shots. For the Leafs, it was their first two-game winning streak of the season.
Marchenko made the night a little more personal by scoring in his return to Columbus. He handled the spotlight, and the noise, just fine.
"It was especially nice for sure, but I tried to think about my game," Marchenko said of his return. "I try to focus on things that I can control.
It's my game, my shifts, like work hard. It's obviously a special game, fun and everthing, but happy to play here, happy to be back.
And thank you again for all fans, for everybody who's been here when I was here for four years. I have only positive notes."
The Blue Jackets fans let him hear it every time he touched the puck, but the reaction only got louder once he tied things up 1-1 with a power-play goal at 8:16 of the first period.
"It's fine, I've been ready for that," Marchenko said. "But again, I can't control that.
I appreciate all fans who's been here when I played. It doesn't matter for me, actually.
I just do my work and I try to be better."
Marchenko now has five goals and 11 points in 11 games this season.
"He's a Maple Leaf now and we've got him," head coach J im Hiller said before the game. "However it goes, he's with us and we have his back."
The second period is where Toronto took control and never really let go. The Leafs entered the night ranked fourth in the NHL with 13 second-period goals, and they added four more in the middle frame to move up to third with 17. They’ve also allowed 13 in the second, which is the fifth-most.
This time, the attack came from all over. Matthews and Nylander did what they usually do, combining for two goals, four points, and five points between them. But this game also showed what Toronto can look like when the rest of the top six chips in, too.
Cowan and Roslovic each finished with a goal and two assists, while Morgan Rielly picked up three assists. Rifai summed up the way the night felt for the group.
"I think our leaders led the way," Rifai said on Tuesday. "Auston was unbelievable again, Rielly was unbelievable.
I think our leaders really stepped up. Our best players were our best players, and that's why we got the two points."
The Leafs were outshot 13-9 in the second period, but they made their chances count. Cowan even buried a shorthanded goal, one of the night’s sharper finishes.
"I had a decent shot there," Cowan said. "I think the goalie was favouring (Nylander), which I probably would too. I just picked my spot, so it felt good."
Toronto’s defence also deserves a mention after another solid outing, especially with Jake McCabe leaving the game and not returning after Kent Johnson’s high-stick went under McCabe’s visor. Troy Stetcher led all Toronto defencemen with 26:25 of ice time, while Rifai was the only one under 20 minutes and still logged 19:14.
"You do it by committee," Rifai said. "Everyone steps up when a leader like (McCabe) goes down."
Rielly, who has taken his share of heat at times, was right in the middle of it with a cleaner, simpler performance.
"It feels really good," Rielly said after the game. "You know, there's pace, it looks pretty simple, pretty straightforward.
That's the good news - I think as a group, we've had a tendency to overcomplicate things or try to make too many plays. In think when we're able to keep it simple and just manage the puck, our big guys can take over.
I think that's what happened here."
Rifai also had a milestone night, scoring his first career goal in his fifth NHL game.
And then there’s Matthews, who keeps stacking numbers like it’s routine. After another two-point performance, he is now sitting at 798 points, including 436 goals and 362 assists.
He is fourth in franchise scoring history and 60 points behind Dave Keon. If things go as expected, he should move past Keon by the end of the season.
What stands out is how quickly he has done it compared with the players ahead of him. Keon needed 1,062 games, while Mats Sundin had 981 points in 981 games and Darryl Sittler finished with 916 points in 844 games. Matthews is on pace to pass both, and likely in fewer than 800 games.
Awesome stuff from No. 34.
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