The Maple Leafs were coming off a dominating win against Tampa the previous night and squared off against a Blue Jackets roster lineup featuring some new lines. Evason and his staff reverted back to the more traditional 12/6 roster structure after experimenting with an 11/7 approach this past weekend. Jordan Harris got the scratch and Labanc drawing back in.
1st Period
Didn’t take too long to get some action in this one. Tarasov had to have quick reflexes on two early opportunities from odd places, with Pacioretty throwing a pass on net from an odd angle, and Werenski later deflecting a Marner pass on net. Kuraly starts a nice sequence a little over 4 minutes in with a nice stretch pass to Labanc. Eventually the puck makes it way to Provorov high in the zone who makes a nice drive towards the net to get a shot off. JVR collected the rebound and got it behind Hildeby to open the scoring.
CBJ Goal 1-0: JVR (Provorov, Labanc) 5:29
Not long after Werenski intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, worked into the zone and hit Danforth in transition with a flawless saucer pass. Danforth released a wrister five-hole to beat the backup tender.
CBJ Goal 2-0: Danforth (Werenski) 6:21
Good back and forth hockey for the next bit with Toronto getting some offensive zone time. 12 minutes in Danforth beat the pinching Leafs defender to the puck at the half wall and quickly got a clean feed to Olivier who carried the puck in and wired an 87 mph shot past Hildeby.
CBJ Goal 3-0: Olivier (Danforth, Name) 12:42
First special teams moment 14 and half minutes in after a hooking infraction went against Toronto in the O Zone. CBJ got a minute of PP time before a shorthanded rush from Matthews and Knies ended with a Severson penalty. Really nice effort from Knies and a special pass from Matthews to create it. The 4v4 ends with a 3v1 chance from the Jackets on the rush that didn’t quite connect. The Jackets kill the minute of Leafs PP time without much concern.
A few chances for each side to close out the period. I want to highlight a nice final minute from Severson. He earned an extended shift to close the period with some nice work at the offensive blueline. The top 3 of Werenski, Provorov, and Severson stood out most of the period. Jackets take a 3 goal lead into the intermission, a great response after the Minnesota game.
2nd Period
Predictable strong start from the Leafs. Their top line had several good chances but Tarasov was in control and made quick work of the opportunities. The Fantilli line followed the early Leafs pressure with a great shift that led to a Chinakhov sharp angle shot that ended up somewhere beneath the Toronto goaltender. Play was stopped to review the play but there were no camera angles available to show anything other than a non-goal. Later in the period with the Matthews line threatening, the Jackets won a puck battle down low and made several clean passes to work the puck beautifully out of the zone in transition. Marchenko raced past Reilly to generate a big rebound off the blocker of Hildeby. Monahan was in perfect position to find the rebound and put it in the empty net
CBJ Goal 4-0: Monahan (Marchenko, Werenski) 5:35
Jiricek, attempting a veteran move, drew a hooking penalty on Robertson, but got called for an embellishment on the play. Fair but not often called, kind of expected the refs to just not call anything. 4v4 hockey ensued with no scoring from either side, but Toronto with the better chances by far. Slight delay following the 4v4 play after a strong check on Jiricek popped a glass panel out of its frame.
Tremendous save from Tarasov after Marner tips a pass through the blue paint to a wide open Matthews. As uncertain as Tarry has looked early in the season, he’s looked in control in this one. Sillinger turned the puck over leaving the zone 11 minutes in but rallied rapidly to strip the puck away on the ensuing backcheck. Another great forecheck from Danforth gets ZAR the puck behind the Toronto net, he hits Olivier in front who pots his second of the night.
CBJ Goal 5-0: Olivier (ZAR, Danforth) 11:34
Toronto briefly went to the 34-16-88 line after this one to mixed success. Not much sustained in the remainder of the period until Knies beats Tarasov short side with a minute left. Tarasov and Severson failed to connect behind the net and Knies was there to collect the puck. This is the third time in the young season Tarasov has been beaten short side blocker, something I’ve noticed.
TOR Goal 5-1: Knies (Unassisted) 18:59
The period ends with the Jackets controlling the play on the ice and on the scoreboard. Shots are 29-17 in favor of the Jackets and there was not much life in the Maple Leafs until that unfortunate turnover at the end of the period.
3rd Period
Not even a minute in Marchenko went to the box for a hooking infraction on the forecheck. Mostly quiet PK aside from a great save from Tarasov on a Marner one-timer.
Jackets on the the PP 5 minutes in after a tripping call on Tavares. Not much to report on this one. 10 minutes in, Domi took exception to something Fantilli did and decided he needed to punch him in the back of the head. Back to the PP for the Jackets, and again not much going on.
Domi would spend the next commercial break trying to get Fantilli to fight. Fun moment with the broadcast showing JVR casually skating in between them to shut down the conversation.
A nice breakout from the new top line with Monahan hitting Marchenko who beats the goalie high glove side.
CBJ Goal 6-1: Marchenko (Monahan, Sillinger) 11:58
A minute later Tavares walked down the middle of the zone and fired a shot on Tarasov. Tarry couldn’t close his glove on it and Robertson was there to put the rebound behind him.
TOR Goal 6-2: Robertson (Tavares, Benoit) 13:03
A moment later the Jackets would go back on the PP after Reaves felt he needed to try and rough up Jiricek after Jiricek laid a big, but clean, hit on Holmberg at center ice. Olivier stepped in quickly to diffuse but got a roughing himself. Reaves with the additional minor for the instigation. Another quiet power play.
With just over a minute left, Jack Johnson tried to make a move he could’ve pulled off in his younger days but had the puck stripped away by the Toronto forward on him. JJ tripped him up to put the Leafs back on the man advantage. The PK would do the job to close the game, 6-2 final.
Final Thoughts
The story of this one is the terrific start from the CBJ. It was immediately evident they had more juice than in the Minnesota game and they were able to take advantage of back-up goalie and a team on tired legs. Toronto looked like they didn’t have much interest in this game at times, but credit the Jackets for creating and finishing their chances early to put it out of reach. There is plenty of talent on the Toronto roster.
Forwards: The new 1st and 3rd lines absolutely clicked. Danforth had some great moments and the top line continued to work with a new winger. The fourth line barely played, which has to be a strange feeling for Kuraly who has quickly fallen from a player that was trusted by previous coaching staffs to, uh, set the tone in big minutes. The Fantilli line didn’t produce, ending Chinakhov’s 5 game point streak, but they had their moments. There’s potential with this line but it’ll take some time to get the timing down. The power play is absolutely a concern at this moment, however. None of the tries lead to any real threats and that might not change much in the near future without KJ.
Defense: Provorov and Severson are new players this year. They continue to look great, and Christiansen is putting in solid performances. Jiricek had some moments in this one, let’s keep getting him some time.
Goaltending: Tarasov looked much more in control from the hop in this one. It was a quiet start for him but he met the opportunity when it came later. Several strong saves and just a general calmness from him tonight.
Misc: 24 goals is the most scored by a Blue Jackets team through the first six games of a season. The shooting percentages are rather high, but let’s ride the wave.
Domi vs Fantilli is the newest rivalry that one side wants no part of.
Up Next
The Jackets travel to Nashville to meet the struggling Predators at 8pm ET.