We all know that the first line of Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko is one of the best in the league. The new fourth line of Miles Wood – Isac Lundestrom – Yegor Chinakhov won the game in Buffalo on Tuesday. The third line, consisting of Charlie Coyle, Cole Sillinger, and Mathieu Olivier, had been relatively quiet so far.
Well, tonight ended that. While all of Ontario (and much of the rest of Canada) were focused on Game 5 of the World Series, the only NHL game of the night was one that Toronto sports fans were happy to tune out, as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3. The Leaves got a couple garbage time goals, so the game was more out of hand in the third period than the final score suggests.
The aforementioned third line was on ice for five goals at 5v5, and no goals against. Each player had at least 3 points and +4 rating. Cole Sillinger has had a difficult season so far, but he broke through tonight with two goals.
Despite allowing two goals in the final five minutes, Elvis Merzlikins still managed a .917 save percentage. Yeah, we’ll take that. Oh, and he’s now 4-1-0 on the season. We’ll take that!
With the win, the Blue Jackets briefly move into a playoff position. It’s a very tight raise, with the 16th place Islanders being just three points back of a playoff spot with a game in hand. Nevertheless, being in the hunt on 11/1 is way better than the alternative.
Highlights
And a bonus Steve Dangle reaction:
Up Next
The Jackets welcome the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 7:00 PM ET, prior to a five-game road trip that begins on Long Island on Sunday before going off to the Pacific Northwest for four games.