#5. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (August 4, 2020)
Result: Leafs win 3-0
Two nights prior, the Leafs had lost 2-0 to go down 1-0 in the series against the Blue Jackets. In a Best-of-Five Series, the Leafs couldn’t afford to go down 2-0.
After we’d seen the first Toronto Maple Leafs game in five months, we couldn’t believe that the series could be over in six days, so the Leafs desperately needed to win Game 2. It’s not like the team looked terrible in Game 1, it’s just that they couldn’t score. Which is a theme we’d unfortunately continue to see in this series…
If there was one game all season that showcased the potential of the Leafs, it was this game. From start to finish, the team controlled possession and outworked Columbus. The Leafs played so well that I convinced myself they were going to go on a run after this.
John Tavares played out of his mind, finishing the game with eight shots on net and one goal. Meanwhile, the rest of the core was tremendous as Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews also scored. Even the defense was well-structured. Freddie Andersen only faced 20 shots and secured the shutout.
The team needed a bounce-back game and that’s exactly what they did with this one. Columbus’ head coach John Tortorella explained the game perfectly in his Press Conference saying: “Toronto played a really good game. We sucked.”