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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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COLUMBUS – The Toronto Maple Leafs have been rolling, and they rolled right over the Columbus Blue Jackets with a strong second half on Wednesday. The Leafs dropped the home team 5-2 and moved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Toronto has jumped over the Boston Bruins into third place in the Atlantic Division with 10 games to play, and holds a game in hand on Boston.


Takeaways

Bend, don’t break: The Maple Leafs have found success lately against good teams in no small part because of their resiliency. They were leading the Blue Jackets 2-0 going into the second period, and within 6:58 the game was tied. But instead of letting the game slip away as they have done countless times before, the Maple Leafs dug in and stuck to their structure. It helps that when they have been under pressure, Frederik Andersen has been continuously fantastic, making big stops at key moments - including the one from point-blank range on Blue Jackets’ sniper Brandon Saad. Andersen finished the night with 32 saves on 34 shots. It meant something for Toronto to come into the Blue Jackets' building and not just play well but play physically after they were “abused” in the season’s first meeting. There were at least a dozen scraps and scrums throughout the game as the Maple Leafs asserted themselves in all aspects on the ice.

That’s new: The Maple Leafs encountered a new wrinkle in the game when a five-minute penalty turned into a 6:54 kill. Roman Polak was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for destroying Oliver Bjorkstrand along the boards and Toronto’s kill came up big, holding the Blue Jackets to one shot on goal. But when Polak was tossed, Mike Babcock and his staff failed to put anyone else in his place and therefore they couldn’t put anyone on the ice to replace him. Brian Boyle had to deliberately fire the puck into the Columbus bench to avoid the delay of game and get a stoppage. It was a first for many in the room. “I’m not sure why we didn’t have anyone in the box, quite frankly. That may have to be addressed at a later time,” joked Morgan Rielly. Babcock addressed the mistake right away after the game, and how it could have resulted in a momentum-shifting goal for Columbus. “It’s all my fault. Let’s not kid ourselves,” he said. “In hindsight, if it had cost you it would have been terrible. That will never happen in my lifetime again.”

Next-level Nylander: He’s already tied one franchise rookie record this season with his nine power play goals, but William Nylander tied another on Wednesday with his 34th assist of the season. The point extended Nylander’s streak to nine games, tying Gus Bodnar, Bob Nevin and Dan Daoust. Nylander also potted his 20th goal of the season, triggering an entry-level contract bonus of $212,500, with a wrister on a breakaway to give Toronto back the lead in the second period. He’s the fourth Maple Leaf to hit the 20-goal mark this season, and he and Matthews are the first Toronto rookies to score 20 goals in the same season since Wendel Clark and Steve Thomas in 1985-86. Nylander is the fourth member of the NHL’s rookie class to hit 20 goals, along with Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho and Matthews.

30 for 43: For the first time in his NHL career, Nazem Kadri has hit the 30-goal plateau, a mark he’s been able to reach even in his role as Toronto’s shutdown center. In Columbus Kadri tallied the insurance goal late in the third period to put Toronto up 4-2, his second point of the night after setting up Leo Komarov’s opening score. While pleased with his accomplishment, Kadri said afterwards that he has no intention of slowing down now. He’s only five goals away from hitting his career-high from junior as a standout with the OHL’s London Knights. Babcock sees Kadri as having a long way to go still towards being the fully complete player he wants to be, but he has established himself as Toronto’s most consistent veteran presence as the season has gone on.

Next game: Toronto will face the New Jersey Devils at home on Thursday night.