Sammy Blais scored in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut on Wednesday night in a 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After being claimed off of waivers from the Montreal Canadiens in early October, Blais got Toronto on the board at the 2:43 mark of the second period after being slotted into the lineup in place of William Nylander, who missed the second half of a back-to-back with a lower-body injury.
The Montmagny, Que. native batted a rebound out of the air and into the net, past a sprawling Elvis Merzlikins, to cut Columbus’ lead to 2-1 at the time.
He also assisted on Nick Robertson’s goal in the third period, and finished the game with two points, three shots, five hits, and a block across 10:55 in an otherwise unspectacular night for the Leafs.
Blais has been reunited with head coach Craig Berube in Toronto after the pair won a Stanley Cup together in 2018-19 with the St. Louis Blues.
A veteran of 258 NHL games with the Blues and New York Rangers, Blais has now notched 28 goals and 45 assists for his career as he begins his eighth season in the NHL.
Internationally, Blais was a member of the Canada team that won gold at the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Finland and Latvia, scoring six goals and adding two assists in 10 games.
Toronto dropped to 5-5-1 with the loss to Columbus, and are now tied with the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators for third in the Atlantic Division with 11 points through their first 11 games.
