Game #10 Live Blog – Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Welcome back to Union and Blue, and our Live Blog for tonight’s Halloween match up between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jackets are looking to end a three-game skid, and play the Maple Leafs as tough they did last year, in which they pretty much owned them. Here are tonight’s projected lines:

Scott Hartnell – Ryan Johansen – Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno – Alexander Wennberg – Jack Skille
Marko Dano – Michael Chaput – Corey Tropp
Sean Collins – Brian Gibbons – Jared Boll

And, of course, the defensive pairings:

Jack Johnson – Dalton Prout
Ryan Murray – David Savard
Cody Goloubef – Tim Erixon

A big shoutout to Johnson, as tonight will be his 500th NHL game! No small feat, and hopefully a big night is in store. Well, hope you all are enjoying your Friday night, are having – or planning on having – a safe Halloween night. Whether or not you’re able to watch the game, we hope you still follow along here with us! For those of you who are new to the live blogs, just refresh the page every so often for new updates. So, let’s get ready for puck drop, and let’s go Jackets!

Pregame

A quick change to our above projected lines – Adam Cracknell is in the place on the fourth line of Brian Gibbons. Still have Collins and Boll on the wings.

Also, we noted Jack Johnson’s 500th game, it’s also Curtis McElhinney’s 100th game! Congrats to him as well. (And, happy birthday to Nick Foligno!)

1st Period
Face-off
Let’s get things going! The puck has dropped, and we have hockey again.

18:47, 0-0
CBJ having to go on an early penalty kill. Savard going to the box for a hook. PP has burned them in the past couple of games, lets see if they can hold strong here. TML is 16th in the league with the man advantage.

16:46, 0-0
Toronto got their only true pressure of the PP in the final 40ish seconds, and Mac, as well as the defense in front, held strong and didn’t break. Huge early kill for CBJ, and we’re back to 5-on-5.

14:30, 0-0
Even at even strength, Toronto is applying all the offensive pressure. CBJ still haven’t truly had an offensive opportunity, nor do they have a shot on goal. 5 for Toronto.

14:01, 0-0
Jackets. To. The. POWER PLAY! First PP advantage for the Jackets, as Dion Phaneuf goes off for tripping.

12:01, 0-0
The PP has expired, and Lumbus is still without a shot. Great kill by Toronto, not allowing CBJ to get anything working.

Sorry for the technical difficulties, yall. But, we should have them figured out, and we are back for the remainder of the second period and all of the third!

2nd Period

8:40, 1-0 TML
As someone on twitter said, it’s the AHL vs. NHL out on the ice, but the Jackets are looking good in stretches. The top line is out there right now to try and get things going. 15-14 on shots in favor of Toronto.

8:07, 1-0 TML
Jack Johnson goes off. Two minutes for tripping.

7:47, 2-0 TML – Toronto goal – David Clarkson
That penalty kill didn’t last long. The eighth power play goal allowed by CBJ in the last 20 PK’s, and a redirection by Clarkson makes this a two score game. Well poop.

6:20, 2-0 TML
Mac is standing on his head, but the defense in front of him simply cannot clear. The Leafs are doing a great job of keeping it in, but three nice saves in a row from Curtis and this defense looks beat. CBJ calls timeout in order to regain the boys.

5:35, 2-0 TML
TV timeout taken, and the timeout didn’t do much, honestly. CBJ still struggling to get the puck out of their own zone. The Leafs are absolutely controlling every aspect of this game.

4:57, 2-0 TML
Hartnell with a point-blank shot, but Bernier with an excellent save. Just one of those nights, I suppose.

4:37, 2-0 TML
Clarkson goes off for a hooking, and the Jackets will look to get on the board here on the power play.

3:00, 2-0 TML
WENNBERG ALMOST HAD A GOAL. Again…just one of those freaking nights, man.

1:10, 2-0 TML
Boll and James van Riemsdyk collide against the boards, and JVR is down and a bit slow to get up.

JVR was able to head to the bench without assistance. He’s headed to the locker room with 70 seconds to go in the period.

END OF THE SECOND PERIOD – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 0 – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 2

2nd Period thoughts: CBJ has looked alright, at best, in stretches tonight, but it’s really been the Maple Leafs who has been controlling the pace of the game. An unlucky redirection in front has this at a 2-0 game, but it feels more like a 5-0 game. Not very often do you see a timeout called in the middle of the second period, but Todd Richards had to call one, because his young lineup just wasn’t in the game and Toronto is spending a ton of time in the CBJ zone. Again, twitter has said it best – the first two periods look more like an AHL vs. NHL game.

So, this is the news on Corey Tropp…

Bummer.

3rd Period

Puck Drop
20 minutes to get three goals. Certainly not impossible, but we DO need the best period of the season, up to this point. Lets. Go. JACKETTTTSSSSSS.

17:50, 2-0 TML
Jody and Rimer talking about Tropp, saying this morning he wasn’t feeling too well, but with eight guys out, he felt like he needed to give everything he had to his team. Have to love and respect that effort, even if he didn’t play the whole game.

17:22, 3-0 TML – Toronto goal – Nazem Kadri
Wow. What a goal by Toronto, no way around it. Kadri and Kessel on an odd man rush, and they catch McElhinney out of possition, and Kadri buries it. Again, no way around it, just a pretty pretty goal.

15:53, 3-0 TML
Wow. The broadcast just mentioned this – six points tonight for that top TML line of  Leo Komarov-Kadri-Kessel. Wow wow wow.

10:10, 3-0 TML
Lumbus going back to the power play, after Matt Frattin hooked Savard on a potential-scoring opportunity. Fourth PP of the night for CBJ.

9:19, 3-1 TML – CBJ GOAL! – Cam Atkinson (5)
Cam Atkinson following the directions of the Mighty Ducks films, and picking up the trash around the net. Johansen with the shot from the wing, and Atkinson follows the play the entire way. His 5th of the year, 2nd PP on the year, and the BOYS ARE ON THE BOARD WOOOOOO. Also – Johansen with an assist, obviously, so it’s now a 10-game point streak! Remember when we were worried about him not being at offseason practices? How silly we were.

7:14, 3-1 TML
The Jackets have played really well since falling behind 3-0, and it’s really the first time all game the puck is flowing in and out of each zone. Jackets no longer back against the wall, and you could make the argument that down by two with less than 7:30 to play, they’re more on the offensive than anything.

4:52, 3-1 TML
Man, is it just me or has this period just absolutely flown by? Time is no longer a friend to the Jackets, and they have to start getting something set up on offense (something they haven’t truly had tonight) and begin firing the puck at Beriner. He’s bound to screw up at some point. Right?

3:58, 3-1 TML
Another great opportunity for the Jackets, as Johansen wanted a goal, and nearly had it, with Hartnell right in front to possibly put back a rebound, but Bernier wasn’t allowing one.

3:33, 4-1 TML – Toronto Goal – Daniel Winnik
Turnover in the defensive zone turns into the third point of the night and 50th goal in the career of Daniel Winnik. The lower-bowl TML contingent is loud, and that probably will do it.

FINAL: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 1 – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 4

Final thoughts: Jody and Jeff talked about it on the telecast, but the Jackets never could get their legs under them tonight. It was one of those nights where nothing seemed to go right, and once again we are reminded how huge the plethora of CBJ injuries are (not that we need any reminder). Oh well, time to regroup and get ready for New Jersey tomorrow. Good night, y’all.