Maple Leafs rally past Blue Jackets, win fourth straight

TORONTO -- Zach Hyman scored twice in the third period, including the tie-breaking goal with 4:22 remaining, and the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

Frederik Andersen made 37 saves; Tyler Ennis scored; John Tavares had a goal and an assist; and Mitchell Marner had two assists for the Maple Leafs (15-6-0), who have won four games in a row and are 7-1-0 in their past eight.
"Freddie shut the door after that first period," Hyman said. "We kind of rallied behind him and all four lines contributed. It was a big team win."
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Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for the Blue Jackets (12-7-2), who led 2-0 after the first period and had a three-game winning streak end.
"We had success in the first period when we put it down low and worked their defensemen," Columbus defenseman Seth Jones said. "We were behind the net all first period and were creating chances playing physical. Most of the second when they started gaining momentum, we were turning it over. We kind of played into their hands a little bit. They like quick transition hockey and not a lot of physical play."
Hyman gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead when he deflected Morgan Rielly's shot at the top of the goal crease. He made it 4-2 with 1:01 left when he scored into an empty net.

"We just allowed them to get to their game," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "In the first period we played our game and didn't allow them to do much and just slowly they started to play that high-skilled game where they want to make it a track meet, and we can't get caught in that."
Columbus took a 1-0 lead at 14:39 of the first period when Atkinson took a cross-ice pass from Dubois in the slot and shot between Andersen's pads.
Dubois made it 2-0 at 19:10 when he took a drop pass from Atkinson and put it over a sprawling Andersen.
"Of course, we reset in the first intermission there," Andersen said. "None of us were too happy with our effort in both ends. We know we could play a lot better and obviously we came out in the second and third and proved it."
Ennis made it 2-1 at 13:01 of the second period when he carried the puck out from behind the net and shot between Bobrovsky's pads from in front.
"A [heck] of a play [by] Tyler just creating some space and using his edges," Tavares said. "It definitely got us going."
Toronto tied it 2-2 with 2:40 remaining in the second. Marner skated around Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the slot and was stopped by Bobrovksy but got to the rebound and found Tavares in front with a backhand pass.
"We were skating in mud there and weren't going very good but I liked it," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "It's the sign of a good team when you have good goaltending and you're able to get yourself gathered when you have no legs and kind of get playing and stick with it and find a way to win."

They said it

"It's disappointing because we've done a lot of good things and tonight we did some good things, but some errors that a team like the Maple Leafs is going to pounce on, that was the difference in the game. I thought we played well but just not well enough to win." -- Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno
"He's been tremendous. Freddie from start to finish was our best player tonight. He's been playing unbelievable. We just try to make it as easy as possible for him and not make it too stressful and obviously the more we can play in the offensive zone, we know he's going to stop the shots he faces. You can just see the confidence he has in challenging pucks and the confidence we have in him." -- Maple Leafs center John Tavares on Frederik Andersen

Need to know

This was the 102nd penalty-free game in NHL history and the first involving the Blue Jackets. It was the 20th for the Maple Leafs and their first since Feb. 28, 2013, at the New York Islanders. The last penalty-free NHL game prior to Monday was between the Florida Panthers and the visiting Arizona Coyotes on March 23, 2017. ... Atkinson has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak. He also has a five-game goal streak. ... Dubois has nine points (four goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak. ... Marner has nine points (one goal, eight assists) during a five-game point streak. ... Tavares has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past nine games. ... Rielly has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak.

What's next

Blue Jackets:Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, TSN4, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-CR, NHL.TV)