Tip of the Tower
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Maple Leafs Lose to Blue Jackets, 3-2, in Season Finale

By Chris Okrainetz

Apr 9, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) is dumped to the ice by defenseman Scott Harrington (54) in front of the net as Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo (70) tries to cover up at Air Canada Centre. The Blue Jackets beat the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) is dumped to the ice by defenseman Scott Harrington (54) in front of the net as Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo (70) tries to cover up at Air Canada Centre. The Blue Jackets beat the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs (40-27-15) had an opportunity to control who their first round opponent would be, but a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets (50-24-8) on Sunday now sets them up to play the powerhouse Washington Capitals (55-19-8).

Thoughts and Observations

The

Toronto Maple Leafs

had a golden opportunity on Sunday and failed to capitalize. For as thrilling as Saturday’s playoff clinching victory over the Penguins was, avoiding the Capitals and playing the Senators in round one was equally, if not more, important. Instead, the Leafs could not beat a depleted Blue Jackets squad and will now have to find a way take down the might Capitals in round one, which is a gargantuan task to say the least. I hate to sound negative, but I think everyone, including the Leafs, would have preferred to play the Senators and attempt to go through the Atlantic side of the bracket.

More from Tip of the Tower

Holding leads hasn’t been an issue for the Leafs recently, but it was on Sunday. Toronto built a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but the Blue Jackets stormed back and ripped off three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead. I guess old habits die hard?

  • A main reason behind the Blue Jackets three goal outburst was the fact Toronto lost two defencemen in the second period and were forced to play with only four defencemen for most of the second and third period. Nikita Zaitsev took a hit from Nick Foligno in the dying seconds of the first period and he was visibly shaken up. He returned for one shift in the second period before exiting the game for good. Roman Polak, who is easily one of the toughest players on the Leafs, was forced to sit out all but one shift in the third period after he suffered what appeared to be a leg injury. With Martin Marincin and Alexey Marchenko waiting in the wings, you hope both Zaitsev and Polak will be ready to go for Game 1 on Thursday.
  • James van Riemsdyk has been on a tear these past two games. His two goals on Sunday put him at 62 points for the season, setting a new career-high. Veterans like JVR, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner have been huge for the Leafs this season and the team will need them to play at a high-level if they have any chance at knocking off the Caps.

    • Gardiner was average at best on Sunday. He played a game-high 28:40 but was careless with the puck and mixed in a few untimely defensive lapses. The good thing with Gardiner, though, is these kind of games have not been a regular occurrence. In the past we would see Gardiner string together a few bad games in a row, but he’s been very consistent this season and has arguably been Toronto’s best defenceman.

  • Having played five games in the last seven days, these next three days off will help the Leafs a lot. Toronto is banged up and players like Frederik Andersen, Polak and Zaitsev need time to heal.

    • Stat of the Night

    Career Years

    Instead of selecting one stat, let’s tip our cap to some of the new career-highs set by Maple Leafs’ players this season. JVR (62), Gardiner (43), Nazem Kadri (61) and Tyler Bozak (55) all set new career-highs for points, while Frederik Andesen set a new career-high with 66 starts.

    What’s Next

    The Maple Leafs will travel to Capitol Hill to take on the Washington Capitals (55-19-8) in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night. We’re going to find out a lot about this Leafs team in round one when they take on arguably the most well polished team in the NHL.

    We’ll have a ton of posts over the next few days breaking down the Leafs chances against the Capitals, the postseason as a whole and more, so until then enjoy the sublime feeling of seeing the Leafs in the playoffs.

    Next: Boyle is One of the Greatest Deadline Acquisitions in Leafs' History

    What did you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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