Pacific Division title, playoff seeding at stake on last day

Andersen’s play hasn’t been too strong as of late, which may lead to a goaltending problem for Babcock if things go south quickly against the high-powered Capitals.

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid skates with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Just look at the shot attempt differential: 71-47 in favor of the Leafs, more than 60 percent. He was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 2:01.

Backup Curtis McElhinney then entered the game.

Nine of the 16 playoff teams have a different coach than the one they began last season with: the Canadiens (Claude Julien), Senators (Guy Boucher), Penguins (Mike Sullivan), Blue Jackets (John Tortorella), Bruins (Bruce Cassidy), Wild (Bruce Boudreau), Blues (Mike Yeo), Ducks (Randy Carlyle) and Flames (Glen Gulutzan). Columbus will likely rest some of their starters in preparation for the postseason, but fans would no doubt feel more comfortable if they pulled off a victory.

And when Andersen was with Anaheim, he suffered a concussion last season. He also had an assist, giving him 5-3-8 over his past five games. He leads by example with his extraordinary effort game after game, and his drive and heart are assets that aren’t possessed by many. “Ideally, a couple of years from now, we’ll be good enough to get in even if we have injuries”. “It’s a great opportunity”.

In the bigger picture, the Leafs’ turnaround has been remarkable.

Cause for concern? Part of the Maple Leafs problem on Sunday stemmed from the fact they were down to four defencemen for much of the second and third period. The closer they got to making the playoffs, they got past the point of no return.

“He turns it up”, agreed Leafs centre and playoff veteran Brian Boyle. Can you believe? Doesn’t seem that long ago that the season was started.

IN THE BOOKS: The Senators’ 98 points was the second most they’ve had since accumulating 105 en route to the Stanley Cup final in 2007.

Kasperi Kapanen, on a pass from Matt Hunwick, sent the crowd of 19,561 into a frenzy when he scored at 14:30 of the third to tie the game 3-3.

Matthews led the National Hockey League in scoring 14 game-opening goals, also equalling Dave Andreychuk’s franchise record.

January 3: Toronto 5, Washington 6, OT: Holtby was pulled after the first period, and the Maple Leafs had a 4-2 lead after a wild 40 minutes. “Because they haven’t won (a Cup), he comes to play hard in playoffs, he hits hard”.

Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. We did not have any options. Toronto handily won the possession battle with Columbus (at almost 55 per cent) and it’s because of those crucial wins by Bozak they were able to sustain pressure at the end and preserve any hope of tallying a tying goal.

“We have to go back to our working habits and it’s not going to be easy, and we have to understand that”, Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said.

Phil Kessel, of course, scored six minutes in.

James van Riemsdyk scored at 2:03 when his shot dipped under the glove of Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo.

With the playoffs here, I understand where a guy like Hyman can be valuable, but he’s better suited in a bottom-six role, not a featured role on the top line. On Saturday night it peaked in a game you couldn’t have written if you tried.

“I think it’s pretty cool to see”, van Riemsdyk said.

“If I’m really honest, maybe not”, said Komarov. I mean, just think about how incredibly lucky he is. Included in van Riemsdyk’s 29 goals (one short of his career best) were five game-winning goals, also one shy of his career high of six, accomplished as a rookie in 2009-10 with Philadelphia.

“It was a good win for our team, a good win for our city”, Babcock said.

McElhinney said it was a dream for him to come up big in Andersen’s place against the Penguins, though.