TORONTO — The overtime loss is hockey’s Rorschach test, its blue/green dress, its glass of water poured midway.
What do you see when the Toronto Maple Leafs dig themselves a 5-0 hole on home ice after two periods to the depleted and inexperienced and cellar-dwelling Columbus Blue Jackets … only to storm back with five unanswered goals of their own in the third … only to lose 6-5 in a wild overtime anyway?
Do you see a resilient bunch capable of scoring by the bushel and salvaging standings points from the abyss?
Or do you see a team with breakout issues, goaltending question marks, and a penchant for midgame naps?
Are the real Leafs the guys getting booed off their own sheet after 40 minutes, spurring the Scotiabank Arena DJ, Summer Knocks, to crank the volume on his post-buzzer tunes and drown out Toronto fans’ frustration?
Or are they the score-at-will, no-quit comeback machine that peppers 21 shots at Elvis Merzlikins in the next 20 and rouses that same sellout crowd to its feet, all cellies and high-fives and dropped jaws?
“I mean, we know we can score five,” William Nylander said postgame. “We’ve done this [multiple] times before. I think we’re just confident as a group and know we can score in those situations.”
Toronto’s superstar forwards have earned that next-level Nylander confidence. They may phone in a shift here or a period there, but seldom have they met a deficit they don’t believe they can score their way out of.
Particularly if they can get within striking distance and pull their goalie for an extra attacker.
Feeling the whole event may have been a lost cause after 40 minutes, coach Sheldon Keefe saw no point in ripping his group with negativity, nor challenging them to score five.
Instead, the coach set a goal of 20 shots in 20 minutes. Leave proud and fighting.
“Give our fans something to feel good about in the third period,” Keefe said. “Obviously, a lot of what went on here is unacceptable. But we remained positive.
“In a lot of ways, it wasn’t really our night. The guys went out, skated, gave it a valiant effort towards making it our night. And get a very important point out of it.”
Auston Matthews heard the boo birds.
“This is our building,” he said. “You know, being embarrassed for the first two periods, just go out there and put in a solid effort.”
It was against these same Blue Jackets and in this same barn, remember, that Toronto rallied from down 3-0 in the third with four straight goals, to (temporarily) save their season in a 2020 qualifying-round thriller.
Matthews scored the OT winner and had three primary points that night in the post-season bubble. He had three primary points and scored two desperate six-on-five goals Thursday.
Any flashbacks to three years ago?
“A little bit, honestly. We were kind of creeping up, getting closer and closer. I think you get the second one, the third one, obviously, the wheels start churning,” Matthews said.
“Everybody’s been there on the other side, too. So, you understand what the opponent’s feeling. So, you just try to continue to press and continue to try to generate the momentum and the chances. You know, six-on-five, you never know what’s gonna happen.”
Added Mitch Marner: “We don’t want to be in these positions a lot. But when we do get in them, we got trust in the ability for us to go out there and do what we do.”
Less trustworthy at this stage is goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who allowed six goals and whom Keefe was “very” tempted to pull after the fifth.
While the goaltender shouldn’t be blamed for every goal against — the Leafs skaters are either battling illness or acting like it — Justin Danforth banked an ugly one off Samsonov’s body and in from behind the goal line, and Johnny Gaudreau squeaked a puck right through his body.
Samsonov’s rebound control and positioning looked shaky at best. Scattered Bronx cheers were directed his way.
Keefe consulted with Curtis Sanford during the second intermission, and the goalie coach suggested Samsonov battle out the clock with the team. Keefe later said he was glad he took Sanford’s advice, as Samsonov stopped all seven pucks he faced in the third … but came one save short in OT.
The way Samsonov’s head hung low postgame, the way his eyes stared vacant, and the fact he was the only Maple Leaf still in gear, sitting still and speechless in his stall — that tells you the goalie sees this overtime loss as half-empty.
Sanford walked over and whispered some words of encouragement to Samsonov in the dressing room. GM Brad Treliving gave him a reassuring tap as he walked by, too.
No Leaf dared utter a critical word about their starting goaltender, and the team declined to make Samsonov available to the microphones and cameras.
To be certain, this roller-coaster Rorschach versus Columbus reminded Toronto how badly they need their goalie in a positive mental place. Just as Samsonov needs the run support.
Yeah, the Maple Leafs know they can score five, but they don’t want to always pull the goalie to get there.
Six-on-five is a blast to watch, but, boy, is it hard on the coach’s nerves.
“We have great confidence in it,” Keefe said. “But I wish we’d use it a lot less.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Injury news: Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine suffered an upper-body injury after colliding with William Lagesson and crashing into the end-boards. He left the second period holding his left shoulder and did not return. Columbus coach Pascal Vincent did not have an update postgame.
Toronto’s Ryan Reaves caught a rut and crashed into the boards in the first. He needed assistance off the ice due to a left leg injury. Keefe says the fourth-liner will be out “a while.” Full diagnosis to come.
Timothy Liljegren (high ankle sprain) is “real close” to returning to game action, per Keefe.
• A diehard Bruins fan who idolized playmaking centre Marc Savard as a kid, Columbus’s Adam Fantilli wore either Savard’s 91 or the inverse, 19, as an amateur.
He took No. 11 when he turned pro simply because he got a kick out of how the number matches the two L’s on his nameplate.
• What will get lost on a night like this is the dominance of Matthews and Nylander’s line — particularly once Calle Järnkrok replaced Noah Gregor. That Matthews group outshot the Jackets 10-2 at even-strength and connected for Toronto’s first goal, sparking a comeback.
Matthews and Nylander combined for three goals, five points, 19 shots, and 31 attempts.
Nylander began the season with a club-record 17-game point streak. After three games off the sheet, he’s on another heater and will take a seven-game point streak into the weekend.
• None of the NHL’s six youngest teams by average age — Sabres (25.7), Canadiens (26.5), Blue Jackets (26.7), Devils (26.7), Coyotes (26.7), and Blackhawks (27) — are currently in a playoff position (by points percentage).
• Martin Jones starts Saturday versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, right?
