The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t build off two straight wins in a poor showing against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (Oct. 29) during a 6-3 defeat. The Maple Leafs still haven’t won three consecutive contests this season in a frustratingly mediocre 5-5-1 start to the 2025-26 campaign.
It was a strange loss for the Maple Leafs in Columbus, which has become a house of horrors for Toronto in recent seasons. The Blue Jackets have scored six goals in each of the last three games versus the Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena. Ilya Samsonov, Dennis Hildeby, and Cayden Primeau were the netminders for Toronto in those contests, and they all struggled mightily to prevent the infamous Columbus cannon from being fired.
Woll Can’t Come Back Soon Enough
Primeau won his first two starts with the Maple Leafs despite surrendering seven goals on 56 shots for a 3.46 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage (SV%). He had a disastrous showing against the Blue Jackets, allowing six goals, all of which came at even strength, on just 24 shots for a .750 SV%. The team struggled defensively in front of him, but it felt as though nearly every scoring chance Columbus had ended up in the back of the net, and he didn’t come up with stops he should’ve made on the majority of the shots that got behind him.
Primeau’s play hasn’t inspired much confidence, and Anthony Stolarz has posted an .868 SV% in his last four appearances en route to a 1-2-1 record. The return of Joseph Woll, who hasn’t played yet this season due to a personal matter, should help stabilize the crease situation. While he likely won’t be available to play against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (Nov. 1), he has been skating and should be back in the fold soon. However, the Maple Leafs may send him to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint before activating him from long-term injured reserve.
Related: Woll and Stolarz Might Be the Maple Leafs’ Perfect Mismatch in Goal
“His conditioning level is fabulous,” Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said of Woll. “Now, there’s a difference of being on the ice, then you progress into a practice, where you’ve got traffic and bodies around, and then the next step is obviously getting into game action” (from ‘Maple Leafs GM delivers update on Joseph Woll’s return,’ The Athletic, Oct. 27, 2025).
Tavares Scores Goal No. 500
John Tavares became the 49th player in NHL history to reach 500 career goals, and the fifth active player to climb to that plateau, joining Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, and Evgeni Malkin. Tavares scored at the 15:45 mark of the third period after being set up by Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson. The 35-year-old Tavares didn’t even celebrate the achievement because it cut Toronto’s deficit to 6-2.
Despite his muted response, it is a milestone worthy of recognition. He became the second player to reach that mark as a member of the Maple Leafs after Mats Sundin accomplished the feat on Oct. 14, 2006. Sundin had the exhilaration of capping a hat-trick performance with an overtime winner against the Calgary Flames. Tavares will eventually be able to look back fondly at his milestone, but, unfortunately, it didn’t come in a Sundin-like moment.
Injuries Building Up
William Nylander got the night off to manage his lower-body injury. The issue made him unavailable for Saturday’s (Oct. 25) 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres, but he played well in Tuesday’s (Oct. 28) 4-3 victory against the Flames. It doesn’t seem like a problem that will persist, and the team chose to err on the side of caution and not push him into playing two games in two nights. Nicholas Robertson got another look on the top line, winning some puck battles and helping to set up some chances for linemates Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann. Robertson notched a goal and an assist in the contest, but he wasn’t skating on the first line when he earned both of his third-period points.
Unfortunately, Steven Lorentz suffered an upper-body injury against the Blue Jackets late in the second period, and he didn’t return to the game. There was no update on his status following the contest. While Nylander may be back this weekend, it’s still unclear when Scott Laughton, Chris Tanev, Calle Jarnkrok, and Woll will be ready to return to the lineup.
Sammy Blais got a chance to make his Maple Leafs debut because of the absences of Nylander and Jankrok. The 29-year-old Blais got Toronto on the board early in the second period with a baseball-like bunt on a rebound from a shot by Jake McCabe. Blais got his first goal in 741 days, and his first as a member of the Maple Leafs. He also added an assist and a team-high five hits. McCabe was all over the ice and was surprisingly active in the offensive end, but still had his fair share of problems defensively.
Defensive Issues Persist
The Maple Leafs controlled the bulk of the play, earning 56.92 percent of the scoring chances and 66.67 percent of the high-danger scoring chances, but failed to take advantage. Ultimately, it was the team’s defensive miscues and poor goaltending that led to a lopsided loss.
After preventing a goal from being scored, Simon Benoit got caught flat-footed after Tavares gave the puck away at the blue line, and Cole Sillinger attacked in transition with speed to open the scoring. It was 2-0 shortly after Mathieu Olivier delivered an unpenalized cross-check to Matias Maccelli at the Columbus blue line, and the Blue Jackets quickly moved the puck up the ice for an odd-man rush opportunity. The Maple Leafs got back to prevent any passes, but Zach Werenski kept the puck, and his shot beat Primeau on a goal the Toronto netminder would probably want back.
The Maple Leafs had some momentum in the second period after the Blais goal, but the Blue Jackets scored three times to take a commanding 5-1 lead. A defensive-zone breakdown led to the third goal by the Blue Jackets, as Toronto players didn’t protect the front of the net. The Maple Leafs somehow got caught puck watching after an offensive zone faceoff and gave up an odd-man rush that resulted in a 2-on-1 for the fourth goal. The 5-1 goal came after Lorentz went headfirst into the end boards in the Columbus zone. The Blue Jackets carried the puck out and lit the lamp with an extended 4-on-3 opportunity off the rush.
In the third period, Oliver Ekman-Larsson committed a terrible giveaway on a breakout attempt, and the Blue Jackets capitalized quickly again to push the score to 6-1. The Maple Leafs were porous defensively in the contest, a problem that persisted throughout the first month of the season. Columbus defenders Werenski, Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro weren’t covered off the rush, and they made the Maple Leafs pay on the scoreboard time and time again.
What Comes Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs visit the Flyers on Saturday (Nov. 1) before returning to Scotiabank Arena for a four-game homestand. Toronto still hasn’t figured out how to play a defensively responsible game. Matthews has received some heat for his sluggish start to the season, which currently has him on pace for only 37 goals and 59 points. It certainly hasn’t been the bounce-back campaign that many hoped it would be from him, but he has 11 shots on net over the last two games and sits fourth in the league in expected goals.
Still, the Maple Leafs captain is far from the only player struggling to open the season. The team must improve defensively and between the pipes to get back on track. If it’s any consolation, Toronto had a 6-4-1 record to begin the 2024-25 campaign before turning it around.
Hockey Analytics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck.
