Five Takeaways - Leafs vs. Blue Jackets - 02/14/18

1. Aiming to complete sweep of home stand, Leafs start night on right foot, take first lead early in opening frame.The Leafs have given their fans much to cheer for in recent weeks, winning eight of their past nine games and four in a row - all of which have come at Air Canada Centre since their home stand began Feb. 5 against Anaheim. And the Blue and White continued to perform well as they began Wednesday's tilt against Columbus, who were riding a two-game win streak heading into the contest: Toronto recorded the first goal of the night at 4:36 of the opening period, when centre Dominic Moore streaked down the wing to the left of Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo and lifted a backhand shot past him for his fifth goal of the season.

It was the fifth time in a row the Buds have opened the scoring, and on all four previous occasions Toronto went on to win the game. Setting the tone early has become a strength of the Leafs, and when they're able to connect with the first goal at home, the ACC crowd provides them with an electricity they've fed off the rest of the night.

2. Kadri doubles Toronto's lead seconds after power play expires, closes in on 20-goal plateau. Centre Nazem Kadri began this season on a scoring tear, racking up 13 goals in his first 27 games. However, like most NHLers, goals tend to come in bunches and streaks for him, and the veteran didn't register a goal in December, and struggled to produce offence for most of January.

Nevertheless, Kadri continued plugging away, and after Leafs head coach Mike Babcock shuffled his lines in late January and put him in a trio with forward Patrick Marleau and winger Mitch Marner, Kadri has found his stride on offence. He had four goals and 10 points in his past nine games, and added another goal Wednesday - his 19th of the year - at 7:36 of the first to make it 2-0 for the home side. Kadri netted it five seconds after a Toronto power play expired, curling around the left side of Korpisalo before firing a shot through traffic and into Columbus' net.
3. Blue Jackets bite back, end first period and start second with goals by Foligno to tie it up.Toronto's two-goal lead somewhat masked the fact Columbus dominated play for significant periods of time in the first period. That fact was reflected in the shot totals for the teams - with the Blue Jackets firing 19 on Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen in the first 20 minutes of action, while the Leafs managed 12 shots on Korpisalo - and before long, the Buds paid the price on the scoresheet for giving Columbus so many scoring opportunities.

The visitors cut Toronto's lead to 2-1 with 1:39 left in the first frame, when winger Nick Foligno registered his 12th goal. And it was Foligno striking again at 2:25 of the second, making the most of a 2-on-1 rush to tie the score at two goals apiece. Columbus' control of the play would've given them a lead were it not for the typically solid play of Andersen, who turned aside 38 of 41 Jackets shots in the first two periods (the Leafs managed just 19 shots in that span). The Leafs did not excel at restricting their opponent's space on the ice in that span, and an experienced group such as the Jackets were able to keep themselves in the game because of it.

4. Kadri and Marner restore Leafs' two-goal advantage, but gritty Jackets cut lead to a single goal entering third.Despite being outplayed for a good portion of the game, the Leafs demonstrated the resilience in the second period that has helped put them on their current roll: less than six minutes after the Jackets evened the score, Kadri chipped in his second goal of the night - finishing off a terrific cross-ice pass from D-man Morgan Rielly - to put Toronto back in front; and 2:14 after that, winger Mitch Marner added his 13th goal of the year - finishing off a terrific backhanded cross-ice pass from Kadri - to give the Buds a two-goal advantage midway through the second.

Kadri had a three point night at that stage, but the Jackets weren't done scoring, either - and Foligno helped pull his team within a goal of tying it again when he assisted on blueliner Jack Johnson's third goal of the season at the 14:35 mark. That gave Foligno three points on the night as well, and gave Columbus momentum as they began the third.

5. Jackets keep up pressure, but Leafs push back, get excellent netminding from Andersen and third goal of night from Kadri to lock up fifth straight win.The Blue Jackets did not let up in the third period, outshooting Toronto 8-5 through the first 12 minutes and pressuring the Leafs into a penalty when Kadri was called for holding at the 8:55 mark. But Andersen made a slew of big stops - including a spectacular right pad save on centre Boone Jenner - to keep Columbus at bay. And 26 seconds after he got out of the penalty box, Kadri found himself to the right of Korpisalo and Marner found him with a brilliant pass that left him with an open net.

Kadri knocked the puck in for his third goal and fourth point of the game, and the hats came raining down onto the ice from Leafs Nation. It wouldn't have meant nearly as much had Andersen not stopped 54 Jackets shots on the night and held Columbus scoreless in the third, but the combination of superb netminding and timely goal-scoring - as well as an empty-net goal from Patrick Marleau with 1:47 left in regulation - gave the Buds their fifth straight win and a sweep of their home stand. (It also gave Kadri his fifth point of the night, as he garnered the second assist on Marleau's goal.) Like all of the five wins, this game wasn't perfect for Toronto. But they never broke down in the face of Columbus' heavy attack and gave themselves even more collective confidence as they prepared to set out on a two-game road trip that takes them to Pittsburgh Saturday and Detroit Sunday.