Recap: Leafs will look to bounce back after defensive battle in Game 1

The Toronto Maple Leafs came up just short in a tight-checking goaltender battle Sunday in Game One of their Stanley Cup Qualifier series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus skated away with a 2-0 win in a game that felt every bit as low-scoring as the final. Both teams were held scoreless for more than two periods, with Frederik Andersen and Joonas Korpisalo trading big saves throughout. Auston Matthews' near miss off the crossbar in the first period stood as the biggest threat to break the tie through 40 minutes.

Cam Atkinson eventually got Columbus on the board, squeezing a wrister through Andersen off the rush 1:05 into the third period. Alexander Wennberg added an empty netter to seal the game with 19 seconds remaining.

As anticipated, Columbus focused their efforts on slowing Toronto's high-flying offence with relentless forechecking, forced turnovers, and little-to-no time to operate in the neutral zone. Zach Hyman reflected on the Blue Jackets tough defensive playing style, saying, "There's not much out there. It's tight. That's what we expected."

The Maple Leafs, held to 28 shots in the game, struggled to penetrate into scoring areas and create meaningful chances. Head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed the issue after the game. "I thought we played a good enough game to win today. But obviously you can't win if you don't score," he said. Toronto was only shut out only one time in 70 games throughout the regular season.

There were bright spots to build on for the bubble hosts. Rookie Nick Robertson, making his NHL debut, provided one of the best opportunities for Toronto on his first shift but was denied by the toe of Korpisalo. The forward became the first 18-year old to make his big-league debut in a playoff game since Jarome Iginla in 1996. "I thought Robbie had some good moments in the game," Keefe said. "That would be by far the hardest game he's ever played in, I would imagine." It won't get easier from here if Robertson is in the lineup again for Game 2.

That Robertson's lone chance was notable highlighted the biggest issue for Toronto's attack: Their top six were unable to generate chances on their first game back in 145 days. Matthews recorded a new career high for playoff regulation time on ice with 24:38, and a game-high of six shots on net, but was unable to beat Korpisalo. Mitch Marner, meanwhile, was held without a shot and was -2 in 20:05 of ice time. He was critical of his own quiet night, saying, "My effort wasn't good enough."

It was also a notably quiet night for special teams. The three penalties whistled were by far the fewest in any Qualifying Round game so far. The Leafs boasted one of the league's top power plays throughout the regular season but only had one opportunity to put it to work, coming up empty.

Toronto will get a shot to tie the series up when they return to the ice for Game Two on Tuesday afternoon. Finding their way to more scoring chances will have to be their focus between now and then.