Takeaways - Leafs vs. Blue Jackets - 11/19/18

BUDS DIG OUT OF TWO-GOAL DEFICIT IN SECOND PERIOD - AND ENNIS STARTS COMEBACK
Coming home to Scotiabank Arena after sweeping their three-game California road swing, the Leafs found themselves down 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Toronto began Monday's game with spirit and focus, but the final 15 minutes of the first saw the Blue Jackets dominate play and produce goals from forwards Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

    However, the second period was a different story altogether. After being outshot 14-6 in the first frame, Toronto and Columbus each had 11 shots in the middle frame - and Leafs winger Tyler Ennis netted the Leafs' first goal of the night at the 13:01 mark:<br>Video: CBJ@TOR: Ennis beats Bobrovsky from a sharp angle<br>Ennis' hard work behind the net of Sergei Bobrovsky paid off when he spun out to the goal line and fired a shot that evaded the Jackets goalie for Ennis' third goal of the season. That got Leafs Nation loud and proud, and it infused Buds players with an energy that would help them get even with Columbus before the second intermission came around.

TAVARES PULLS LEAFS EVEN AS MARNER, KAPANEN CHIP IN WITH STELLAR CONTRIBUTIONS
The Leafs continued pressuring the Blue Jackets as the second period went into its final minutes, and they got the game-tying goal with 2:40 left in the frame thanks to the line of centre John Tavares and wingers Mitch Marner and Kasperi Kapanen:
Video: CBJ@TOR: Tavares jams home Marner's beautiful pass
Kapanen began the scoring sequence with a terrific stretch pass from the Leafs' goal line, getting the puck all the way down the ice to Marner at Columbus' blueline; Marner then carried the puck deep into the Jackets' zone, getting a shot on Bobrovsky before taking the rebound and sending the puck back to Tavares, who buried it for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.

    Toronto's resolve has been a hallmark of the Leafs teams coached by Mike Babcock, and Leafs Nation saw that resolve again in the second: Toronto's first period wasn't its best, but their hard work in the second - and the stellar netminding of Frederik Andersen, which is basically a given at this stage of his Buds career - resulted in an evening of the score and a fresh start for the third period.<br><strong><em>ANDERSEN CONTINUES SUPERB NETMINDING, AND HYMAN NETS GAME-WINNER LATE IN THIRD</em></strong><br>Andersen has been so consistently good between the pipes for Toronto, it seems some people take him for granted. But nobody on the Leafs does, and his performance Monday was a great example of why that is. As Columbus made a push early in the third - outshooting the Buds 13-8 through the first 17 minutes of the frame - Andersen turned aside all shots he saw, and gave the Leafs an opportunity to get the go-ahead goal.  

    That's what happened late in regulation time: blueliner Morgan Rielly got the puck at Columbus' blueline and made a perfect pass to Hyman in front of Bobrovsky; Hyman deflected the puck in for his second goal of the year:<br>Video: CBJ@TOR: Hyman nets redirect to take the lead in 3rd<br>Hyman's hard work doesn't always result in goals for him, but the Hockey Gods smiled on him Monday, as he scored another goal with 1:01 left (and a Columbus net empty for the extra attacker) to give Toronto a two-goal advantage and their fourth win in a row.<br>Andersen stopped 37 of 39 Jackets shots and was rightly named the game's first star, but the entire team deserves credit for not getting down on itself after going down early. Their next game - on the road Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes - will require them to show just as much resolve.