"The tone for this game was set on the very first shift when the Tavares line was promptly dominated. A few shifts later, the Nic Roy line did generate some pushback and dominated a shift of their own in response. The Leafs followed it up with another mess of a shift from the Tavares line that ended with Simon Benoit swatting the puck off the goal line with his glove and narrowly avoiding a penalty shot in the process."
"Simon Benoit received a pass from Jake McCabe, had time and space to make an actual play with the puck or attempt a real pass, and tried to flip the puck to the neutral zone. He flubbed the play, Columbus got a piece of it, and it handcuffed Tavares, who also made a poor play, resulting in a turnover at the Leafs' blue line that Columbus immediately transitioned and scored off the rush."
"That zone time turned into a poor decision by Benoit to pinch on a puck he had no chance of ever getting, and Matthew Knies and Matias Maccelli both did not support him properly as they lost the puck in the air. Mathieu Olivier planted Maccelli when he was attempting to cover for Benoit, and the Jackets pounced on the loose puck, racing up the ice for a 2v1."
Maple Leafs' focus appeared on the Toronto Blue Jays rather than the game against Columbus. The Tavares line was dominated early while the Nic Roy line provided the only pushback. Simon Benoit had crucial defensive miscues including swatting the puck off the goal line with his glove and an unsuccessful flip that led to a turnover. Tavares also made a poor play contributing to the rush goal. The Leafs briefly generated pressure but Benoit's ill-timed pinch and lack of support from Matthew Knies and Matias Maccelli produced a loose puck and an odd-man break. Werenski finished a short-side low glove goal on Cayden Primeau.
Read at Maple Leafs Hotstove
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