• Curtis McElhinney has tough return to Columbus
• Mitchell Marner‘s game streak in doubt after injury
• James van Riemsdyk benched by Babcock
This is not how Curtis McElhinney envisioned his return to Columbus.
The four-year member of the Blue Jackets, claimed off waivers Jan. 10 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, heard far too many cannon blasts echo through Nationwide Arena on Wednesday night.
His teammates certainly didn’t help matters. Playing for the second time in as many nights, they surrendered 16 shots in the opening 11 minutes alone and were quickly down 2-0.
It didn’t get much better from there.
However, the veteran goaltender will need to wait for a victory against his old team after making 30 saves in a 5-2 loss.
Here are some takeaways from the Leafs-Jackets game:
MISSING MARNER
A fanbase holds its breath.
The sight of leading scorer Mitchell Marner packing it in with 15 minutes remaining didn’t sit well even if it appeared to be precautionary.
The 19-year-old was in obvious distress after tripping over Boone Jenner and sliding hard into the side boards. That was late in the second period and Marner left the bench, returned, left the bench, returned (following the intermission), played shifts of 46 and 36 seconds and pulled the chute for good.
He appeared to be favouring his right arm or shoulder.
The Leafs have been extremely fortunate on the injury-front this season, with Marner among 10 players to dress for all 56 games so far.
We’ll have to wait and see if he’ll be ready to play No. 57 on Saturday against Ottawa.
AUSTON WATCH
There weren’t many positives to be found from the Toronto end of things, but rookie Auston Matthews delivered another solid outing.
He consistently tilted the ice in his team’s favour and wasn’t out for any goals against. He also generated eight shot attempts – one night after registering nine in a win over the New York Islanders – and went 12-4 in the faceoff dot.
Had a first-period chance from Matthews not hit the crossbar behind Joonas Korpisalo and stayed out, it might have been a different game.
JVR BENCHED
At the other end of the spectrum was veteran James van Riemsdyk, who saw fewer than 13 minutes in ice time for only the second time this season.
He was bumped from his usual spot on a line with Marner and Tyler Bozak – before Marner got injured, naturally – and only had five shifts total during a penalty-filled second period.
His offensive production has slowed over the last 10 games, with van Riemsdyk recording just two goals and five points during that stretch.
The Leafs went 3-5-2 through the same period.
[relatedlinks]
LEIVO-MANIA
You have to admire the way Josh Leivo has embraced an opportunity.
The 23-year-old winger had two assists – both on goals by Nazem Kadri – after getting bumped up the lineup when the Blue Jackets built a big lead.
It’s continued a positive trend. He only started dressing as a fourth-liner when Nikita Soshnikov went down with a minor upper-body injury last week, but he’s found a way to make an impact in a limited role.
Even though Soshnikov is now healthy, Leivo continues to play.
And why not?
He’s getting chances and putting up points. After registering one assist in his first 32 career NHL games, he’s produced four of them in the last four periods.
CHA-CHING
The third Columbus goal ended up being the winner, but its value was worth even more than that to under-rated Jackets forward Alexander Wennberg.
The Swede picked up his 35th assist on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s marker, earning a $212,500 entry-level bonus in the process.
Those milestones are always worth celebrating given the tight restrictions placed on the first contract an NHL player can sign.
A few Leafs players are currently knocking on the door as well: Nikita Zaitsev is one assist shy of a $212,500 bonus while Marner is two assists short of earning one in the same amount.
