Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 keys to beating Maple Leafs in qualifying round
Can the Columbus Blue Jackets pull off a massive first round upset again?
Last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off arguably one of the biggest upsets in NHL history by sweeping the heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year, they’ll have a chance to pull off another upset as they face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the play-in round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Much like the Lightning, the Leafs are a beatable team. In fact, they’re even more beatable than the Lightning were. Anything can happen in a best of five games series and the Blue Jackets are perfectly capable of pulling off yet another upset in the postseason.
Now, the Leafs will still present quite a challenge for the Blue Jackets. Their offense is scary good and their defense has been better than most give them credit for since they fired Mike Babcock as their head coach and hired Sheldon Keefe. In order to beat the Leafs, the Blue Jackets will need to be at their best. Here’s a look at three keys to beating them.
1. Goaltending
Ultimately, there’s a pretty good chance this series will come down to goaltending. In the NHL, goaltending can be the ultimate equalizer. This especially rings true in small sample sizes, which is what the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about.
Goaltending is an area the Blue Jackets hold a distinct advantage over the Maple Leafs. Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (.909% save percentage) has been inconsistent at best this season. Jack Campbell has been solid since being traded to Toronto with a .915% save percentage. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets tandem of Joonas Korpisalo (.911% save percentage) and Elvis Merzlikins (.923% save percentage) have been surprisingly great.
It’s hard to tell who will start in the postseason for the Blue Jackets, but one has to imagine Merzlikins is the favorite considering how amazing he has been in 2020. Whoever starts in goal for Columbus will need to play well in order to ensure the Blue Jackets keep their advantage in net.
2. Penalty Kill
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, special teams are important. Whenever you get a power play, it’s important to score. And whenever you are shorthanded, it’s important to not let the other team score. The Blue Jackets penalty kill will have their hands full against a lethal Maple Leafs power play.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
It shouldn’t be surprising Toronto has an excellent power play. Anytime you can trot out Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Tyson Barrie or Morgan Rielly on the same unit, you’re going to score goals. During the regular season, they converted on over 23% of their power play opportunities.
The Blue Jackets had a solid penalty kill, as their 81.66% kill rate ranked 12th in the NHL. But their best defense against Toronto’s power play is keeping them off the ice. The Blue Jackets aren’t elite at many things, but one thing they’re unquestionably elite at is not committing penalties.
They only averaged 4:17 per game shorthanded, the second-lowest rate in the NHL, trailing only the Winnipeg Jets. It’s not hard to imagine that being even lower in the playoffs, when refs tend to swallow their whistles at times.
If the Blue Jackets can play smart, disciplined hockey and kill whatever penalties they do commit, they have a really good chance of beating the Maple Leafs.
3. Defense Vs. Offense
If you look at the standings, the Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets are pretty identical. Both teams have played 70 games and both teams have 81 points.
However, their playing styles couldn’t be more different. Toronto relies heavily on their offense. They attack you in waves and every one of their forward lines is a threat to score. The Leafs scored the second most goals in the NHL while allowing the seventh most.
Meanwhile, Columbus is more defensively oriented. They struggle to score, as their 180 goals scored has them tied for 27th in the league. However, thanks to their excellent defense and surprisingly strong goaltending, they’ve allowed just 183 goals. Only the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars allowed fewer.
This makes for a fascinating matchup between an elite offense and an elite defense. Last year, the Blue Jackets were able to shut down the Lightning by being opportunistic and not letting Tampa do much. They’ll have to be equally aggressive and efficient to shut down the Leafs.
Next. Preview The Play-In Round Series. dark
The Blue Jackets will be getting some reinforcements back. Most notably, they’re getting back Seth Jones, who, when healthy, is a borderline Norris Trophy candidate. Getting him back healthy could tilt the series in favor of the Blue Jackets.