The Toronto Maple Leafs provided some clarity to some of their injured players prior to their Thursday night match with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena. The Leafs snapped their five-game losing skid with an overtime victory over St.Louis and are looking to close the gap towards getting back in a playoff spot.
The sight of team captain Auston Matthews taking part in the morning skate was the most welcome. Matthews has missed three games since being hit from behind by Boston defenseman Nikita Zadorov, and although he stayed on the ice for the full skate, head coach Craig Berube did not provide a timeline for his return.
Nicolas Roy, who missed the Blues game with an upper-body injury, was also on the ice prior to the morning skate with Matthews, but did not take part in the team workout. On the optimistic side, Scott Laughton makes his return after recovering from being another victim of a Zadorov hit on November 8. The rugged center will play between Steven Lorentz and rookie Easton Cowan, a combo that was very successful during the preseason.
The news was not as good regarding goalie Anthony Stolarz, who left the 5-3 loss to Boston on November 11 with an upper-body injury. Berube indicated that the injury was worse than expected and that the big netminder has not been on the ice for over a week. Joseph Woll has been excellent in his two starts against Chicago and St. Louis, and will make his third straight start against the Blue Jackets. Matthew Knies was also absent from the ice and was confirmed to be out against Columbus.
The morning skate revealed some line tweaks by Berube due to the return of Laughton. Calle Jarnkrok moves up to the top line with John Tavares and William Nylander, Nick Robertson reunites with his frequent linemates Max Domi and Bobby McMann, while call-up Jacob Quillan centers the fourth line between Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli.
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
| All-Time Record: | 20-15-1-7 (43 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 9-8-1-4 (22 Games) |
| 2024-25: | 1-2-0 |
| Last Five: | 1-3-1 |
| Last 10: | 4-4-2 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | February 14, 2001 (Toronto 2 vs. Columbus 2 – OT) |
| All-Time Record: | 20-15-1-7 (43 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 9-8-1-4 (22 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 11-7-0-3 (21 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | April 5, 2025 (Toronto 5 vs. Columbus 0) |
MAPLE LEAFS / BLUE JACKETS – 2025-26 TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | COLUMBUS | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.50 (4th) | 2.95 (22nd-T) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.70 (31st) | 3.20 (22nd-T) |
| Power Play %: | 15.1 (28th) | 17.4 (22nd) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 78.3 (20th) | 72.0 (29th) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 27.8 (17th) | 30.6 (3rd) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 31.1 (28th) | 31.5 (31st) |
| Faceoff %: | 55.7 (2nd) | 51.3 (12th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
