The Toronto Maple Leafs, according to some, were not facing a must-win situation in the 10th game of the regular season, but after a disastrous week of losing three straight, the stakes were raised for a Monday night non-conference contest against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks. Unlike their losses to Utah, Buffalo, and the NY Islanders, the Leafs received a better-than-average performance from their goaltender and played with more energy at both ends of the ice.
Rookie Gavin McKenna‘s power-play goal early in the third period stood up, and team captain Auston Matthews scored a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over the Sharks at Scotiabank Arena. Nick Paul scored the empty-netter for Toronto, and Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his second win of the season and first victory on home ice.
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“We had some really good chances through 40 minutes at even strength,…..(but)I think the difference was in the third period. We made some mistakes, and Bob made some big saves.” Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said after the game. “I thought it was a good win for our team because it was a little bit gutsy in the end. We had to be gutsy to win that game. We hoped it wouldn’t have to have been that way, but that’s what it was.”
The most consistent unit for the Leafs so far this season has been their penalty kill, which leads the NHL with a 96.9% kill rate and has allowed just one power play goal in 32 short-handed opportunities.
“I thought tonight was probably our best job on the penalty kill. There have been some other nights where we’ve been good, gave some chances up, and got some good saves. Tonight, I thought we executed extremely well,” Hiller said. “(Leafs assistant coach) John Gruden primarily runs the penalty kill. He’s had just a great plan, and the guys have executed it.”
The Leafs will not have any time to enjoy their victory, as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday. It will be the first contest between the two clubs since the trade that sent Matthew Knies to Ohio for Kirill Marchenko. Knies has gone pointless in five games, starting with two goals and two assists in his first two contests, while Marchenko has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 10 games, including a hat trick against Buffalo last Thursday.
It continues to be my point on the trade that it was a deal that should not have been made, not only because the gap in talent and production between the two players does not reflect the nearly $5 million difference in salary starting next season that Marchenko will get, but also because the Leafs took on both the salaries of Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood, as well as throwing in Emil Andrae and a second-round pick.
Another point being made by others in recent days, after seeing the state of the Leafs’ defense without Chris Tanev, is that Knies was likely the best piece that GM John Chayka had to bring back a top pairing or, at the minimum, a top-four defenseman. If Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski were to demand out later in the season, the Leafs would have no ammo to acquire him, and the same goes for Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Marchenko may score slightly more, but Toronto will be going nowhere fast without upgrading their back end.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (4-4-2 – 10 POINTS) vs. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (3-4-0 – 6 POINTS)
OCTOBER 20, 2026 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ NATIONWIDE ARENA (COLUMBUS, OH) TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590
TORONTO’S HISTORY vs. COLUMBUS
| All-Time Record: | 21-15-1-8 (45 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 12-7-0-3 (22 Games) |
| 2025-26: | 1-1-1 (3 Games) |
| Last Five: | 2-2-1 |
| Last 10: | 4-3-3 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | February 14, 2001 (Toronto 2 vs. Columbus 2) |
| All-Time Record: | 21-15-1-8 (45 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 9-8-1-5 (23 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 12-7-0-3 (22 Games) |
| Last Road Win vs. Opponent: | November 26, 2025 (Toronto 2 at Columbus 1, OTW) |
MAPLE LEAFS / BLUE JACKETS – 2026-27 TEAM STATS
| COLUMBUS | TORONTO | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 2.43 (26th) | 3.20 (11th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.29 (21st) | 3.20 (19th) |
| Power Play %: | 11.8% (30th) | 28.6% (5th) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 68% (29th) | 96.9% (1st) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 26.1 (19th) | 28.4 (13th) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 28.4 (23rd) | 29.5 (26th) |
| Faceoff %: | 55.7% (2nd) | 52.1% (9th-T) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
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