If a milestone is reached in the forest and no one can hear it, will it make a sound?
John Tavares scored his 500th goal on Wednesday at the Nationwide Arena and it would be hard to imagine more unfortunate circumstances to celebrate such a huge achievement.
The minds and televisions of sports fans in Tavares' hometown, where he decided to return and then, a few months ago, decided to double down and stay here on the cheap, were almost exclusively focused on baseball.
Rookie Trey Yesavage made World Series history with performances that Tavares himself will probably tell his grandchildren about one day.
The likeable, tough and strong Blue Jays are one win away from the championship.
Vladimir Guerrero slaps the bases.
Even the die-hard puck supporters who tuned in to watch Toronto Maple Leafs getting doubled 6-3 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on a school night probably weren't glued to the action as the Leafs trailed 6-1 with just 4:15 left in garbage time.
That's when Tavares beat Elvis Merzlikin with a well-aimed shot and lifted him even further into the air—only 48 other shooters in NHL history have lit the lamp that often—and became the team's leader in goals (six) and second in points (14). This is despite sharing a locker room with the likes of Auston Matthews and William Nylander, another testament to Tavares' toughness and consistency.
Unfortunately, in the barn, where cannon shots are commonplace, almost no one heard about this phenomenal feat.
Heck, Tavares' meaningless/meaningful goal itself could have been ruled offside on review. But the Blue Jackets didn't see the need to waste anyone's time since the scoreboard was already skewed when the story happened.
Tavares, who was difficult to excite at the best of times, was not going to celebrate the 6-2 goal.
“It's very difficult to comment on this right now. I understand the question,” Tavares told reporters after the Ohio game.
“But you play this game to win as a team. It's all about the team and you'd love to see them have a bigger impact on the game. Of course, in the moments and days ahead, I'll appreciate that even more.”
The only current players in Club 500 include Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin. All are future first-ballot Hall of Famers.
“It's amazing. I can't say enough good things about Johnny, the person he is, the teammate he is, the professional that he comes to the rink every day,” Matthews said. “I’m very fortunate to call him a great friend, a teammate, a guy that we’re all very excited about.”
According to Craig Berube, Tavares is low-maintenance. A coach's dream.
“He’s so professional and dedicated and he loves the Leafs,” Berube said. “He loves the team and just comes to work every night. He never has days off. day off. Like, he always just does his job, works in a highly competitive environment.”
High competition that's not how observers would describe the team Tavares is playing for this month.
Toronto's positive momentum from hard-fought home wins over Buffalo and Calgary quickly dissipated in Columbus as they allowed two goals in their first four shots and never got much traction.
Poor puck handling, especially in the neutral zone, contributed to the Blue Jackets' transition attack. Rush defense remains a glaring problem, a symptom of a lack of communication among the five players.
“When we have disruptions, they are really significant and result in high odds for them,” Tavares said. “We’re a little too connected, just free.
“Obviously it hurts us.”
Berube noted the frequency of forced plays and lack of attention to detail: “We didn't have that tonight, and we got burned for it.”
Especially with Nylander out of the game and Matthews still looking for another outfit, the Leafs can no longer top their opponent on a night when they make 23 turnovers and dress their backup goalie.
“I don't think it takes effort. The guys worked hard. I thought we competed. It's just when the breakdowns happen and the mistakes happen, they're too big,” Matthews said.
“I think it's more mental work than effort.”
For Tavares, it has always been both: intelligence and effort in unison, working towards a common goal. Five hundred times more.
It’s a shame that this moment went unnoticed, on a skating rink, on a channel that no one was watching.
• Nylander has missed two of the last three games with a lower-body injury, which he has been nursing since being re-tested by Jason Zucker on Friday. The Leafs' best player and his coach remain tight-lipped about the nature of his injury.
“I think he's getting better, but he thought he could play in the last game and he did. And I thought he played okay (in Tuesday's win over Calgary). I mean, he did some good things in the game and he carried it through and helped us win,” Berube said. “So, I think he'll be fine. Really. You have two days after this before we play again.”
Even though Nylander has played two games, he still leads the team in points (15) and plus/minus (+5).
• After Nylander's absence, Sammy Blais finally made his Leafs debut 22 days after he was lifted off waivers by the Canadiens, and scored a dirty goal that hit the net and bounced off the shoulder and past Elvis Merzlikin.
“He's a physical player. He likes to throw his body on the forecheck,” said Berube, who won a Cup with Blais in St. Louis. “And he has very good hands. He's good with the puck and can do incredible things with it. He also has a good shot. But more importantly, he's a guy who's going to go out and complete his checks and try to embarrass the other team.”
Blais had an assist, hit a game-best five shots, made three shots and made the point. Not bad for coming into the cold and working for 11 minutes.
“This is the first NHL game in a year, so I felt really good. I'm really glad I played tonight and everything went well,” Blais said.
• Kayden Primeau's save percentage for the Maple Leaf: .838.
The Leafs' next games will take place on November 8 (against Boston) and November 9 (against Carolina).
• Just as one fourth-liner (Scott Laughton) gets close to returning, another leaves.
Steven Lorenz hit the boards hard with his shoulder late in the second period and did not return to the game. He needs more evaluation.
• It's funny, but on the day Matthew Nice was moved to Tavares' left wing, the 22-year-old was asked about the possibility of helping his new center and his former father's magical goal No. 500.
Knies, 22, smiled widely.
“That would be great. I think we're always talking about an important goal here,” Knies said. “This is an amazing achievement.”
Sure enough, Knies gave Tavares his 500th goal with a nifty backhand pass in a hurry.
