John Tavares scores 500th goal, but Maple Leafs back to .500

Contents of the article

John Tavares didn't feel like celebrating his 500th NHL goal—and for good reason.

Tavares became the 49th National Hockey League player to reach the milestone, but his and the Maple Leafs' response was muted as it came late in a 6-3 loss at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. After this terrible conclusion, Tavares and company went back to the drawing board.

Contents of the article

Contents of the article

Contents of the article

Looking decimated defensively by goaltender Caden Primeau across the board, Toronto was defeated by the Blue Jackets. Each club played the night before, and the Leafs were able to move past last place in the NHL. Calgary Flames At home, the Jackets continue to gain momentum after their overtime triumph at Buffalo.

But after missing forward William Nylander, among others, to Primo and resting Anthony Stolarz, the visitors were down four goals after two periods and only 13 shots for Columbus. They weren't just moving pucks, they were allowing runs, passes or laterals, a problem area in their first 11 games (5-5-1).

Three Columbus defensemen scored: Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro. Fabbro's goal late in the second period came from Leaf forward Steven Lorenz, who was trying to get to the bench after his header crashed into a shot at the other end of the field. Lorenz, who missed some time with a suspected head injury earlier this month, did not return to the game.

Contents of the article

Cole Sillinger scored two goals for the Jackets, and Mathieu Olivier finished with four points. Sammy Blais held the Leafs to within one goal, with Tavares and Nick Robertson getting shots in the final minutes.

The Leafs had two late power plays, one of which lasted just seconds earlier. Auston Matthews called themselves. Coach Craig Berube switched lineups as early as the first period, during which he called a timeout after Sillinger's first soft goal to lecture his team.

In addition to Primo, Tavares and Matthew Knies had a tough night statistically, both minus-three.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play video

The first player to score 500 goals in the NHL was Maurice (“Rocket”) Richard, whose name now appears on the regular-season goals award. Taveras' first goal as the first overall pick of the New York Islanders came against Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

The only NHL player to score 500 points in a Leaf jersey was Mats Sundin in 2006, after he began his career with the Quebec Nordiques. Tuesday's assist was Tavares' 1,127th point, passing Mike Bossy and Joe Nieuwendyk for 63rd in league history.

[email protected]

X: @sunhornby

Do you have a question for our Toronto Maple Leafs mailbag? Submit it here to [email protected].

Contents of the article