4 Leafs-Blue Jackets picks: Woll saves vital OT win, returns to 5-forward power play

Easton Cowan scored his second goal of his young NHL career to tie the game with three minutes and 17 seconds left in regulation time. John Tavares and William Nylander delivered a strong pass, Cowan shot to the side of the net and tapped the puck in for a goal that could serve as a catalyst for change if the Maple Leafs are going to pile up wins on this crucial road trip.

The match went into overtime and after both teams traded chances, Nylander responded to the inherent challenge and turned it into a decisive victory for the Maple Leafs with his eleventh goal of the season.

Woll is the main reason the Maple Leafs won, and it’s only fitting that he received the team belt, awarded to the Leafs’ best or most impactful player in a winning effort.

Here are four takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 win against the Blue Jackets:

Auston Matthews improves as the game goes on in return from five-game absence

Matthews spun Ivan Provorov during the first period, worked patiently to create some separation, executed a give-and-go with Max Domi and then hit the post. He would fire a shot on goal early in the second period, and while this was a far cry from his 2023/24 form, there were signs of progress.

Matthews drove the net and scored a penalty late on Blue Jackets forward Miles Wood in the second period, a good sign he can use his power to overwhelm defenders. He moved the puck well with the man advantage and was on the hunt for his shot.

No one will mistake this as a typical Matthews performance, but there were signs of progress, and the Maple Leafs will need more as he returns to top form on the road trip.

Joseph Woll was the main reason the Leafs emerged with the win

This may bury the lede: Woll was the main reason the Maple Leafs won this game, making nine high-danger saves — it could very well have been 19 high-danger saves, and few would have questioned the veracity.

Here are some select examples, like Woll closing the door on Sean Monahan before the rush, while the Leafs’ first line let him walk in unhindered.

Adam Fantilli recently dominated the Maple Leafs, but Woll kept him at bay, most notably with an excellent blocker save from dangerous distances in the second period.

Toronto was outscored 14-6 in the third period and looked doomed to collapse, but Woll was having none of it.

Easton Cowan leveled the match but Woll failed to get any relief and made two incredible saves from Miles Wood on the next shift, forcing extra time. Woll deserves all the credit after pulling off a crucial victory for the slumping Maple Leafs.

Easton Cowan’s strong start to the season may be an example of the glass-half-full approach

Cowan worked well with Tavares and Nylander all night, and he should be a fixture in the top six even with Matthews and Knies in the lineup. The 20-year-old finished with a 70 percent share of expected goals at 5-on-5, leading the Maple Leafs in their winning effort.

“He’s a young kid. There will be mistakes, but he’ll learn from them, in my opinion. He listens and he wants to get better. He’s got ice water in his veins. He doesn’t feel the pressure,” Berube said of Cowan after the game. “He just plays. He knows his abilities and what he can do.”

Powerplay with five forwards needs a larger sample size

We want to see a bigger example with Cowan in a five-forward unit, as the Maple Leafs only had two penalties. It certainly can’t hurt: Tavares and Knies are the front-and-bumper power forwards that Berube always envisioned, while Matthews and Nylander should be able to strike fear into opponents from the circle – this is where Matthews’ location and speed are paramount. There wasn’t enough to draw a meaningful conclusion from Wednesday’s win, but we’d like to see the five-man unit for Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals.