. Toronto came in with the league's third-best record, while Columbus was one spot back in fourth. Tied 2-2 through 40 minutes, Marner had a backhand chance for the Leafs from the slot with just over eight minutes to go after Tavares hit the side of the net. Andersen made a big save at the other end moments later on a scramble in the crease before Hyman redirected Rielly's shot past Bobrovsky. Columbus pulled Bobrovsky with 1:45 remaining. Down 2-0 after the first, Toronto got on the board with 6:59 left in the second when Ennis used a couple of spin moves and slid the puck through Bobrovsky's legs from a tough angle. Andersen then stopped Josh Anderson's move to the backhand on a breakaway to keep the Leafs down by one before Marner tied the game. Marner stepped past Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington before tapping his own rebound back in front of Bobrovsky's net, where Tavares scored his 13th. Marner now has one goal and seven assists during a five-game point streak. Despite coming out flat following victories over the Los Angeles Kings (5-1), San Jose Sharks (5-3) and Anaheim Ducks (2-1 in overtime) last week, Toronto could have easily found themselves up 2-0 early on Monday. Ennis hit the post on a 2-on-1 break under three minutes in before Connor Brown somehow chipped a puck off the iron from the lip of the crease. Columbus carried much of the play and took the lead with 5:21 remaining in the first after some sloppy play from Rielly and Hainsey. Dubois knocked down Hainsey's clearing attempt and fed Atkinson, who beat Andersen between the pads for his 13th goal and seventh in the last five outings. Columbus went up 2-0 with 47.5 seconds left in the period on another Leafs defensive miscue as Dubois cleaned up in front after Atkinson lost the puck on an attempted move between the legs for his 10th. With the victory, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock passed Red Kelly and Pat Burns for fifth place in franchise history with 133 regular-season coaching wins. Punch Imlach leads with 370, followed by Pat Quinn (300), Hap Day (259) and Dick Irvin (215). NOTES: There were no penalties called in the game. ... Bobrovsky had allowed just one goal in each of his last four starts prior to Monday. ... Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews practiced with his teammates Sunday for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury Oct. 27. The 21-year-old wore a red non-contact jersey for that session and was also out for Monday's optional morning skate. ... Atkinson scored the fifth hat trick of his career in Saturday's 4-1 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. UP NEXTLeafs: Visit Carolina on Wednesday. Blue Jackets: Host Toronto in a rematch on Friday.---For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHLhockey and https://www.twitter.com/-Sports)
Time: 7:00 PM EST Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5J 2X2 / TORONTO - The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs are close in the standings and they won't be far away from each other over the next few days, either. The Blue Jackets will visit the Maple Leafs Monday night and the teams will stage a rematch Friday at Columbus. The Blue Jackets (12-6-2) have won three in a row and are 5-0-2 over their past seven games after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on the road on Saturday with Cam Atkinson notching his fifth career hat trick and added an assist. The Maple Leafs (14-6-0) also have won three in a row, sweeping all three games in California including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Maple Leafs opened the trip with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 10." A long road trip, a lot of games, a good test for us to come out here and measure ourselves so I think we're happy with the way we played," said Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, who scored the overtime winner on Friday. The game Monday at Scotiabank Arena should be a test for two teams that are playing well." It's a fun place to play, especially how good they are and the offseason addition of (John) Tavares and guys like that," said Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored a goal at Carolina. "It's fun the way we're playing, the way they're playing. It should be a high-paced game." "We're confident," said Atkinson, who has 12 goals this season. "We're holding on to pucks, our unit especially, making plays when they're there, not forcing anything and getting pucks to the net and retrieving. Keeping it simple, nothing fancy. Taking what they give us and scoring goals, big goals." Nick Foligno did not play against Carolina Saturday because of a family matter and his status for Monday is unknown. The Blue Jackets also have had several players, and coach John Tortorella, were affected by an illness over the past week but the worst appears to be over. Tortorella was behind the bench Saturday. Riley Nash, Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky missed the 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers Thursday at Nationwide Arena because of illness. They returned for the game Saturday with Panarin notching three assists. Atkinson had missed the 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals Nov. 9 because he was ill. The Maple Leafs will continue to be without center Auston Matthews, who has been out since injuring his shoulder during a victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 27. The Maple Leafs are 6-3-0 since the injury to Matthews. The center, who has 10 goals and six assists in 11 games this season, practiced with the Maple Leafs Sunday but was not involved in any contact. A date has not been set for his return." For him to be (closer to a return) is motivating," Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri said. "We have been able to put in some work while he is gone, have been able to hold the fort. When Matts went down, even though he is an important player for us, we did not have a sense of panic at all. We just carried on with our business and that has allowed him to get healthy. He will be able to come back when he is really ready." The Maple Leafs have been more vulnerable at home this season, going 5-5-0 while going 9-1-0 on the road where they seem more relaxed. The Blue Jackets also have been better on the road, going 7-2-1 compared with 5-4-1 at home. The Maple Leafs have a game at Carolina before they visit the Blue Jackets, who will have three days off before the game Friday. Toronto backup goaltender Garret Sparks played the loss in Boston and the win in Anaheim, which means Frederik Andersen should be in goal against Columbus." We knew what was at stake," Sparks said after the game Friday. "We had the opportunity to sweep the (California) road trip and we like winning hockey games as a group, so I think we poured out everything that we had left in the tank for the road here, and it was nice to see that effort was enough to win."
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