The Toronto Maple Leafs know they must improve their defense Tuesday night when they visit the surging Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Maple Leafs have allowed 11 goals while dropping their past two games, including a 5-1 defeat to the host Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said the latest game was similar to the team's 6-3 home loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
"We didn't do a good enough job coming out of the zone," Keefe said. "We lost races, we weren't connected. When our defense was up and involved in tight, our forwards let guys get loose. So we just didn't do a good enough job at that."
Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said before the game, "How we play defense has to get better, especially off the rush, and we've been talking about that lately."
The Blue Jackets had Monday off after defeating the visiting Buffalo Sabres 7-3 on Sunday for their seventh victory in nine games.
Columbus has netted seven goals in consecutive contests, but it has an uncertain goaltender situation. No. 1 goalie Elvis Merzlikins and backup Joonas Korpisalo were both unavailable Sunday because of lower-body injuries, and they are listed as day-to-day.
As a result, Jean-Francois Berube made his first NHL start since April 6, 2018, when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks, and he earned his first win since April 4, 2018. He made 33 saves on Sunday, 18 in the third period.
"The (defensemen) and forwards were doing a good job of making sure I could see those pucks," Berube said. "Lots of shots were coming from the outside. I just wanted to control my rebounds and make sure there were no juicy rebounds in front of the net."
Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said, "We're pumped for him. He deserves it. He works so hard every day, and whenever he comes up, he's out there working with a smile on his face. Obviously, this means a lot to him getting back in the pipes. It's been awhile. So he played outstanding, kept us in it. I'm really happy for him."
Defenseman Dean Kukan had a career-best two goals and added an assist for Columbus on Sunday. Brendan Gaunce also had his first three-point NHL game.
"Whenever you get contributions throughout the lineup, that's huge," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "It helps everybody. It's infectious. It gives everybody energy and juice. It was a good night for that (Sunday) for sure. You're happy for them because rarely do they get a lot of recognition or impact the score sheet as much as your top guys. I think the guys were happy for all of them."
Toronto will be without defenseman Jake Muzzin on Tuesday. He remained in Montreal for observation Monday after appearing to hit his head on the ice following an accidental collision with the Canadiens' Chris Wideman late in the second period. He did not return to the game. Muzzin recently missed seven games with a concussion.
Keefe was uncertain whether Ilya Lyubushkin, acquired in a trade Saturday that sent Nick Ritchie to the Arizona Coyotes, would be available Tuesday. The defenseman is expected to join the team Tuesday in Columbus. Ryan Dzingel, obtained by Toronto in the same deal, was lost on waivers to the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Arizona waived goaltender Carter Hutton on Sunday and traded him to Toronto after he cleared waivers on Monday. PHNX Sports reported that the Maple Leafs plan to loan Hutton back to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate in Tucson, Ariz.
--Field Level Media