TORONTO – William Nylander and Nick Robertson had two goals apiece as the Toronto Maple Leafs blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.
Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves for Toronto (47-25-4) to pick up his second shutout of the season. Auston Matthews had the other goal. Morgan Rielly added two assists.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 23 shots for Columbus (34-32-9), which thumped the Leafs 6-2 and 5-1 earlier in the schedule.
Toronto clinched a playoff spot for the ninth straight season Wednesday and continues to lead the Atlantic Division standings with six games remaining in the regular season.
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Columbus is six points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.
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Stolarz’s shutout was the 10th clean sheet of his career. The 31-year-old signed in unrestricted free agency has won his last five starts and appears to have the upper hand on crease mate Joseph Woll to be the Leafs’ starter for Game 1 of the playoffs.
TAKEAWAYS
Toronto: Robertson now has four goals and two assists this season after being a healthy scratch. The winger sat for a seventh time in 2024-25 in Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Columbus: Veteran winger James van Riemsdyk suited up after being scratched the last four games. The 35-year-old played six seasons for the Leafs from 2012-13 through 2017-18.
KEY MOMENT
The Blue Jackets had a good start to the first period before Merzlikins needlessly turned the puck over, leading to Robertson’s opener for Toronto.
KEY STAT
Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev blocked two shots in the first period to set a new franchise record for a single season. The veteran blueliner passed the previous mark of 176 blocks by Carl Gunnarsson during the 2013-14 campaign.
UP NEXT
Blue Jackets: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
Maple Leafs: Visit the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
