Samsonov makes 30 saves, Maple Leafs shut out Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves, and John Tavares scored twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Friday.

Pierre Engvall scored, and Mitchell Marner assisted on each of Tavares' goals for the Maple Leafs (32-13-8) in their first game since Feb. 1.
It was Samsonov's third shutout of the season.
"I felt great today," Samsonov said. "I thank my teammates. I've never seen a better game than we had today, how many shots were blocked (14), how we played on the PK (3-for3). We spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. This shutout is not about me, it's more about the team."

Joonas Korpisalo made 38 saves for the Blue Jackets (15-33-4), who have lost four straight and five of six (1-3-2). It was Columbus' first game since Jan. 31.
The Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs play in Toronto on Saturday.
"That's a pretty good hockey team there," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "They've got six really good [defensemen]. They're where they're at for a reason. This group has been growing together for a while, especially that core. They've been building, and that's been a focus for them for their top guys."

Tavares made it 1-0 at 5:45 of the first period on the power play. Marner skated down the slot then passed to his right, where Tavares controlled the puck and lifted a backhand over Korpisalo.
"We did some good things, got involved. I think after the first period, we controlled the neutral zone," Tavares said. "[Samsonov] was great in goal tonight. All four lines made contributions and our [defensemen] were solid helping bring pucks out."
The Blue Jackets had a four-minute power play at 12:08 of the second period when Timothy Liljegren high-sticked Liam Foudy, but the best chance to score was short-handed by Zach Aston-Reese, forcing a save by Korpisalo after a 2-on-1 at 14:32.
Columbus had one shot, by Adam Boqvist, during its power play.
"That was huge," Marner said. "Obviously, we want to make a difference on special teams. That was one there where our [defensemen] did a great job blocking shots, and our forwards contributed as well forcing pressure."

Shortly after the power play ended, Korpisalo stopped a breakaway by William Nylander.
"You saw the game, [Korpisalo] was excellent," Larsen said.
Engvall increased the lead to 2-0 at 7:49 of the third period, scoring his 11th goal on a one-timer from the right face-off circle after a cross-ice pass by Morgan Rielly.
"We didn't make it on the number of chances that we had to extend our lead, but within that I thought we played a pretty solid and patient game," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We didn't give up a lot and extended our lead in the third period, which is what you want to do."
Tavares scored at 8:38 with a wrist shot from the slot for the 3-0 final.
"We didn't cheat for offense, especially when we got the lead," Marner said. "I thought we played the same way throughout the game and got rewarded for it at the end. If we can play that way for 60 minutes, we're a hard team to beat."

Samsonov nearly had his shutout end with 2:38 remaining, but Foudy's shot hit the post. It would have been his first NHL regular-season goal in 59 career games.
"We've got to find a way to create some more offense and put a few in the back of a net," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said.
NOTES:Toronto is 5-0-2 in its past seven games against Columbus. … Tavares had his 59th multigoal game in the NHL, 10th among active players. Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin leads with 165. … Marner has six points (two goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. … Sean Kuraly won 13 of 19 face-offs (68 percent) for the Blue Jackets.