The Toronto Maple Leafs’ three-game winning streak ended on Wednesday night as they fell 5-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena. While the lopsided score was nothing to be proud of, the game wasn’t without its share of memorable moments – particularly a bizarre incident involving captain Auston Matthews and Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
The unusual exchange occurred in the first period during a scramble in front of the Blue Jackets net, causing Matthews and Merzlikins to swap sticks briefly.
Merzlikins lost his paddle, then latching onto Matthews’ stick and taking it from the 27-year-old. Matthews, in response, turned around and picked up Merzlikins’ stick, flipping it around, and held onto it briefly before dropping it.
The netminder was handed two minutes for holding Matthews’ stick (served by Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov). Matthews, meanwhile, served two minutes for Illegal Equipment at the 6:26 mark of the opening period.
After the game, Matthews commented on the incident claiming he was unaware of the ruling of the infraction.
“Yeah, he took my stick out of my hand, so I just saw his stick and decided to play with his for a second,” said Matthews. “So, I mean, yeah, I don’t know. I’ve got to read the rule book, I guess.”
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Head coach Craig Berube chimed in on the unusual occurrence, claiming he hasn’t seen anything like it in his 19-year NHL playing career or during his 18 years behind the bench.
“No, I don’t think so. No, I haven’t (seen anything like it),” said Berube post-game.
“That was a weird exchange. I’ll tell you that,” he added. “He’s got the goaltender’s stick for about two seconds.”
The brief mixup didn’t seem to cause too much distress to Matthews, who would score the Leafs’ lone goal of the game in the third period. With the marker, he notched his ninth career 20-goal season and tied Darryl Sittler for the fourth most in club history.
Since his return from injury, Matthews has at least a goal in eight of his last 10 games, extending his current streak of finding the back of the net to five games. In 34 appearances this season, the former No. 1 overall pick has 20 goals, 18 assists, and 38 points.
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