Columbus and Toronto meet in game 3 of Eastern Conference qualifying round
Toronto Maple Leafs (36-25-9, third in the Atlantic Division during the regular season) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (33-22-15, sixth in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season)
Toronto; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUALIFYING ROUND: Series tied 1-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice for game three of the Eastern Conference qualifying round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series is tied 1-1. The teams meet Thursday for the fifth time this season.
The Blue Jackets are 23-9-10 in Eastern Conference games. Columbus serves 6.5 penalty minutes per game, the least in the Eastern Conference. Nick Foligno leads the team averaging 0.9.
The Maple Leafs are 12-8-2 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Toronto ranks third in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.4 goals per game, led by Auston Matthews with 47.
TOP PERFORMERS: Seth Jones leads the Blue Jackets with a plus-10 in 56 games this season. Emil Bemstrom has five goals over the last 10 games for Columbus.
Matthews leads the Maple Leafs with 47 goals and has 80 points. John Tavares has four goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Toronto.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 4-4-2, averaging 2.3 goals, four assists, 2.3 penalties and 4.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.
Maple Leafs: 5-4-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .929 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blue Jackets: None listed.
Maple Leafs: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.
