Toronto Maple Leafs vs Columbus Blue Jackets Final — October 20, 2026
Injuries & restkey injuries · rest and travel
About these numbers
Goalie status from the G&W goalie tracker (Confirmed, Expected, Likely or Not confirmed); teams confirm starters close to puck drop. Season lines come from the NHL Lab goalie tables. GSAx = goals saved above expected (Gridiron & Wine expected goals). HD Sv% = save rate on high-danger shots.
Full 2025-26 regular season (last season), captured before kickoff. League rank in small type (32 teams); the gold side ranks higher. Bars show rank, longest = 1st. Source: Gridiron & Wine public Analytics tables.
2025-26 regular season, public NHL Lab tables; ranks out of 32 teams. Expected goals are Gridiron & Wine's own expected-goals numbers.
2025-26 regular season. Rates are per 60 minutes of power-play or penalty-kill time.
Regular-season results this season, oldest to newest (OTL = overtime or shootout loss). Records are season to date, with home and road splits. Over–under uses the consensus closing total.
Distance is straight-line from each team's home arena; time-zone change is at game time. Rest counts days since each team's previous game.
No key players listed.
Key players only. Injury report as of October 20, 10:10 a.m. ET.
The pre-game matchup
The Maple Leafs (4-4-2) visited the Blue Jackets (3-4-0) on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:10 PM ET.
Last season (2025-26), the Maple Leafs scored 3.09 goals per game (16th of 32) and allowed 3.65 (31st). The Blue Jackets scored 3.09 goals per game (16th of 32) and allowed 3.09 (16th). The Maple Leafs earned 47.6% of available standings points (28th) and the Blue Jackets 56.1% (15th).
Expected-goals share (5-on-5), the share of 5-on-5 expected goals created: Maple Leafs 45.5% (29th), Blue Jackets 51.4% (10th). Shot-attempt share (5-on-5), the share of all 5-on-5 shot attempts: Maple Leafs 44.8% (32nd), Blue Jackets 50.8% (11th). High-danger chance share, the share of 5-on-5 high-danger chances: Maple Leafs 45.2% (28th), Blue Jackets 50.3% (15th). These are last season's full-season numbers because the new season's sample is still small; rosters change over the offseason.
The total closed 6.5, unchanged from the open. After removing the vig, the closing moneyline (Maple Leafs +135, Blue Jackets -160) prices the Maple Leafs at 41% and the Blue Jackets at 59%.
Written from the numbers available before kickoff.
Result
Final score and result vs the closing line
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Toronto Maple Leafs won by 4.
- Against the closing spread (Columbus Blue Jackets -1.5): Toronto Maple Leafs covered.
- Combined score 8 vs the closing total of 6.5: Over.
- Toronto Maple Leafs closed at +135 on the moneyline (a 41% no-vig market-implied chance).
Actual result
Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Before the game: market and G&W
The market barely moved from open to close.
Market numbers are the consensus moneyline with the bookmaker margin removed.
Win probability
Each team's chance of winning through the game, starting from the market's closing price (Toronto Maple Leafs 41%, Columbus Blue Jackets 59%) and moving with every goal, penalty and the clock until the final.
Biggest swings
- 1st 8:16 — Toronto Maple Leafs goal (1-1)Toronto Maple Leafs 28% → 43% (+15 pts)
- 2nd 2:26 — Toronto Maple Leafs goal (2-1)Toronto Maple Leafs 43% → 61% (+19 pts)
- 2nd 3:12 — Toronto Maple Leafs goal (3-1)Toronto Maple Leafs 62% → 78% (+16 pts)
Toronto Maple Leafs won after falling as low as 25% (1st 5:41).
Chance Quality Result
Based on the quality of chances each team created, Columbus Blue Jackets won 59% of G&W replays (Toronto Maple Leafs 41%). The chances each team created were close to even.
The Chance Quality Result describes the chances each team created. It is not the official result and never changes it or any record. Expected goals count regulation chances with both goalies in net; empty-net goals are not included. Season xG tables count every game state, empty nets included, so their totals differ.
Game DNA
The Chance Quality Result above had the chances close to even. Here is where each side gained and lost.
| Maple Leafs | Goals | Blue Jackets |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | 5-on-5 chancesexpected goals | 1.8 |
| 1.0 | Power-play chancesexpected goals | 0.8 |
| 0.2 | Other situations4-on-4, 3-on-3, short-handed | 0.4 |
| 2.4 | Chance Quality Result chancesthe three rows above, as in the result | 3.0 |
| 0.2 | Second chancesrebounds and flurries, part of the above | 0.5 |
| +3.5 | Finishinggoals vs expected on own shots | -1.0 |
| +1.0 | Goaltendingsaves vs expected · Anthony Stolarz 35/37 · Jet Greaves 14/19, Cam Talbot 2/3 | -3.5 |
How the margin was built, from Toronto Maple Leafs's side:
The first three rows add up to the Chance Quality Result's expected goals. Overtime chances and chances with a goalie pulled are listed on their own, and empty-net goals are not in expected goals. A team's finishing and the other team's goaltending are the same goals seen from each end.
Line review
Columbus Blue Jackets closed as the market favourite at 59% and lost.
Market
Closing line and line movement
Maple Leafs +1.5 (-187)
Maple Leafs +1.5 (-192)
Blue Jackets -159 59%
Blue Jackets -160 59%
Consensus of US sportsbooks. Open = first line after both teams' previous games; Close = consensus at kickoff. Percentages are the moneyline's no-vig market-implied chances.
Members
G&W Line
G&W’s own number for this game, next to the market. Analytics
Matchup
Head-to-head
The teams have met 20 times since 2018-19: the Maple Leafs won 10 and the Blue Jackets 10.
| Date | Score | Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26, 2025 | Maple Leafs 2, Blue Jackets 1 OT Maple Leafs won | 6.5 under | |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Blue Jackets 3, Maple Leafs 2 OT Blue Jackets won | Blue Jackets -118 favorite won | 6.5 under |
| Oct 29, 2025 | Maple Leafs 3, Blue Jackets 6 Blue Jackets won | Blue Jackets -125 favorite won | 6.5 over |
| Apr 5, 2025 | Blue Jackets 0, Maple Leafs 5 Maple Leafs won | Maple Leafs -185 favorite won | 6.5 under |
| Jan 22, 2025 | Blue Jackets 5, Maple Leafs 1 Blue Jackets won | Maple Leafs -200 underdog won | 6.5 under |
Regular-season meetings since 2018-19, most recent first. Line = consensus closing moneyline favorite and total where line history is available.
Teams
Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs team stats
- Toronto Maple Leafs at Seattle Kraken (Oct 28)
- Toronto Maple Leafs 2, Calgary Flames 5 (Oct 26)
- Toronto Maple Leafs 7, Edmonton Oilers 2 (Oct 24)
- New York Rangers 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 5 (Oct 22)
Columbus Blue Jackets
More NHL games on October 20, 2026
- San Jose Sharks 4, Montréal Canadiens 3 (Oct 20)
- Colorado Avalanche 3, New Jersey Devils 4 (Oct 20)
- Anaheim Ducks 2, New York Islanders 3 (Oct 20)
- Los Angeles Kings 5, Washington Capitals 2 (Oct 20)
- Boston Bruins 2, Dallas Stars 3 (Oct 20)
- Winnipeg Jets 1, St Louis Blues 2 (Oct 20)
- Minnesota Wild 3, Edmonton Oilers 4 (Oct 20)
- Detroit Red Wings 3, Seattle Kraken 4 (Oct 20)
- Carolina Hurricanes 6, Vancouver Canucks 3 (Oct 20)
- Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Vegas Golden Knights 2 (Oct 20)
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