Olivier scores 2 as Blue Jackets beat Maple Leafs 6-2

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier, left, reaches for the puck in front of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi, center, and forward Simon Benoit during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -

Mathieu Olivier scored twice and Daniil Tarasov stopped 25 shots as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 Tuesday night.

Justin Danforth had a goal and two assists, Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk and Kirill Marchenko also scored for Columbus Zach Werenski had two assists.

Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson scored for Toronto, which has lost two of three. Dennis Hildeby finished with 32 saves.

Takeaways

Maple Leafs: Toronto, which traveled to Columbus early this morning after their home win over Tampa Bay on Monday, came out flat with just six shots in the first period and could never find its offensive flow.

Blue Jackets: Columbus scored three goals in a period twice this season, the previous time Oct. 12 at Colorado.

Key moment

The Blue Jackets shook up their lines to spread the offensive output, and it worked as they scored three goals n the first period. The reshuffled fourth line brought home the first score from van Riemsdyk at 5:29. The third line padded the lead 52 seconds later with Danforth’s first of the season and added Olivier’s score with 7:18 left. The first line finally got in on the action with Monahan’s goal at 5:35 of the second.

Key stat

The Maple Leafs seem to bring out the best in Danforth, who has three goals and four assists in seven career games against Toronto.

Up Next

The Maple Leafs host St. Louis on Thursday, while the Blue Jackets visit Nashville on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Nicole Kraft, The Associated Press