Easton Cowan and ex-Blue Jacket Jack Roslovic each had a goal with two assists while Kirill Marchenko also scored in his return to Columbus as the Toronto Maple Leafs rode a four-goal second period to a 6-2 win on Tuesday.
Morgan Rielly added three assists and Auston Matthews and William Nylander each recorded a goal with a helper as the Maple Leafs posted consecutive victories for the first time this season. Toronto’s Marshall Rifai notched his first NHL goal, and Anthony Stolarz made 33 saves.
Jake Christiansen and Charlie Coyle scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four of five. Jet Greaves was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 19 shots. Cam Talbot took over and stopped two of the three shots he faced.
Columbus wasted no time opening the scoring. Just 2:38 into the contest, some nifty passing, highlighted by Dmitri Voronkov’s pass into the slot, set up Christiansen to score.
The Maple Leafs tied it on a power-play tally at 8:16 of the first by Marchenko, who totaled 208 points in the past four seasons with Columbus, then asked for and received a trade. He was booed often on Tuesday. Matthews crashed the net with the puck and sent it a bit wide of Greaves but off Marchenko’s skate blade and in.
The second period belonged to the Maple Leafs.
Toronto took the lead 2:26 into the middle frame, when Nylander capped a 3-on-2 rush by beating Greaves. Less than a minute later, the Maple Leafs made it 3-1 on a rush in which Roslovic, who played in Columbus from 2020-24, fed Matthews to convert.
At 6:48 of the second, Toronto extended its lead, this time while short-handed. Off a Columbus turnover, Cowan found himself with a 2-on-1 situation, where he kept the puck and sent a wrister past Greaves.
Just over five minutes later, Greaves’ night ended as Cowan got the puck to Rielly, who sent it toward the net for a crashing Roslovic to put in.
Columbus ended Toronto’s scoring run at 4:13 into the third. Coyle wrapped the puck around the net, where it deflected off Marchenko’s stick blade and in.
Rifai, appearing in his fifth career NHL game, capped the scoring at 16:58.
–Field Level Media
