Blue Jackets top Toronto 4-3 on Laine OT goal
Feb 22, 2022, 5:00 AM | Updated: 9:44 pm
Toronto Maple Leafs' Jack Campbell, left, makes a save against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Patrik Laine scored his second goal of the game 20 seconds into overtime to lift Columbus to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, the Blue Jackets’ third straight win.
Adam Boqvist and Brendan Gaunce also scored for Columbus, while Jean-Francois Berube stopped 39 shots and recorded his first NHL assist in his second straight win. The Blue Jackets have won eight of their last 10 games.
“They believe they can win and that goes a long way,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “There is not a magic formula. They are good players and they are dangerous.”
Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists, Michael Bunting had a goal and an assist, and Jason Spezza added a goal for Toronto, which lost its third straight. Jack Campbell stopped 26 shots in the loss, which kept the Maple Leafs in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Bunting put Toronto on the board at 12:50 of the first period, tapping in a feed from Mitch Marner after a Columbus turnover.
Laine pulled Columbus even and extended his points streak to 10 games with a wrister off a drop pass from Boone Jenner that beat Campbell at 6:13 of the second.
“Right now there is a feeling we are going to get another chance, and there is a good chance it might go in,” Laine said.
Matthews gave Toronto the lead again at 15:23 with his team-leading 34th goal and 61st point of the season, off a feed from David Kampf that caught a reaching Berube looking.
“We’re leaving the rink a little bit sour, but I thought we did a lot of good things tonight,” Matthews said.
Boqvist made it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 1:05 of the third, taking a feed from Berube and skating through a pair of Maple Leafs defenders and giving Berube the first point of his NHL career.
Gaunce then grabbed a blueline turnover and raced the length of the ice to score for the second straight game and make it 3-2 at 7:13 of the third.
Spezza tied the game 3-3 with 2:06 remaining and Toronto with an extra skater.
“I thought our guys competed hard, played with structure,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “(We) easily could have had two points here.”
COMING BACK
The Blue Jackets have come from behind in 16 of their 26 wins, including six of their last eight victories.
ON POINT
Laine has points in 10 straight games, including 12 goals, and eight of those games have been multi-point efforts. With his assist on Laine’s goal, Boone Jenner extended his assist streak to four games and notched his team-leading 40th point of the season. With the secondary assist, Zach Werenski extended his points streak to five consecutive games (2-5-7). Werenski is now two points shy of tying Seth Jones’ franchise mark for points by a defenseman (223).
SUIT UP
Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin wore a Maple Leafs sweater for the first time since coming over from the Arizona Coyotes along with forward Ryan Dzingel.
INJURY UPDATE
Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin did not travel to Columbus and is in concussion protocols after leaving Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. He hit his head on the ice following a collision with Chris Wideman.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Host Minnesota Thursday night.
Blue Jackets: At Florida Thursday night.
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