Olivier scores twice, Blue Jackets ease past Maple Leafs

COLUMBUS -- Mathieu Olivier had his first two-goal game in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 6-2 win against the Toronto Maple at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Justin Danforth had a goal and two assists, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal and an assist, and Zach Werenski had two assists for the Blue Jackets (3-3-0). Daniil Tarasov made 26 saves.

“We were aggressive and we were on top of them for most of the night,” Olivier said. “They were on a back-to-back, and that's never easy with the travel and everything. We knew we had to get on them early. To our credit, that's exactly what we did.”

Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson scored, and Dennis Hildeby made 32 saves for the Maple Leafs (4-3-0), who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Monday.

“Just not good from the start,” Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. “Not competitive enough throughout the game. They brought their best and we brought our worst.”

James van Riemsdyk gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 5:29 of the first period, tucking away a rebound in front with a backhand.

Danforth made it 2-0 at 6:21 with his first goal of the season. Werenski intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, skated up ice and fed Danforth for a snap shot from the right circle.

“We're a fast team that wants to play aggressive,” Danforth said. “We've done that most of the year. It's definitely a different vibe in the dressing room. We show up to the rink every day and I feel like we're on the same page. When we play that way, we're a hard team to play against.”

Olivier extended the lead to 3-0 at 12:42 with a snap shot from the left circle.

“Neutral zone was the Autobahn for them tonight,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said. “They were just coming in, flying through.

“We just got our butts handed to us a little bit. It's a busy week for us so there's no time to sulk over this.”

Monahan made it 4-0 at 5:35 of the second period. Marchenko’s shot from the right wing rebounded to Monahan on the left side for the putback before Hildeby could recover.

Olivier pushed it to 5-0 at 11:36 with a one-timer at the top of the crease off a backhanded pass from Zach Aston-Reese from behind the net.

“All four lines played really well,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “We were consistent and predictable with our work ethic and we did the right things defensively that allowed us to translate that into offense.”

Knies made it 5-1 at 18:59 when he picked up the puck behind the net, skated into the slot and scored with a snap shot as he spun around.

Marchenko scored at 11:58 of the third period to make it 6-1, taking a centering pass from Monahan and scoring with a snap shot from the slot.

“Obviously they have some player power,” Werenski said of Toronto. “Their guys can score, but if we play this way most nights, we're going to be successful. It doesn't matter who it is. That's our standards.”

Robertson picked up a rebound at the top of the crease, shifted the puck forehand to backhand and stuffed it in for the 6-2 final at 13:03.

“I didn’t feel like we skated very well tonight,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “They skated through us all night. We didn’t win many puck battles tonight, didn’t defend very well tonight and that’s what you get.

“It boils down to they outskated us. They outworked us and they were a harder team than we were. Bottom line.”

NOTES: Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty did not play in the third period because of a lower-body injury. Berube did not comment on the seriousness of the injury, saying postgame that “we’ll find out tomorrow.” … Matthews’ nine-game goal streak against the Blue Jackets dating back to Oct. 4, 2019, ended.