Patrik Laine and the Columbus Blue Jackets are feeling it right now.
Laine scored twice to extend his point streak to 10 games, and Jean-Francois Berube made 39 saves on 42 shots—and added an assist on the night—as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
Adam Boqvist and Brendan Gaunce also scored for Columbus. Auston Matthews, Michael Bunting, and Jason Spezza scored for the Maple Leafs.
The Jackets have won six of seven games and eight of their last 10.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAPLE LEAFS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
It was Berube's second consecutive start in net for the Blue Jackets. Jack Campbell made the start for a Maple Leafs team coming off a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. He had 26 saves on 30 shots.
From the start of this one, the Blue Jackets had the crowd buzzing.
Looking to get things started fast, Laine took the puck up ice through the neutral zone, wheeling his way through the offensive zone but was unable to break through.
Later on, Columbus nearly capitalized on a misplay behind the Leafs' net.
As Campbell played the puck in the trapezoid, Justin Danforth pressured and recovered the puck, however, Gaunce was unable to fire it home through the empty net.
As sharp as the Blue Jackets looked early, the Maple Leafs struck first.
Mitch Marner cut off an errant pass to start the sequence and, while falling down, was able to scoot the puck ahead to Bunting for the first-period goal at 12:50. Bunting's 17 goals co-leads all rookies alongside Tanner Jeannot of the Nashville Predators. Matthews earned an assist, which was the first of a three-point night, giving him points in 10 of his previous 12 games, and ending a two-game pointless drought. Matthews led the way with 11 shots.
The goal: Great.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 23, 2022
That Mitch Marner assist: Incredible. Amazing. Show Stopping. Spectacular. pic.twitter.com/fcLxkiPraj
It didn't take long for Laine to find the back of the net, tying the game at 6:13 of the second period.
.@PatrikLaine29 extends his point streak to and brings the @BlueJacketsNHL even!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/H7Cjy8T4oX
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) February 23, 2022
Werenski extended his six-game point streak (two goals, six assists) making a defensive play to get the puck up ice as Laine buried it. Something he's done quite a bit lately. Boone Jenner added an assist to continue a four-game point streak (two goals, five assists) and he led the Blue Jackets with five shots on the night.
Laine now has points in 10-straight games, tied for the third longest such streak in #CBJ history.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 23, 2022
13 games: Ryan Johansen (2014-15)
12 games: Cam Atkinson (2018)
10 games: Laine (2022)
10 games: Johansen(2014)
10 games: R.J. Umberger (2010)
Later in the period, Matthews scored his 34th at 15:23, beating Berube to his right. David Kampf made a pretty pass to the slot, which Andrew Peeke attempted to block, however, Matthews was able to get the puck and bury the shot. Bunting added his second point with the assist.
Toronto held a 17-5 shots advantage through two periods before things got interesting in the final period.
Boqvist's 10th of the season on the power play tied the game at two only 1:05 into the third. Boqvist went coast-to-coast on the play, and Berube added an assist to his stellar night for his first career point.
Columbus' power play is second in the league for the month of February (37.5%) and six-for-16 since Feb. 8. They were 1-for-2 in the game while Toronto, the No. 1 unit in the league, was shut down on three tries.
From Berube to Boqvist and coast-to-coast just like they drew it up! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/hBsIF3G1Mu
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 23, 2022
Near the halfway mark of the third period, Gaunce's second goal in as many games gave the Blue Jackets their first lead of the night at 7:13. He used his speed to score the unassisted breakaway goal for his third tally. Gaunce has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last two games.
Brendan Gaunce turns on the jets to give the @BlueJacketsNHL the third period lead. pic.twitter.com/xlxWj3WtI5
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 23, 2022
With Columbus looking to seal the one-goal lead, the Maple Leafs pulled the goalie with 2:31 remaining, looking for the equalizer.
Spezza's 10th goal of the year at 17:54 tied it up at three.
The play was reviewed as the puck went in off his skate, but the score stood as it was ruled to be no distinct kicking motion. In addition to Matthews, John Tavares added an assist.
With the score tied at three heading into overtime, it didn't take long for Laine to cap it off, only 20 seconds into extra time, to give the Blue Jackets the 4-3 victory on his 18th goal of the season. It's the fourth-fastest overtime winner in franchise history. Jake Voracek had an assist and Werenski earned his second point. Laine now has 12 goals and eight assists since Jan. 27, with eight multi-point games over that stretch.
The winner from ice level#CBJpic.twitter.com/GuZw5iCqzN
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 23, 2022
Columbus is 9-1 in overtime this season. Toronto falls to 24-0-2 when leading after two periods. Peeke led the night with eight blocked shots.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets (26-23-1, 53 points) will travel to Miami to face the Florida Panthers (35-10-5, 75 points) on Thursday night at FLA Live Arena. The Blue Jackets are 0-7-1 against the Panthers dating back to Jan. 28, 2021. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET.
