Despite Giving Up Five Third-Period Goals, Blue Jackets Score Enough To Outlast Maple Leafs 6-5 In Overtime

By Will Chase on December 14, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Columbus Blue Jackets' Kent Johnson gets congratulated after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at Scotiabank Arena.
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
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No lead is ever safe.

Kent Johnson had his first-career three-point game with two goals and an assist to help the Columbus Blue Jackets outlast the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Leading 5-0 heading into the third period, the Maple Leafs forced overtime with five third-period goals.

Justin Danforth and Yegor Chinakhov each had a goal and an assist. Chinakhov is on a three-game point streak (four goals, one assist).

Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau also scored.

Ivan Provorov, David Jiricek, and Zach Werenski each had two assists and Andrew Peeke had an assist.

Elvis Merzlikins made 43 saves.

Auston Matthews had three points with two goals and an assist for Toronto. Matthews is on a four-game point streak (seven goals, three assists).

Mitchell Marner had three points with one goal and two assists to extend a three-game point streak (three goals, four assists).

William Nylander had two points with a goal and an assist and a game-high 10 shots. He's on a seven-game point streak (two goals, nine assists). Jake McCabe also scored and is on a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists).

John Tavares had two assists and is on a six-game point streak (one goal, seven assists). William Lagesson and Bobby McMann also added assists.

Ilya Samsonov had 29 saves.

It was a hometown reunion for Danforth and Adam Fantilli who grew up in Ontario. Fantilli went to Maple Leafs games growing up as a Boston Bruins fan. In his first game back, he had the opportunity on the top line with Danforth and Gaudreau.

First Period

In their first game since Sunday, the Blue Jackets came in as rested as they have been all season, eager to jump out first on the scoreboard as they have done a lot recently.

  1 2 3 OT F
BLUE JACKETS 2 3 0 1 6
TOR MAPLE LEAFS 0 0 5 0 5

At 6:19, Johnson set up Laine with a no-look pass, throwing the puck toward the crease and the Blue Jackets were on top first.

Entering Thursday's game, Columbus came in fifth in the league with 32 first-period goals. With the early lead tonight, Columbus has scored first in nine of their previous 12 games.

At 11:56, Johnson had his second point of the period with his second goal of the season via a deflection off Peeke's shot.

Second Period

The Blue Jackets wanted to add on and they did that with Danforth's goal at 8:16. Provorov and Jiricek picked up the assists on the play.

Then at 10:45, Chinakhov scored with Provorov and Jiricek each picking up their second point of the period. For Jiricek, it's his first multi-point game.

The scoring wasn't done.

At 14:19, Gaudreau scored his first power-play goal of the season to make it a 5-0 lead for Columbus. The goal is his 699th career point. Chinakhov picked up the assist as did Werenski, who added to his team lead in points (22) and assists (21).

Third Period

Leading 5-0, could Columbus close it out drama-free?

38 seconds into the third period, Nylander ended the shutout. Matthews and Langesson picked up the assists.

At 3:49, Marner made it a 5-2 game with a tally between the legs. Tavares and McMann picked up the assists.

Matthews scored the last two Maple Leafs goals of the third period, 40 seconds apart, to tie the game 5-5.

At 18:45 was the fourth goal with Nylander and Marner picking up the assists.

Overtime

Go figure this stat came into play.

Johnson's overtime goal at 3:26 capped off his first career three-point game and multi-goal game as the Blue Jackets skated away with what should have been an easy win.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 35-48 TOR
  • Face-off %: CBJ 43.9-56.1 TOR
  • Power play: CBJ 1/2-1/2 TOR
  • Giveaways: CBJ 9-11 TOR
  • Takeaways: CBJ 10-9 TOR
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 38-7 TOR
  • Hits: CBJ 30-28 TOR
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • ​Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.70-4.04 TOR
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 41-81 TOR
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 25-36 TOR
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 27-41 TOR
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 16-21 TOR

Injury Update

Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw. Adam Boqvist was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 5 and will miss approximately four weeks with a shoulder strain. Damon Severson was placed on IR retroactive to Nov. 19 and will miss approximately six weeks with an oblique injury. Jack Roslovic has been on IR since Nov. 13 with a fractured ankle that will sideline him for four to six weeks.

Next Up

The club returns home to Nationwide Arena to face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

The Blue Jackets are back on the road when they face the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at KeyBank Center at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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