Olivier Nets Two, Blue Jackets Strike Early And Often In 6-2 Route Of Maple Leafs

By Ed Francis on October 22, 2024 at 9:57 pm
The Columbus Blue Jackets scored five times in the first two periods and put together their most complete game of the season in a 6-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
© Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
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  1 2 3 F
TOR 0 1 1 2
COL 3 2 1 6
CBJ GOALS: 
Olivier (2), van Riemsdyk,
Danforth, Monahan, Marchenko

CBJ ASSISTS: Danforth (2), Werenski (2),
Aston-Reese, Christiansen, Labanc,
Marchenko, Monahan, Provorov, Sillinger

That was better.

Mathieu Olivier had the first multi-goal game of his career and Justin Danforth had a three-point night as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 to complete a four-game homestand at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.

It was the third time this season the Blue Jackets scored six goals, and the 24 goals in the first half dozen games is the most in franchise history. 

This game was about more than offense though: it was also the best outing we've seen from a goaltender this season. Daniil Tarasov made 26 saves on 28 shots and was named the third star of the game. 

Here's how it all went down: 

1st Period

(5:29 — 1-0 CBJ): James van Riemsdyk doings James van Riemsdyk things here. His 313th career NHL goal and a lot of them came exactly this way. This is really good work from all five players on the ice, but it starts with Kevin Labanc flipping it back to Ivan Provorov, who splits the Toronto defense and gets the puck on net. Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby gives up a rebound, and JVR is right there for the easy putback. 

(6:21 — 2-0 CBJ): Less than a minute after a full team effort give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead, it becomes 2-0 on another full team effort. This time it's Zach Werenski, starting things with a turnover. He's on the left side of the ice along with four Maple Leafs. While that's happening, Justin Danforth is streaking up the right side with very little attention on him, and he goes five-hole on Hildeby to extend the Columbus lead. It was his first goal since March 4th and just his second of the calendar year. 

TOR GAME STATS CBJ
28 SHOTS 38
46% FACEOFFS 54%
0/3 POWER PLAY 0/4
4/4 PENALTY KILL 3/3
22 HITS 19
16 GIVEAWAYS 19
6 TAKEAWAYS 5
15 BLOCKED SHOTS 14
DATA VIA NHL.COM

That had to feel for good for Danforth, who just returned two games ago from offseason wrist surgery. It was his first tally of the season, but also his first since March 4th and just his second goal of the calendar year.

(12:42 — 3-0 CBJ): Danforth gets his second point of the night on the primary assist to a Mathieu Olivier goal. He finds Olivier, who goes two-thirds the length of the ice and creates a 2-on-1 with Zach Aston-Reese. Olivier keeps it and rips it 87mph past Hildeby's glove side. 

2nd Period

(5:35 — 4-0 CBJ): The fourth goal of the night gets the Blue Jackets top six involved for the first time. Sean Monahan starts the sequence by playing good hockey in his own corner and chipping the puck away from the Leafs. It ends up on the stick of Werenski, who finds Marchenko moving quickly down the ice. He gets the shot off and Hildeby makes the save but gives up a juicy rebound that Monahan found upon rejoining the action. 

(12:00-9:00): Just a barrage of fantastic saves from Daniil Tarasov. A 4-0 lead is never safe against Toronto: it was less than a year ago that the Blue Jackets took a 5-0 lead into the third period against these same Maple Leafs and needed overtime to win it. One or two of these go in and we may have a different storyline play out. 

(11:36 — 5-0 CBJ): In the middle of Tarasov rollin', Olivier buries his second of the night. It's the first multi-goal game of Olivier's career. A good look here from Aston-Reese behind the net, giving the waiver wire claim his first assist (and second point) as a member of the Blue Jackets.

(18:59 — 5-1 CBJ): The Maple Leafs first goal of the night comes with 61 seconds left in the second. Matthew Knies was the Toronto goal-scorer.

3rd Period

(9:19): Former Blue Jacket Max Domi gets two for roughing. He could've got more. His second hit to the back of Fantilli's head on the evening. Nothing to like about the dirty hit and obviously a little bit of frustration coming from Domi, who had a plus/minus of -2 in the game with no goals, no assists, no shots, and no takeaways. Fantilli gathered himself and was okay.

(11:58 — 6-1 CBJ): It's just fun at this point. Monahan picks up another point, this time an assist after finding Marchenko through the slot. 


(13:03 — 6-2 CBJ): Toronto scored. John Tavares gets the shot on net and Tarasov has some trouble maintaining the puck. It finds Nick Robertson, who puts it away with relative ease. Too little, too late.

Up Next:

Columbus has a few days to enjoy this one before a quick road trip to face the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

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