Blue Jackets breeze despite 500th goal from Leafs' John Tavares

The Columbus Blue Jackets' third line celebrated a big game on Wednesday in a 6-3 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, who saw John Tavares notch his 500th career goal in the lopsided loss.

Cole Sillinger scored his first two goals of the season and tied his career high with his fifth three-point game as the Blue Jackets earned their third straight victory.

Mathieu Olivier notched the first four-point and three-assist game of his career. Charlie Coyle finished with a career-high four assists, the first of which was the 300th helper in his 14-year career.

Three defensemen also scored for the Blue Jackets. Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist for the second time in as many days, and Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro also got in on the barrage. The six goals were the second most Columbus scored in a game this season, and the Blue Jackets did it on only 24 shots, their second fewest this season.

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 33 shots to register his fourth win in five starts this season.

Tavares became the 49th NHL player to reach the 500-goal mark, scoring with 4:15 left in the game.

Sammy Blais, inserted into the Maple Leafs' lineup as top scorer William Nylander sat out the second of back-to-back games to deal with a lower-body injury, produced a goal and an assist in his first game with Toronto. Nicholas Roberston also had a goal and an assist.

Cayden Primeau made 18 saves for the Maple Leafs, who fell to 0-3-0 on the road.

Columbus capitalized on two turnovers to take a 2-0 lead in the first period. Sillinger started the scoring less than seven minutes into the game, and Werenski followed suit at 11:16 with his third of the season. Coyle and Olivier assisted on both.

Blais, who last played in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2023-24, got a goal for his new team less than three minutes into the second period. However, the Blue Jackets put the game away by scoring the next three in the period, tallies from Provorov, Sillinger and Fabbro.

Olivier scored with 12:10 left in the third to make it 6-1 before the Maple Leafs added a pair late.

--Field Level Media