Maple Leafs erupt in second period to down Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS · The Toronto Maple Leafs earned their second road win of the season with a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Auston Matthews celebrated his 700th NHL game with a goal and an assist. The Maple Leafs broke the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period. Anthony Stolarz made 33 saves for Toronto.

Jake Christiansen opened the scoring for Columbus with his first of the season at 2:38 of the first period. Kirill Marchenko, playing his first game in Columbus since being traded, tied the score on a power play at 8:16. The former Blue Jacket was booed throughout the game. A potential go-ahead goal by Kent Johnson was disallowed as time expired in the period.

Toronto took control in the middle frame with goals from William Nylander and Matthews just 46 seconds apart. Matthews now has 27 points in 21 career games against Columbus. Easton Cowan then scored short-handed at 6:48 to make it 4-1. Jack Roslovic extended the lead to 5-1 at 12:03, forcing the Blue Jackets to pull starting goaltender Jet Greaves. Greaves stopped 14 shots before being replaced by Cam Talbot, who made two saves on three shots. The Blue Jackets have been outscored 15-3 in the second period through eight games this season. They have lost four of their last five contests.

Charlie Coyle scored his first of the season for Columbus at 4:13 of the third period to cut the deficit to 5-2. Marshall Rifai restored Toronto's four-goal lead with 3:02 remaining. Cowan and Roslovic each finished with a goal and two assists, while Morgan Rielly had three helpers. Columbus centre Adam Fantilli commented on the trade that sent Marchenko to Toronto. "Happy we got guys who want to be here," Fantilli said. "It would have been a nightmare having a guy that didn't want to be here all year. I'm glad we got that trade done when we did." Up next: The Maple Leafs host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

With files from The Globe and Mail, Sportsnet and Yahoo Sports