Nylander, Robertson each score twice as Maple Leafs blank Blue Jackets

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander and Nick Robertson each scored twice, Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

Auston Matthews also scored, and Morgan Rielly added two assists. Stolarz had his second shutout of the season and 10th overall.

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 22 shots for Columbus.

Takeaways

Blue Jackets: Columbus is six points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Maple Leafs: Toronto wrapped up a playoff spot for the ninth straight season Wednesday and leads the Atlantic Division with six games remaining in the regular season.

Key moment

Merzlikins turned the puck over, leading to Robertson’s opening goal midway through the first period.

Key stat

Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev blocked two shots in the first period to set a season franchise record. He topped the mark of 176 blocks set by Carl Gunnarsson in 2013-14.

Up next

The Blue Jackets are at Ottawa Senators on Sunday night. The Maple Leafs are at Florida on Tuesday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl