By Stretch Jenkinson

GAME AT A GLANCE

THREE STARS 1^st – J. Gaudreau, CBJ (1-2-3, OT GWG); 2^nd – A. Fantilli, CBJ (1-0-1); 3^rd – M. Marner, TOR (1-1-2)

GOAL SCORERS
Columbus: C. Sillinger (4), B. Gaunce (1), PP – D. Voronkov (7), K. Johnson (5), A. Fantilli (10), OT – J. Gaudreau (7)

Toronto: M. Marner (14), A. Matthews (29), N. Robertson (4), PP – W. Nylander (17), PP – J. Tavares (11)

GOALTENDERS
Columbus: E. Merzlikins (12 saves on 14 shots on 20:00 TOI); S. Martin (16 saves on 19 shots on 42:56 TOI, OTW)
Toronto: I. Samsonov (15 saves, OTL)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Columbus PP:  1-for-2, 2 shots
Toronto PP:  2-for-4, 3 shots

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Blue Jackets improved to 8-7-3 in the last 18 games overall and 5-4-2 in the last 11 games at Nationwide Arena following tonight’s overtime win against the Maple Leafs.
• Columbus has now earned wins in 13 of the last 24 games in the series vs. Toronto since Apr. 8, 2015 (13-11-0).
• Seven of the last 10 games in the series have been decided by a single-goal, including two of the three in the 2023-24 season series (both CBJ 6-5 OT wins).
• The winning team in the series has scored four-plus goals in 18 of the last 21 games, including 14 of the last 15 meetings.
• The Blue Jackets went 1-for-2 on the power play tonight and have now scored power play goals in seven of the last 11 games the series since Oct. 4, 2019 (7-of-34; 20.6 pct.).
• Columbus blocked 12 shots tonight and has been credited with 487 blocked shots over the past 26 contests dating back to Nov. 6 and 696 in 37 games this season.
• Blue Jackets blueliners recorded 0-0-4 tonight and have registered 2-20-22 in the last seven games and 12-76-88 in 37 games this season.
• CBJ rookies collected 2-0-2 tonight and have now posted 18-31-49 in 37 games this season.
• Columbus scored one goal in the first period tonight and has scored 39 first period goals this season.
• The Blue Jackets have played in 16 one-goal games this season (4-5-7), including four of the last six contests.
• The club plays its sixth of 13 back-to-back sets this season on Friday vs. Toronto and on Saturday at Buffalo.  CBJ improved to 5-5-1 in back-to-back games this season (2-4-0 in first game) following tonight’s overtime victory.
• The Blue Jackets played their fifth of eight Friday games tonight and have won each of their contests played on the day (four at home).
• Tonight’s attendance was a sellout crowd of 18,516.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES_­

• LW Johnny Gaudreau notched his second three-point effort of the season with the game-winning goal and two assists and has now collected 3-7-10 in the last seven games and 6-14-20 with five multi-point outings in his past 20 contests since Nov. 18 (overall, 7-18-25 in 37 GP).  He improved to 8-13-21 in 27 career games vs. Toronto, recording points in his last three contests (2-3-5) and 3-7-10 in his past nine outings vs. the club.
• C Adam Fantilli scored a goal to extend his points streak to three-straight games (1-2-3) and give him 2-4-6 in his past six outings.  With 6-6-12 in 13 games in the month, he has tied the club record for most goals (Balastik, Dec. 2005) and points (Dubois, Dec. 2017) by a rookie in the month of December.  With 10-12-22 in 37 appearances, he required the fourth-fewest games by a Blue Jackets rookie to reach 10 career goals behind Matt Calvert (21 GP), Kirill Marchenko (24 GP) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (32 GP).  Rick Nash (39 GP) is the only other one to do so in 40 contests or fewer.  He has also joined Connor Bedard (15-17—32 in 35 GP) and Marco Rossi (11-11—22 in 33 GP) as the third rookie to score 10 goals in 2023-24.
• C Cole Sillinger scored a goal and has now collected goals in three of the past five contests (3-1-4) and 4-9-13 in 32 games this season.
• D Jake Bean recorded an assist to give him points in two consecutive games (1-1-2; overall, 2-3-5 in 34 GP).
• C Kent Johnson notched a goal and has totaled 4-5-9 in the past ten contests (overall, 5-7-12 in 21 GP).  He now has 4-3-7 in six career games vs. the Maple Leafs, registering all of his points over his last five meetings.
• C Brendan Gaunce scored his first goal of the season, giving him points in two-straight outings (1-1-2; overall, 1-2-3 in 5 GP).
• D Damon Severson tallied his second multi-assist and third multi-point effort of the campaign with two assists to give him 3-7-10 in 22 games this season.
• C Dmitri Voronkov notched his first career power play goal to give him points in five of his last nine games (2-4-6), including 4-5-9 in his 15 appearances.  He now has points in 17 of his first 31 NHL games (7-11-18).
• RW Emil Bemstrom registered an assist and has now recorded points in three of the last five outings (0-3-3; overall, 4-6-10 in 22 GP).
• D Ivan Provorov tallied an assist to give him 0-5-5 in his past seven games (overall, 2-18-20 in 37 GP).
• C Alexandre Texier recorded an assist in his second consecutive contest (0-2-2) and now has 1-4-5 in the last six games (overall, 6-7-13 in 35 GP).
• RW Justin Danforth registered an assist to extend his points streak to a career-high three-straight games (2-1-3; overall, 9-8-17 in 37 GP).
• G Spencer Martin played in his 50^th career NHL game (17-24-6), stopping 16-of-19 shots faced tonight in relief for the overtime win.

BLUE JACKETS POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC Pascal Vincent | F Adam Fantilli | F Johnny Gaudreau | D Erik Gudbranson

MAPLE LEAFS POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC Sheldon Keefe | F Mitch Marner | F Auston Matthews | G Ilya Samsonov

BLUE JACKETS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Saturday, Dec. 30                 5pm ET at Buffalo Sabres – KeyBank Center

Sunday, Dec. 31                    No Practice

Monday, Jan. 1                       12pm ET Practice – Nationwide Arena

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS