Reimer gives up six as Jackets pummel Leafs

TORONTO — Goaltender James Reimer allowed six goals on 21 shots as the Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-0 Monday night, two nights after he had a career-high 49 save performance.

Cam Atkinson and R.J. Umberger scored for Columbus (9-12-3) in a 20 second span in the first period. Then Jack Skille and Ryan Murray added goals 3:15 apart in the second period.

Ryan Johansen scored twice in the third as the Blue Jackets won for the third time to conclude a five-game road trip (3-2-0).

Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for his fifth career shutout.

Atkinson opened the scoring at 10:18 of the first period, knocking a Matt Calvert pass out of mid-air and putting it past Reimer for his sixth of the season.

Twenty seconds later, Umberger picked up his sixth of the season putting home the rebound after Reimer made the initial save off Ryan Murray’s wrap around attempt.

James van Riemsdyk had Toronto’s (14-9-1) best chance of the first period, one-timing a Phil Kessel feed through Bobrovsky’s pads, but the puck trickled just wide of the Columbus net.

The Leafs troubles continued in the second as Mark Letestu capitalized on a Mark Fraser turnover at the Columbus blue-line. Letestu fed Skille on a 2-on-1 break for his first of the season and first as a member of the Jackets at 3:07 of the period.

Skille drew a hooking penalty 2:13 later.

On the ensuing Columbus power play, Murray put a Johansen feed past Reimer. Monday was Murray’s first career multi-point game.

The Blue Jackets scored twice on their first four shots of the second period prompting the ACC crowd to jeer Reimer following a routine save.

Johansen finished a 2-on-1 feed from Nick Foligno at 9:05 of the third making it 5-0. Johansen then added his team-leading eighth of the season at 11:25 of the third ending Reimer’s night early.

Reimer entered Monday with a 6-2-0 record and a league-best .947 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average.

Since allowing four goals to Ottawa and getting pulled in his second game of the season Oct. 5, Reimer had stopped 156 of 161 shots at home for a .969 save percentage. Reimer was 4-0-0 in five starts during that span.

Monday was Reimer’s first career start and loss against Columbus.

Bernier made one save in relief.

At 10:50 of the third Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was assessed a minor penalty illegal contact to the head as he caught Columbus forward Artem Anisimov with an open-ice hit. Anisimov left the game immediately and did not return.

Adding to the Leafs poor showing, forward Joffrey Lupul left the game at the end of the second period and did not return for the third.

Tyler Bozak made his return to the Leafs line-up Monday after missing 12 games with a hamstring injury. Bozak finished with a minus-2 rating.

Notes: With the return of Bozak, Peter Holland was a healthy scratch Monday joining fellow centre, Trevor Smith. Leafs defenceman Paul Ranger was the odd man out on the blue-line. Columbus used an emergency recall to call-up Sean Collins from their AHL affiliate in Springfield Monday, but the forward did not get to Toronto in time for puck drop. Blue Jackets defenceman Dalton Prout was activated from injury reserve and returned to the lineup after missing five games with a back injury. The Blue Jackets placed Brandon Dubinsky (foot) on injury reserve retroactive to Nov. 19.

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