COLUMBUS, Ohio — Auston Matthews became the first player to score 40 goals this season, Petr Mrazek made 31 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 on Monday night.

Matthews and linemates Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting each had a goal and an assist, and llya Mikheyev and Alexander Kerfoot also scored as Toronto snapped a two-game losing streak. T.J. Brodie had two assists.

Elvis Merzlikins, starting his third game in four days for Columbus, made 28 saves, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a third straight loss for the Blue Jackets, who dropped a back-to-back over the weekend.

Sean Kuraly, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jack Roslovic and Patrik Laine scored for Columbus. Gus Nyquist and Max Domi each had two assists.

PANTHERS 6, SABRES 1: Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists, and visiting Florida won its third straight.

Anthony Duclair added a goal and an assist. Noel Acciari, Carter Verhaeghe, and Patric Hornqvist also scored during a four-goal second period. Former Sabre Brandon Montour opened the scoring for the Panthers, who lead the NHL in averaging more than four goals per game. They have outscored opponents 15-3 during their win streak.

Mason Marchment had three assists, and Sam Reinhart one in his first game back in Buffalo following an offseason trade. Spencer Knight made 28 saves to win his first Panthers start since Feb. 1 after getting called up from the minors.

AVALANCHE 5, ISLANDERS 4: Cale Makar had two goals and an assist, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, and visiting Colorado held off New York to snap a two-game skid.

J.T. Compher and Devon Toews also scored for the Avalanche, who led 5-1 midway through the third and ran out the clock on New York’s rally. Colorado ended its longest losing streak since also dropping consecutive games Nov. 3 and 6. Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog each had two assists and Pavel Francouz made 32 saves.

Anders Lee had two power-play goals and an assist, Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson also scored, and Noah Dobson had two assists for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov had a season-high 44 saves but lost his sixth straight.

NOTES

PLAYOFFS: The NHL unveiled a new logo for the Stanley Cup playoffs and final that replaces the one used for the last 13 years.

League officials said the process of designing the new logo and word mark began more than two years ago, before the start of the pandemic. It’ll debut in earnest when the playoffs start in early May.

The design features a realistic rendering of the Stanley Cup set against a championship banner. Paul Conway, the league’s vice president of creative services, said many different designs were workshopped before deciding on having the trophy straight up, like it sits on the table before it’s presented.

KHL: The NHL suspended its dealings with the Russia-based KHL, a move that could make it more difficult for teams to sign players from there.

The NHL told its teams to cease contact with KHL counterparts and Russia-based agents as part of the suspension of the memorandum of understanding between the leagues. They can continue to communicate with North American agents certified by the NHL Players’ Association but may have more difficulty completing agreements.

It’s the league’s latest move to sever ties with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

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