NEWARK www.officialpredators.com , N.J. (AP) —every penny of the seven-year, $77 million contract the Toronto Maple Leafs gave him in the offseason.Not only is he living up to the hype, the 28-year-old center is having a career year.Tavares scored twice and hit the 300-goal mark for his career in leading the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.“It’s always that more satisfying when it contributes to a big win, especially bouncing back after the other night, so credit a lot of guys who I’ve played with over my career because obviously that was a big part of helping me be successful,” said Tavares, who also picked up an assist on linemate Mitch Marner’s empty-net goal with 22 seconds to play.Tavares’ best season was 38 goals and 48 assists in 2014-15 with the Islanders. He now had 29 goals and 21 assists in 43 games with the Maple Leafs.Tavares and Marner were helped by the return of left wing Zach Hyman, who was activated missing eight games with an ankle injury.“They’re awesome Nashville Predators T-Shirts Authentic ,” Hyman said after posting a plus-4 night. “I just try and get them the puck as much as I can. John’s pretty tenacious on it and you see how strong he is and how he gets the puck back all the time. He’s one of the best finishers around the net. Mitch is an elite passer but he can also get himself open to shoot and you’re seeing more of that this year.”Defenseman Ron Hainsey also scored in Toronto’s three-goal first period and third-string goaltender Michael Hutchinson made 27 saves as the Maple Leafs beat the Devils for the third time in as many games.“We need to start stringing together wins and playing complete games and giving ourselves a shot,” forward Kyle Palmieri said after New Jersey lost for the fourth time in five games. “Tonight, obviously, we dug ourselves a bit of hole, but it was good to see we stuck with our game.”Blake Coleman and Brian Boyle scored in a 26-second span for the Devils late in the second period to get New Jersey within a goal. Keith Kinkaid made 39 saves, including two on Tavares that prevented his hat trick and 30th goal of the season.Hutchinson, who was acquired in a trade with Florida on Dec. 29, made his fourth straight start with Frederik Anderson and Garret Sparks out with injuries. He came up big early in the third period Nashville Predators Hoodies Authentic , stopping Brett Seney in close.The Maple Leafs outscored the Devils 13-3 in winning the first two games this season, and it looked like they were headed for another blowout after the opening 20 minutes.Hainsey scored his first goal since Nov. 23 with a shot from the left point at 4:30. Tavares got his 300th goal less than three minutes later, lifting the rebound of Jake Gardiner’s shot past Kinkaid. He would add No. 301 in the waning seconds of the period, finishing off a great play on which Mitch Marner made a cross-ice pass to Morgan Rielly and the defenseman found Tavares with another cross-ice pass for a shot into an open net.New Jersey didn’t make it a game until the later stages of the second period when Coleman and Boyle woke up the crowd at the Prudential Center. Coleman got his career-best 14th goal and third in four games, putting his own rebound past Hutchinson. Boyle scored on a shot that might have been deflected by Gardiner.The Devils were outshot 15-3 in the third period.NOTES: The Devils placed G Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) on injured reserve and recalled F Kevin Rooney from Binghamton (AHL). … Reigning MVP Taylor Hall (lower body) missed his eighth straight game. … Kasimir Kaskisuo was recalled from the AHL Toronto Marlies on emergency basis to back up Hutchinson.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.Devils: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A drama-filled day for the Columbus Blue Jackets started with the public reprimand and benching of the No. 1 goaltender and ended with an overtime goal in a game that nearly slipped away.Sergei Bobrovsky, who has rebuffed the Blue Jackets’ efforts to re-sign him, was scratched for Thursday’s game for disciplinary reasons Nashville Predators Hats Authentic , with the team citing an unspecified “incident” but making it clear in a public statement that he failed to meet team “expectations and values.”That put backup Joonas Korpisalo in the net and required the call-up of another goalie from the AHL team in Cleveland.Some 12 hours later, Artemi Panarin scored his second goal of the game 1:22 into overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators, who had surged back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie the score and force the extra time.“It’s just a funny league,” said Columbus coach John Tortorella, who picked up his 600th career NHL win. “There’s nothing safe. You go up 3-1 with five, six minutes left, you think you’re going to get things finished but you just never know. But I like the way we just kept our composure, and found a way to win in overtime.”Boone Jenner also had two goals Custom Nashville Predators Jerseys , Zach Werenski had a pair of assists and Korpisalo had 32 saves for the Blue Jackets, who had lost five in a row to Nashville dating to November 2015.“We had a fun tonight, and I think a lot of guys chipped in and played really well,” said captain Nick Foligno, who returned after missing four games while he was at the side of his 5-year-old daughter who had heart surgery in Boston.The game was marked by offensive surges by both teams.Panarin and Jenner scored in an 11-second span of the third period, only to have Nashville’s Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm answer with quick goals to knot the game.In overtime, Panarin ripped a shot past Pekka Rinne from the left circle on a 4-on-3 power play to snap a three-game winning streak for the Predators.Rinne, who was forced to play on consecutive nights because his backup was sick www.officialdevils.com , had 29 saves.“It was not what was scheduled, but those are the cards we were dealt,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “And I thought he played great.”The Predators stayed in first place in the Central Division, one point ahead of Winnipeg.The team hasn’t provided any more details of Bobrovsky’s situation, but Tortorella said he’s pleased with the way the team has managed to gel despite the contract situations of the Vezina Trophy-winning goalie and Panarin both hanging in the air. They are in playoff contention in the rugged Metropolitan Division.“There’s stuff around our team,” Tortorella said. “It started right from camp when (Panarin) and Bob stated they’re not sure if they want to be here. We’ve been very honest in that locker room about the situations that have come our way, and I think that’s the best way to do it so players aren’t tip-toeing.”NOTES: Nashville recalled G Troy Grosenick from Milwaukee of the AHL to back up Renne … Columbus recalled G Jean-Francois Berube from Cleveland after the announcement that Bobrovsky would be benched. … Blue Jackets forwards Brandon Dubinsky (hamstring) and Markus Hannikainen (elbow) were put on injured reserve Thursday. Both are expected to miss about a week. …A Columbus restaurant put up a billboard offering Panarin free meals for life is he re-signs with the Blue Jackets. … Columbus is 12-0 on Thursday nights this season.UP NEXT:Nashville: At Carolina on Sunday.Columbus: At Washington on Saturday night.