COLUMBUS, Ohio -- All the winless Toronto Maple Leafs needed, it seems, was to play the winless, hapless, hopeless Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Maple Leafs, losers of their first three games, gained strength as Friday's game progressed, and went on to a 6-3 win at Nationwide Arena, earning their first victory of the season.

The win was the first for the Maple Leafs under new coach Mike Babcock, and Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf presented him with a game puck in the dressing room after the game.

"I like winning as much as the next guy," Babcock said. "Maybe more than the next guy, actually, and I got used to it through the years (in Detroit).

"What I need for the group is to reinforce that what we're doing is good. It's important for the guys to work hard and have structure, but you have to see results, too."

Center Leo Komarov scored two goals, while defenseman Jake Gardiner, left winger James Van Riemsdyk, center Nazem Kadri and right winger Joffrey Lupul added goals for the Maple Leafs.

Goaltender James Reimer had 24 saves for the Leafs, earning his first win in four career decisions against the Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are the NHL's only 0-5-0 club.

Left winger Boone Jenner, right winger Nick Foligno and left winger Scott Hartnell scored for the Blue Jackets, off to the worst start in franchise history.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, a surprise starter after playing so poorly in the first four games, was poor again for Columbus. He finished with 28 saves.

"The game started at 7 o'clock, and I don't know if we were ready to start," Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said. "I've been through a lot of adversity in the nine years I've been in this league. It's tough right now.

"We can go two ways. We can put our heads down and cry about it and feel sorry for ourselves and wake up to get our asses kicked tomorrow in Chicago, or we can man-up, stick together as a group and try to find a way to get a win."

The Blue Jackets responded with goals late in the second and early in the third to pull even at 3-3, but couldn't keep the momentum.

The Leafs regained the lead, 4-3, at 4:00 of the third, a goal Bobrovsky would probably like back.

Lupul gathered a rebound in front and turned toward the net as he skated away from it. Bobrovsky inched toward him and opened his legs, allowing Lupul to slide between his pads for the go-ahead goal.

The Leafs pushed the lead to 5-3 with 4:09 to play. Komarov slipped a check by Jenner and earned a clean look on Bobrovsky, firing a puck that trickled through his five-hole and into the net.

Komarov scored into an empty net with 1:00 remaining to cap the scoring.

"We can score by committee," Leafs forward Daniel Winnik said. "We've shown that. We're going to the net a lot, and that's where goals are scored in this league. We're learning that."

The Blue Jackets have allowed 26 goals in five games, including a whopping 13 goals in the third period so far this season.

"It's turnovers," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "It's how we manage the puck. It what we do with the puck in the middle of the ice."

NOTES: LW Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist, giving him 600 points (280 goals, 320 assists) in his NHL career. ... There is a growing sense in Columbus that if the Blue Jackets don't turn around quickly, coach Todd Richards might not survive. Richards' teams started very slow and finished very strong in each three seasons, but only made the playoff once (2013-14). ... Saturday is the day the Maple Leafs have had circled on the calendar since the NHL schedule was released this summer. The Leafs play in Pittsburgh, facing former RW Phil Kessel, who was traded to the Penguins during the offseason. ... Blue Jackets RW David Clarkson was activated from the injured list and made his season debut against his former club. Clarkson, with a $5.25 million salary cap hit, might be the NHL's highest-paid fourth liner. ... The Blue Jackets recalled RW Kerby Rychel from minor league Lake Erie after the game.