In Toronto, Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0, of game five of their qualifying series to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Throughout the game you see everyone battling hard in front of you and you want to contribute as well and try to rally yourself for the team and try to do the best and make the big saves at the right moments,” Korpisalo said. “And I don’t think there were too many chances today. They did a really good job in front of me.”
Zach Werenski, Liam Foudy and Nick Foligno were the Columbus strikers.
“We just try to go out and play,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “And, yeah, I’m proud of them. I thought ‘Korpy’ was outstanding. He made some key saves at key times for us. But it’s a good group of men trying to find their way.”
The Leafs’ futility was extended with the series loss. They are now 16 years into a skid of not winning a post season series. Though this loss cannot really be called a playoff loss.
“It’s a game of inches out there,” the Leafs’ Auston Matthews said. “We had some chances, the puck didn’t go in the net. It’s a tough pill to swallow. It’s very disappointing.”
[WATCH: All Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs highlights]
Frederik Andersen made 19 saves in the loss.
“Hats off to Columbus for the effort that they put forth in this series,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s a good team, doesn’t give you much. They stay absolutely fully committed into what they are as a group.”
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