Game 5 Recap

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a hard-fought, decisive Game Five on Sunday night, falling 3-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In a series that was highlighted by stellar goaltending battles, Columbus' Joonas Korpisalo stood tall once again to post his second shutout of the series after stopping 33 of Toronto's shots.

Columbus's Zach Werenski scored the eventual game winner off a deflection in the first period, with Liam Foudy and Nick Foligno adding the insurance goals.

Toronto, already playing with a shortened defensive core after Jake Muzzin was sidelined for the series after Game Two, also suffered the loss of Tyson Barrie midway through tonight's game due to injury.

Morgan Rielly, who shouldered a lot of the teams' defensive responsibilities throughout the series, spoke about the devastating end to Toronto's season. "It's definitely a bad feeling, a bad taste. Right now, it's hard to live with."

Toronto, not without their share of quality chances tonight, couldn't find a way to solve Korpisalo after 60 minutes. Auston Matthews, Toronto's overtime hero in Game Four, registered six shots on goal tonight. Reflecting on the teams' ample opportunities, Matthews said it was "a frustrating way to end it. It's a game of inches out there."

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe praised the fight of his team this series, especially in the final two games while facing elimination. "We had enough chances to score more goals than we did. A little more luck and it might be a different result."