Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets: Top 5 takeaways from Game 5

The Columbus Blue Jackets complete the upset for the second straight season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in a best-of-five series. Here are 5 takeaways.

Game 4 was a miracle but the Toronto Maple Leafs ran out of miracles for Game 5. The Columbus Blue Jackets‘ strong defensive style of hockey prevailed and they shut out the Leafs with a score of 3-0.

Here are five takeaways from the final game of their Stanley Cup Playoffs play-in series.

1. Zach Weresnki comes up big

After missing the end of the third period and overtime of Game 4, it was unclear if Zach Werenski was going to play in Game 5. Well, not only did he show up, he scored the first goal of the game which ended up being the game-winner. He played well all game long and he and Seth Jones are a big reason for the win tonight and the Blue Jackets’ winning the series.

2. Joonas Korpisalo was perfect

Joonas Korpisalo has been incredible all series long and was perfect when the Blue Jackets needed him the most. He stopped all 33 shots and some of them were highlight-reel saves like the cross-crease one he made on Andreas Johnsson and stopping 6 shots from Auston Matthews. After giving up three goals in Game 3 and getting pulled, he had a huge bounceback game and is the biggest reason why the Blue Jackets won this game.

3. Leafs fail to capitalize

The Maple Leafs were shutout but they were getting their chances. Sheldon Keefe loaded up his first line with Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner and they were getting some really good chances. In the first period, the net was wide open but Tavares hit the right post. They had two power-play chances and were unable to capitalize on either of them. In the entire series, their shooting percentage was just 2%. Not good enough. The Blue Jackets didn’t get many chances but the difference was that they were able to capitalize on the opportunities that were given to them. In such a close and hard-fought series, that is the big difference-maker.

4. Sheldon Keefe was out-coached

In this series, John Tortorella showed why he is one of the best coaches in the league. Following a horrible collapse in Game 4, he was able to rally his team and get them up and running for Game 5. He was quick to adapt all series long and the additions of Liam Foudy and Eric Robinson to his lines were a huge help.

On the other side, Sheldon Keefe made some bold choices heading into the final game, swapping out Nick Robertson for Johnsson (who hasn’t played since February), loaded up his top line, and put William Nylander at center. None of his decisions panned out as his three other lines were not working out well and Johnsson only got 10:08 minutes of ice time because he didn’t look totally up to speed.

5. Defense prevails

Columbus and Toronto could not be any more different. The Blue Jackets play a hard-working, defense-heavy style of hockey while the Maple Leafs are a high-octane offense that plays a high-risk, high-reward style. Heading into the series, the big question was: which style of hockey would prevail?

Well, defense wins championships and the Blue Jackets proved that once again with this series. They were able to shut down the Leafs’ top scorers, and shut them out twice in five games. Matthews only had two goals and they only managed to get two power-play goals. The Blue Jackets quieted one of the best offensive teams in the league and are now officially in the playoffs.

What’s next?

The Blue Jackets will play round 1 of the Stanely Cup playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that they swept just a year ago. People wondered if the Blue Jackets still had the ability to play like last season as they lost many superstars to free agency. If the play-in round is any indication, this team is as strong as ever and has two great goaltenders at their disposal in Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins. The Lightning are built very similarly to the Maple Leafs and now they’re without Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. That will be a very interesting rematch and I would not be surprised if Columbus makes it to round 2.

Next. Crosby believes Penguins' window is closing. dark

For the Maple Leafs, it’s going to be a long summer. This team was the favourite heading into the play-in round and they had a very stacked roster. However, their star players didn’t step up as much as they needed and injuries to Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie were no help.

Toronto needs to take a good hard look at themselves in the mirror and figure out what kind of team they want to be. Barrie, Jason Spezza, Cody Ceci, and Kyle Clifford are all free agents and Kyle Dubas will have to decide what he’s going to do to this team.

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