Blue Jackets beat Maple Leafs, advance in NHL playoffs

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots Sunday and the Columbus Blue Jackets advanced to the Eastern Conference quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a decisive Game 5 of a qualifying series in Toronto.

The victory came two days after Columbus blew a three-goal third-period lead before losing in overtime.

“It feels good to win so we can put that little debacle behind us,” Blue Jackets center Gustav Nyquist said.

Zach Werenski’s floater from the left point in the first period held up as the deciding goal. Liam Foudy sneaked in a shot from a bad angle with 8:20 remaining, and captain Nick Foligno sealed the victory by scoring into an open net with 23 seconds remaining.

Werenski played despite not being able to finish Game 4 with an apparent upper-body injury. And Korpisalo posted his second shutout of the series, starting after Elvis Merzlikins was ruled to be unfit to play.

Columbus will face Tampa Bay in a best-of-seven series in Toronto beginning Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs continued their one-and-done playoff woes in making their fourth straight postseason appearance, and fifth since the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Toronto has not advanced since knocking off Ottawa in Game 7 of a 2004 first-round series.

Stars 2, Blues 1: In Edmonton, Alberta, Joe Pavelski scored to tie it with 31.4 seconds left in the third period, then Anton Khudobin stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout as Dallas beat St. Louis to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis went winless in three round-robin games to drop from first in the West when the season was halted in March to the conference’s fourth seed.

The Stars will face the Flames in the next round...