COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A four-goal lead in the first 30 minutes turned out to be more than enough against a team coming into Nationwide Arena on the tail end of back-to-back games.

Josh Anderson and Boone Jenner scored first-period goals, backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves, and the Blue Jackets went on to wear down the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-2 victory on Wednesday night.

The Blue Jackets (36-15-5) improved to 2-2 on their season-long seven-game homestand ahead of a showdown of Metropolitan Division contenders on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nick Foligno added second-period goals for the Blue Jackets.

An empty-net goal by Columbus' Matt Calvert at 17:39 of the third period sealed the win in the first meeting between the Eastern Conference opponents this season.

"I think we played a smart game," Blue Jackets forward Alexander Wennberg said. "Through all three periods, we kept forechecking and just kept skating and tired them out."

Korpisalo started for the first time since Jan. 31 in place of Sergei Bobrovsky and withstood a barrage of scoring opportunities by the Maple Leafs.

"We got some really good goaltending in the first period," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "Korpi gave us a chance. Korpi was outstanding."

Nazem Kadri was responsible for both Toronto goals, scoring late in the second period and adding his second in third period to give him 23 for the season. Kadri also had a goal on Tuesday night in the Maple Leafs' 7-1 win over the New York Islanders.

The second goal Wednesday pulled the Leafs within 4-2 at 6:19 of the third period, but the visitors couldn't get any closer.

"It wasn't good enough," Kadri said. "Tough start. I think we dominated the second half of the game, but it was too late."

Former Blue Jackets goalie Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs, who acquired the veteran after he was let go by Columbus in January. He is 2-3-0 in five starts with Toronto (26-19-11).

The Blue Jackets pounced on the Maple Leafs early in the first period and kept the pressure on.

"You don't want to dig yourself a hole too early," McElhinney said. "To get down four, it's tough to come back from that."

Anderson opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season, beating McElhinney in front of the net after a crisp pass from the right faceoff circle from William Karlsson at 4:30 of the first period. The goal was reviewed, and replay officials determined that the puck crossed the goal line under a sprawling McElhinney.

The Blue Jackets boosted their lead to 2-0 at 8:45 of the first when Jenner knocked home a rebound on a shot from the blue line by Zach Werenski. The goal was the Jenner's 11th of the season.

The Maple Leafs failed to capitalize on several prime scoring chances in the opening period against Korpisalo, who withstood 14 shots and a Toronto power play at the end of the period.

"We had some quality, quality looks and we didn't score," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "But I thought they were jumping better than we were. The game got away from us for sure."

It took awhile for the Maple Leafs to get their legs under them after playing the night before in Toronto, but Babcock said the back-to-back is no excuse for the slow start.

"You have them on the schedule," he said. "There's no sense hiding from them."

Not long after a Maple Leafs power play ended early in the second period, the Blue Jackets struck again. After a Toronto turnover, Bjorkstrand skated in against McElhinney on a breakaway and went top shelf to make it 3-0 at 1:32.

The goal was Bjorkstrand's first of the season with the Blue Jackets after he was recalled from the minors to replace injured Scott Hartnell.

The Blue Jackets scored again on the third of their four power-play opportunities in the second period when Foligno redirected a shot from the point from Werenski for a 4-0 lead at 9:56. From there, they were able to hold off the Maple Leafs.

"I think our first two periods were really good," Werenski said. "We kind of let our foot off the gas there in the third. They're a good team. They made their push and we did a good job of weathering the storm. It was a good 60 minutes for us."

NOTES: Blue Jackets F Scott Hartnell, who sustained a lower-body injury during Monday's 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. did not play. Hartnell is day-to-day. ... The Blue Jackets have struggled for the past month since their 16-game winning streak ended but have yet to lose three games in a row this season. ... Maple Leafs No. 1 G Frederik Andersen did not start after posting his 100th career win on Tuesday night in Toronto's 7-1 win over the New York Islanders. ... Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky has two career shutouts against the Maple Leafs but was not in the lineup after Monday night's loss to the Rangers. He had started the past six games. Backup G Joonas Korpisalo made his first start in February.