The Columbus Blue Jackets felt no bye week blues as they throttle the New York Islanders. The CBJ buck the NHL trend of poor play of the five day break and dominate at home.
NHL teams were 4-12-4 coming off of the new league mandated bye week thus far this year. The Columbus Blue Jackets came out swinging and dominated every facet of the game. The 7-0 win over the New York Islanders was the teams 5th game with seven or more goals this season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Blue Jackets | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Islanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
With the trend in the league of teams coming out rusty, there was plenty of reason for worry. Coach John Tortorella clearly had this team in the right mental and physical state following the break though.
The Jackets racked up 45 shots on goal, pounding both Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube. Greiss was pulled during the first intermission in hopes of inspiring an Islanders comeback, but Berube faired no better.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno both scored twice and David Savard added a goal and two assist putting him over 100 career points.
Korpi’s First Shutout
Joonas Korpisalo played incredibly well between the pipes tonight racking up 24 saves and his first career NHL shoutout. Korpi was awarded the first star of the night as he moved his record this year to 5-1-0.
Korpi spent the bye week with the Cleveland Monsters, making a start on the team’s bye week. That time clearly kept Korpi sharp and got him the work needed to stay at top form.
This CBJ’s run in the playoffs will certainly put plenty of weight on Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulders but it seems that Korpi is ready to help with that burden. After a the team flirted with Anton Forsberg, Korpi clearly showed he was ready with his chances.
The great play by Korpisalo furthers my fear that the Vegas Golden Knights will seriously consider drafting the 22-year-old Finn. He has played well over this season and has proven capable of winning in many different situations.
The Jackets fly to New York to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden tomorrow. The Rangers are coming off an overtime win against the New Jersey Devils. With both backup goalies playing today, expect a showdown between Henrik Lundqvist and Sergei Bobrosky tomorrow at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
The Rangers remain one point ahead of the Jackets as both teams took home two points today. As Grant stated in this mornings preview, every Metro Division game is incredibly important. Enjoy this one for a bit and get ready for a mammoth match-up tomorrow.