Columbus Blue Jackets: Comparing Goalie Tandems – Atlantic Division
By William Espy
The Columbus Blue Jackets matched up fairly well with the Western Conference in terms of goaltending tandems, however the East is going to be much more important for the Blue Jackets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are fairly familiar with all Atlantic Division teams, however it is home to arguably the top goaltender in the league and an interesting goalie controversy that many expected to be over by now.
Blue Jackets vs Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price has recently been signed to the biggest goaltender contract in the league and rightly so. Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price match up very similarly in their careers, although Price’s career season was better than Bobrovsky’s to this point and resulted in him winning the Hart trophy. Bobrovsky’s career save percentage of .920 and GAA of 2.45 is nearly identical to Price’s .920 and 2.40. If both goaltenders are on top of their game, then it becomes impossible to give an edge to either team.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Joonas Korpisalo had a worse season than Al Montoya last season, however Montoya’s struggles reached a much lower point with the 10 goal game against the Blue Jackets. Korpisalo’s only advantage over Montoya is his potential to continue to grow while Montoya has likely already reached his prime.
In total, the edge goes slightly to Montreal due to the fact that they have a more reliable veteran backup with slightly better stats.
Blue Jackets vs Detroit Red Wings
The former Blue Jackets goaltender controversy between Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo is essentially nothing compared to Detroit’s controversy between Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard. Jimmy Howard appears to have taken the starting role back from Mrazek after a strong 2016-2017, however his .927/2.43 from last season is not high enough to be seen as a better starter than Bobrovsky.
Petr Mrazek had a bad season in 2016-2017, however if the 25 year old can reach his full potential; he could be a phenomenal goaltender for years to come. However, after last year the edge has to go to Korpisalo.
Columbus undoubtedly has the edge as of now, however Detroit has a good problem to take care of.