The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to ship players up and down I-71.
Joonas Korpisalo is heading up to Cleveland to help the Monsters out and get some work tonight as the Columbus Blue Jackets try to keep the backup sharp. The 23-year-old Finn will have a hard time getting playing time in the month of January due to the schedule. I expect Korpi to play two to four games in Cleveland this month.
The Jackets will be relying on Sergei Bobrovsky more than usual this month due to the light schedule. The Jackets only play eight more games the rest of the month due. Thanks to the All-Star break and league mandated five day rest period, Bob should have plenty of recovery time. Add in the fact that the Jackets are missing a large chunk of core players and the burden on Bob to carry this team is larger than normal.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Joonas has hasn’t seen the playing time has been around par for the course compared to last year. He has started eight games thus far and the Jackets have split those games that he has started. His last outing was against Tampa Bay where he gave up five goals so I am surprised he hasn’t been sent down sooner to help him forget about that experience.
Cleveland will be sending up Matiss Kivlenieks, who like the rest of the Monsters has struggled this season. He is 5-9-2 in his 16 starts.
Monster All-Star Kukan
In other Monsters news, Dean Kukan has made the AHL All-Star team for the Central. The defenseman has been recently called up to the big leagues a few times as the Jackets deal with injuries on the blue line.
Kukan hasn’t got on the ice for the CBJ but has been the Monsters best player all season. The Swiss defender has 12 points in 27 games for the struggling Cleveland squad.
The Monsters are in the middle of a seven game road trip through the midwest. They play tonight in Rockford and again on Sunday in Iowa. Hopefully Korpisalo can carry the struggling team to a few points on the road.