Coming off of their bye week, the Columbus Blue Jackets ride their backup goalie to two points.
With a five day break ending just 24 hours before puck drop, many wondered if the Columbus Blue Jackets would look rested or rusty. And after the game I think its fair to say it was a bit of both. The Jackets looked both sluggish and rejuvenated at varying times throughout the 2-1 shootout win over the Dallas Stars.
It’s safe to say that backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo saved the day for the Jackets on many occasions. If it wasn’t for his exemplary play tonight the Jackets could have lost 4-1. Korpi made 35 saves tonight and only yielded a goal with 2:05 left in the game.
In the first period I think its safe to say the Jackets looked rested and ready to play. They came out with an edge and took the lead on Jordan Schroeders first goal as a Columbus Blue Jacket at 12:23. The Jackets outshot the Stars 11-7 and most of their shots were from the outside.
The Jackets did a great job of keeping the Stars out of the center of the ice and forced them to take bad perimeter shots for all of the first and much of the second. But as the second period wore on, the Jackets started committing bad turnovers, made sloppy passes, and yielded more and more ice to the Stars.
The third period completely belonged to the Dallas Stars. They put the hammer down and controlled the period and eventually took the lead with just 125 seconds left in the game.
Overtime and a Shootout….Again
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The game went to overtime where the Jackets had a power play opportunity that they squandered. As did the Stars.
The shootout saw Korpisalo stop all three shots and Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Artemi Panarin potted the game winner in the second round.
The 2-1 victory and two accompanying points allow the Jackets to keep pace with the rest of the Metro. All metro teams except the Islanders picked up points tonight and only the Washington Capitals, who lost in overtime to the New Jersey Devils, didn’t pick up two points.
Other Notes
- Joonas Korpisalo is now 5-4-0 with a 2.66 GAA in his nine starts.
- Jussi Jokinen made his debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets
- Jordan Schroeder’s goal is his first as a Columbus Blue Jacket and first since April 4th of 2017.
- The Jackets PK came up big tonight. They killed all four power play opportunities the Stars had.
- The Jackets power play on the other hand flopped again. No goals in three tries tonight.
The Jackets now have another long hiatus before the play again. The team will travel to Las Vegas on Saturday for their Tuesday matchup with the best of the West. The CBJ are wisely getting out to Vegas early to let the boys have some fun for a few days and then get back to business ahead of a vital game.
Two points is two points in the NHL. The Jackets need, and got, the win tonight on the back of Joonas and will take them to Vegas.