The Blue Jackets welcomed the Philadelphia Flyers to town, let them stay late – through an overtime and a shootout – but made them leave without a win thanks to Brandon Dubinsky’s shootout goal and Joonas Korpisalo’s brilliant play throughout the game including stopping all but one of Philly’s six shooters.
Usually we take a look at the three stars, or some game superlatives, but let’s scrap all that tonight at look at some good things that came from the match.
Good things!
Good thing #1: Joonas Korpisalo.
Korpisalo, starting just his third NHL game, got a well-earned victory tonight stopping 29 of 31 shots in regulation, the single shot he faced in OT, and, as mentioned, all but Wayne Simmonds’ attempt in the parade of Flyers shooters that came at him in the shootout. Good enough for a .938 save percentage on the night.
Brandon Dubinksy said “Korpi’s” save on Jake Voracek in the third was “a thing of beauty” and Tortorella was equally pleased:
“It’s such a great experience for him, for right now in helping us win a game and for the future as he keeps on moving forward in the process.”
I mean, look at this:
slo-mo Korpi pic.twitter.com/fyOdcrRm2x
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 20, 2015
Also, this kid likes shootouts, and what a great way to get a win, with his family watching from Finland, Korpisalo said it was probably 5 a.m. at home for the folks there.
“Of course (I like shootouts), it’s fun,” Korpisalo said. “I love the shootouts, actually.”
Good Thing #2: Facing the Challenge and Getting the Desired Outcome
Tortorella talked at morning skate about how the start of this game was so important given the number of games the team has played (35) and the amount of travel (just getting home from two games versus Dallas and Arizona) and lack of practice time. And the team responded.
The Jackets lost the possession battle (42.27% of all even strength shot attempts) but won the scoring chance war (21-19) and won the most important stat of goals for versus against.
“I thought we put a lot good minutes in,” Tortorella said.
The other dragon the Jackets slayed, at least tonight, was the ability to battle back. The Jackets were up 2-0 at the end of the second, but found themselves tied at the end of regulation.
Earlier in the season, regaining and controlling momentum was a key issue Tortorella felt the team was facing. Tonight, they found a way to solve that problem. Tortorella even shared the opinion that he thought the team played better after the tying goal came. Rallying, if you will, in the face of the challenge.
“That’s the way we need to be,” Dubinsky said. “Keep he even keel and not get too low. That’s been our problem all year…if we can find a way to keep our composure when something bad happens or find a way to get the momentum back, it’s going to carry us the rest of the way.”
Good Thing #3: Getting to Know You…
In a lighthearted way, as a team can after a win, players and Torts shared their thoughts on how the shootout process went down. Tortorella admits he’s still learning about his players and joked that his assistant coaches weren’t much help when it came time to choose the lineup for the skills competition.
“I ask ‘Saader’ (Brandon Saad) at one time and he gave me a look, and I said forget it,” Tortorella said. “He had a look like, ‘I haven’t done this.”
For the record, Torts did send Saad out in the fifth round but the forward was unable to get the puck past Steve Mason.
“But Dubi was there like a dog on a bone,” Tortorella said. “I think Nick (Foligno) is the one who yelled at me ‘use Dubi.”
#CBJ Dubinsky's second game-deciding shootout goal of his career. He's 2-for-9 in his career in SO, both GDGs
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 20, 2015
When asked if he was surprised, or wanted, his number to be called, Dubinsky admitted he wanted in on the action, and he, like his head coach, got a little help on how to execute.
“I don’t shoot very many times in those things in my career,” Dubinsky said. “As some guys started going, I did say give me a chance. I got some advice from Cam (Atkinson) where I wanted to put the puck.”
As you would expect, Dubinsky said Atkinson’s advice was “dead on.”
The group is pulling together to figure this thing out – and it’s a good sign to see it gel on a night like tonight.
The team is looking to make this last bit of action before the holiday break – tonight’s game, tomorrow’s practice and Monday’s game – a bubble of positive performance that they can carry through the holidays and pick back up after some time away.
Buoyed by what happened tonight, Monday looms for the Jackets with another big matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
