Joonas Korpisalo registers third career shutout

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo of Pori, Finland recorded his third career National Hockey League shutout on Monday. Korpisalo made 30 saves as the Blue Jackets upset the Washington Capitals 3-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.

Korpisalo made eight saves in the first period, eight saves in the second period and 14 saves in the third period. Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin led Washington with nine shots on goal, but simply could not beat Korpisalo. Interestingly, Ovechkin leads the National Hockey League in shots on goal. At 165 shots on goal, he leads his nearest competitor, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon by eight shots.

With the shutout win by Columbus, Korpisalo improves to a record of 13 wins, 10 regulation losses and three losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.63 and a save percentage of .910.

Korpisalo also registered a shutout this season on November 25 in a 1-0 Columbus win over the Ottawa Senators. Korpisalo’s first career shutout came on February 25, 2017 in a 7-0 Columbus win over the New York Islanders. Believe it or not but that is not the most lopsided shutout in Blue Jackets history. On November 4, 2016, Columbus hammered the Montreal Canadiens 10-0 thanks to a shutout by former Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Offensively in the Blue Jackets win over the Capitals, Columbus got two goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and a game winning goal by Eric Robinson of Bellmawr, NJ. Robinson’s game winning goal came at 11:32 of the first period from Alexandre Texier and David Savard. It was Robinson’s second career game winning goal and second game winning goal this season. He previously notched the game winner in a 5-4 Blue Jackets win over the Detroit Red Wings on November 21.

With the win, the Blue Jackets improved to a win of 13 wins, 14 regulation losses and six losses in extra time for 32 points. It was only the Capitals’ sixth regulation loss of the season. Washington’s 53 points are the most in the NHL. They have five more points than the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins.