1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips July 22, 2020 Columbus Blue
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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips July 22, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets scrimmage: Five takeaways from a simulated game day PAGE 05: Columbus Dispatch: Boone Jenner scores twice, Joonas Korpisalo allows seven goals in Blue Jackets scrimmage PAGE 07: Columbus Dispatch: Liam Foudy could give Columbus Blue Jackets a speedy lift in Toronto PAGE 09: Columbus Dispatch: Season’s delay might have been a blessing for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cam Atkinson Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 10: The Athletic: Playoffs or No. 1 pick? For 16 teams, the best option is all about the odds PAGE 13: Sportsnet.ca: NHL Training Camps Day 9: Flyers' Hart exits practice early, Hyman back with Leafs PAGE 16: Sportsnet.ca: NHL teams seek 'somewhat normal' atmosphere in home away from home 1 Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets scrimmage: Five takeaways from a simulated game day By Brian Hedger – July 22, 2020 This time, they wore their game uniforms and the puck was dropped in the evening. The Blue Jackets also showed up Tuesday morning at Nationwide Arena to be tested for COVID-19, went through a video meeting with the coaching staff and returned hours later for a simulated game held at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. It was an effort to get their body clocks familiar with the game-day routine again, something none of them had experienced since the NHL paused the season March 12 for the pandemic. There were 10 goals scored in a 7-3 victory for the "visiting" team that wore the road uniforms, but there was a lot more than just goals to absorb – inside and outside. As the days tick away to the Jackets’ departure for a quarantine "bubble" in Toronto on Sunday, here are five takeaways from their fourth intra-squad scrimmage: Troublesome trend Is it too early to worry about Joonas Korpisalo’s struggles to stop pucks during a scrimmage Monday and this simulated game? The short answer is, "Yes," because the Jackets are only nine days into camp and it often takes goalies a while to shake off rust formed by months of not seeing pucks shot by NHL players. That said, Korpisalo allowed 13 total goals in the two outings, which ended with his team losing 6-0 Monday and 7-3 in the simulated game setting. The concern level would likely be low during a normal Fall training camp, which is longer and includes up to six preseason games. Korpisalo made some big saves in the first two periods, including a couple of dandies against Emil Bemstrom on a 2-on-1 and a breakaway, but the "road" team lit him up for four goals in the third. Should Korpisalo’s slump continue, Elvis Merzlikins would almost certainly get the nod to start Aug. 2 in Game 1 of the Jackets’ five-game series in the qualifying round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Korpisalo and Merzlikins each excelled as the No. 1 goalie during separate stints in the regular season and coach John Tortorella said both have chance to earn that role against Toronto. Tortorella didn’t speak with reporters Tuesday. Bemstrom’s beauty Emil Bemstrom scored the second of his team’s four goals in the third period and it was one to remember. Drifting near the left point in his defensive zone, the Swedish rookie spotted teammate Devin Shore collect the puck in the opposite face-off circle and perfectly read what happened next. Shore sent a long pass high in the air that landed in the deep in the Blue team’s zone at the other end of the ice. Bemstrom snuck up behind defenseman Seth Jones – one of the NHL’s premier skating defensemen – and managed to get inside position to win the race. All in one motion, Bemstrom flicked a backhand at the net that beat Korpisalo for a 5-3 lead on his first goal in four scrimmages. It’s hard to tell which was better, the shot itself or his skating to just barely beat Jones to the puck. 2 "I saw Shoresy put a high flipper (to the other end)," said Bemstrom, who had 10 goals, 10 assists and 20 points in 50 games as a rookie. "I figured I had a lot of speed there and I skated by Jonesy. That doesn’t happen that often, I guess? Then, I just threw a backhand on the net and it went in." After the puck hit the back of the net, Bemstrom got one of the loudest teammate-supplied cheers of the entire camp. Foligno out again Nick Foligno didn’t skate for the second straight day and continues to be listed as "unable to practice," in the team’s daily email updates. That is notable because injured forward Josh Anderson, who’s still recovering from shoulder surgery, is listed as "unfit to play" – the same description other NHL teams have used to describe injured players within the protocols of league’s restart plan. Along with the NHL players association, the NHL is taking a hard-line approach to updating injuries during the postseason – which is taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Players are tested every other day in training camp, which is officially referred to as Phase 3 by the league. The Jackets were tested Tuesday when they arrived for their morning video session, which means they were also tested Sunday. Nothing except the team’s official description is known about the reason Foligno was out Monday and Tuesday. The Jackets’ captain was able to watch the simulated game from in a portion of the stands blocked off for those who have access to the team – such as Tortorella and other coaches. All wore masks, per Phase 3 protocols. Mid-game swap Tortorella wasn’t thrilled with a line Monday by Pierre-Luc Dubois, but the third-year center was kept with rookie left wing Alexandre Texier and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand to start the simulated game. Dubois scored the first goal of the night to put the Blue team up 1-0 early in the first period, but the line’s effectiveness wore off. They were broken up between the second and third, when Texier and Foudy changed jerseys and flip-flopped teams for the final period. Tortorella did not speak afterward, so no information about the switch was given. Outside looking in As the game started, a group of 30 fans walked up to the exterior windows of the Ice Haus and peered through the glass to watch. Their presence did not go unnoticed, as players began taking note of it during the first intermission. At one point late in the second period, Shore smiled and waved at a young fan prior to lining up for face- off in his own zone – and the fan excitedly waved back. The pandemic prevents fans from watching practices and games inside the Ice Haus and they won’t be allowed inside the NHL’s quarantine "bubbles" in Edmonton or Toronto either. It’s something players will miss, especially during warmups and following victories, so the sight of friendly masked faces looking through the windows Tuesday night – even weathering some rain – was a nice surprise. "It was great to see the really loyal fans out there trying to get a sneak through the windows there," said forward Gustav Nyquist, who scored his third intra-squad scrimmage goal of the camp. "That was great 3 to see, and I think everyone really appreciated that, those guys coming out and supporting us. Standing outside, looking through a window … that’s awesome to see." 4 Columbus Dispatch / Boone Jenner scores twice, Joonas Korpisalo allows seven goals in Blue Jackets scrimmage By Adam Jardy – July 22, 2020 Boone Jenner scored two of four unanswered third-period goals for Team White in a 7-3 win in an intrasquad scrimmage at the OhioHealth Ice Haus on Tuesday night. The event, designed to simulate a game-day atmosphere to help prepare for the resumption of league play, saw the Blue Jackets split into two teams for three 25-minute periods with a running clock. And while Nathan Gerbe’s goal with 18:43 left pulled Team Blue even at three, Team White scored four goals in the final 16:10 on Joonas Korpisalo to pull away. After Alexander Wennberg put Team White ahead for good with 16:10 to play, Emil Bemstrom provided more breathing room with a spectacular individual play when he tracked down a lofted pass that traveled most of the length of the ice and bounced at his feet, allowing him to knock it past Korpisalo for a two-goal lead. Jenner added two goals with roughly seven and three minutes left to set the final score. Coach John Tortorella, who watched from the stands, did not participate in postgame interviews. The simulation unofficially got underway at 6:51 p.m., when Steffan Matteau was the first player to take the ice for what amounted to a warmup period of roughly 20 minutes. At 7:09, an abnormally long buzzer brought that to a halt, and the opening faceoff between Boone Jenner of Team White and Pierre- Luc Dubois of Team Blue took place one moment later. A two-line pass sprung Cam Atkinson for a wide-open breakaway on Joonas Korpisalo, and he buried the opportunity that resembled a shootout with 9:14 left in the second period to give Team White a 3-2 lead entering the third period and capping what was a much crisper period of play than the first.