MEDIA CLIPS Columbus Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins January 2, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets Columbus Blue Jackets’ troubles in overtime tied to penalties By Jacob Myers – The Columbus Dispatch – December 31, 2019 Back in October when the Blue Jackets lost two games in overtime on back-to-back nights, John Tortorella didn’t hesitate to mention the importance of those additional points at the end of seasons when playoff spots are hanging in the balance. More than two months later, the Jackets have posted a 1-4 record in games decided in overtime or a shootout in December, prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers, while sitting six points out of the final wild card spot. In each of those overtime or shootout losses, the Jackets either lost on the penalty kill or had to kill one off. Three-on-three overtime can be a crapshoot, with its fast-paced nature and high frequency of odd-man rushes. But the improvement in those extra periods — and avoiding them entirely — starts with cutting out unnecessary penalties that have limited the Jackets’ ability to sustain any offense. "It's not so much getting back in the race, it's about winning the next game," Tortorella said Tuesday after morning skate. "It's about giving yourself a chance to win the game and not lose sitting in the box and taking more than two or three (penalties) during a game. Your whole bench is disrupted. It's hard to do." Overall, the Jackets are one of the least-penalized teams in the league. Their 115 times shorthanded were tied for sixth fewest. However, penalties in overtime, which gave Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Washington and Chicago four-on-three advantages, make getting that extra point incredibly difficult for the Jackets. The 10 times shorthanded combined against the Capitals and Blackhawks also allowed dynamic offensive players to get into a rhythm and stagnated the Jackets’ already stagnant offense. Jackets defenseman Zack Werenski said they can handle the physical penalties like boarding or roughing, but ones that need eliminated are the more avoidable ones like high-sticking, hooking or tripping. "I think a lot of it is moving our feet, not taking stick penalties," Werenski said. "You can kind of control your own stick, so you have to be aware of that." The Jackets penalty kill has played better as of late. They have risen to 16th in penalty-kill percentage at 80.9, propelled by killing off 28 of 33 penalties (84%) in the past 10 games. But the more opportunities the Jackets give a power-play like Washington’s, or give to elite offensive players like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, it’s an uphill battle they don’t need. "We talk about it," Jackets forward Alexander Wennberg said. "We say, ‘Stay out of the box,’ but right now it feels like we've been a little bit sloppy." Nine of the 10 times shorthanded in those two games came from a stick penalty. Regardless of the penalty, the Jackets need to be disciplined to hang on to victories as one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. After going ahead two goals after one period against the Blackhawks, the Jackets went stagnant and left the door open for the Blackhawks to tie the game as they generated more chances with two power play opportunities late in the period. Being shorthanded has not only provided confidence to opposing teams’ offenses, but it also hasn’t allowed the Jackets to get to thrive offensively. With All-Star goaltender Joonas Korpisalo out a significant period of time, this area of the game could have greater importance going forward as the Jackets teeter between hope for a playoff spot and chalking up 2019-20 as a lost season. "We don't want to lose momentum when we're playing good offensively," Werenski said. "We've been scoring goals lately. We're finding ways to win. I think penalties just kind of kill that. We’ve got to be disciplined." The Jackets announced that Korpisalo had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will miss four to six weeks. Korpisalo left the game with the injury after the first round of the shootout Sunday against the Blackhawks. Tortorella said Monday that Korpisalo would be out "weeks." After Tuesday’s morning skate, Korpisalo told reporters that he had undergone arthroscopic surgery, thus explaining why his recovery time is weeks and not months. Elvis Merzlikins, who made his ninth career start Tuesday night against the Panthers, will be relied on heavily until Korpisalo returns. No other goaltender in the organization has NHL experience. The Blue Jackets planned to welcome Sergei Bobrovsky back with more than just a nice video compilation of their former goalie’s seven memorable seasons in Columbus. They also wanted to crowd his space more than they did Dec. 7 in Sunrise, Fla., when the Panthers won 4-1 at BB&T Center. "We’ve got to get more traffic at him," captain Nick Foligno said. "That’s just standard. I don’t think we really tested him. We had shots, but they were all from the outside. We’ve got to get around him — and that’s not (just) for Bob, that’s any goalie." In this case, getting more traffic in the goalie’s kitchen might have felt a little weird if it weren’t for one significant detail. "It’s funny, in practice I did it all the time, so I’m used to it," Foligno said. "I think now, getting that (first) one out of the way, I don’t even notice (Bobrovsky). I think this is a bigger story for our fans than for us. We’ve already played against Bob. That story’s already been written for us. Now, we’re just looking at it like we’ve got to get a big win against a good team." Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.01.2020 Blue Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo out 4-6 weeks with torn meniscus By Jacob Myers – The Columbus Dispatch – December 31, 2019 Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo tore the meniscus in his right knee Sunday night against the Chicago Blackhawks and will miss four to six weeks, the Blue Jackets announced Tuesday morning. The team said Korpisalo underwent surgery on Monday to repair the injury. On Tuesday morning, Korpisalo was in the team locker room on crutches. After the morning skate ahead of a game against the Florida Panthers, Korpisalo told reporters that he had undergone arthroscopic surgery, thus explaining why his recovery time is weeks and not months. Jackets coach John Tortorella said Monday it would be “weeks” without the goaltender, who was selected to his first NHL All-Star game Monday afternoon. Elvis Merzlikins will make his first home start and ninth start of his career against the Panthers. Korpisalo left Sunday’s game after the first round of the shootout after giving up a goal to Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews. Korpisalo tried to cover up the five-hole and moved to his left, but as soon as he stood up, he lifted his right leg in pain. As he eventually made it to the bench and down the tunnel, Korpisalo looked like he was in even more pain. Korpisalo is 17-10-4 this season with a 2.49 goals against average and .913 save percentage. Merzlikins is 0-4-4 in 10 games entering Tuesday night with a 3.41 GAA and .889 save percentage. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.01.2020 Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella accepts blame for postgame rant on officiating By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – December 31, 2019 Less than 24 hours later, John Tortorella pointed a finger at himself. Following practice Monday at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets coach said that his rant after a 3-2 shootout loss Sunday to the Chicago Blackhawks wasn’t the right way to handle a beef about a timekeeping mistake that played a key role in the loss. “I asked my team to be disciplined,” said Tortorella, who only took questions that didn’t pertain to the timekeeping issue. “I think it’s quite honestly a big part of our loss last night was the lack of discipline with our team, and I think the coach followed through with a lack of discipline after the game, too, with you guys (reporters).” Tortorella, though measured in his initial tone, seethed about the error and lack of effort to correct it during his postgame news conference. At issue were 1.1 seconds that were run off the clock after a whistle stopping play for a too many players on the ice penalty against the Blackhawks late in overtime. Referees Dan O’Halloran and Chris Schlenker decided not to add time back or review video of the play, which wound up being a huge point of contention when Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski scored an apparent winning goal as time expired. Replays showed the puck did not cross the goal line before time ran out but would have had the 1.1 seconds from the penalty been reinstated. Further angering Tortorella is what happened in the shootout. The Blackhawks won and Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who was selected Monday for the NHL All-Star Game next month, suffered a knee injury on Chicago’s first attempt that will require weeks to heal. “So, instead of resetting the clock, we have them tell our captain, ‘We’re not going to do it,’” Tortorella said postgame. “Toronto doesn’t step in, the refs don’t do their freaking job and now we lose a game, and we lose our goalie.” He also lambasted the league for not using oversight via its video-review hub in Toronto and emphasized his anger with a few expletives and pounding the lectern as he spoke.