Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips August 4, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Joonas Korpisalo rewards coach, Columbus Blue Jackets teammates with shutout in series opener PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets 2, Maple Leafs 0: Five takeaways PAGE 07: Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella sides with Liam Foudy’s talent in series PAGE 09: Columbus Dispatch: Michael Arace | Series opener provides welcome respite for Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 11: The Athletic: Stifled: Blue Jackets’ defense a key weapon in Game 1 win over Maple Leafs PAGE 14: Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs must find a way through Columbus' choking defence PAGE 16: The Athletic: Monday Morning Leafs Report: Matthews vs. Jones, questions on D, Andersen’s play Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 20: The Athletic: The story behind Seguin, Reaves, Lehner and Dickinson kneeling for both anthems PAGE 23: The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: Yes, a playoff edition. Yes, based on one game PAGE 28: The Athletic: Inside the NHL’s frenetic return: All the action you couldn’t see on TV PAGE 35: Sportsnet.ca: NHL Weekend Takeaways: Defence frustrates Maple Leafs, Canucks PAGE 40: USA Today: Wild's Matt Dumba, the first NHL play to kneel during national anthem, will now raise his fist 1 Columbus Dispatch / Joonas Korpisalo rewards coach, Columbus Blue Jackets teammates with shutout in series opener By Brian Hedger – August 4, 2020 What a difference two weeks made. Just two weeks ago, Joonas Korpisalo was lit up by his teammates in consecutive scrimmages during the Blue Jackets’ playoff training camp. A day after yielding six goals in a 6-0 scrimmage loss, partly the result of his team’s sloppy play, Korpisalo was torched again for seven goals in a simulated game in the OhioHealth Ice Haus. Two scrimmages, 13 goals it was painful to watch. There was still time for Korpisalo to improve, of course, but at that point it seemed like Elvis Merzlikins was a lock to be the Jackets’ starting goaltender in the playoffs. "We’re certainly evaluating," coach John Tortorella said, two days after nixing a scheduled news conference that was supposed to follow the simulated game. "The scrimmage games are big for the goaltenders in evaluating them. We’re not thrilled about 13 goals, but it’s not … I mean … it doesn’t put you into a concern. I think we’ve got two really good goalies. We still have to figure out who’s going to start." Merzlikins faltered too, allowing an unsightly 11 goals during the Jackets’ final scrimmage of camp, two days before they hopped on a charter flight bound for Toronto and the quarantine "bubble" that’s currently their residence. At that point, it didn’t look like either of Tortorella’s goaltending options was ready, especially with a brisk five-game series on tap in the qualifying round against the high-powered Toronto Maple Leafs. What a difference two weeks made. Heading into Game 2 of the series this afternoon, the Blue Jackets are up by a game thanks to Korpisalo’s performance in Game 1 on Sunday night. He made 28 saves, posted the franchise’s first playoff shutout and became just the 14th goalie in NHL history the 10th since 1943-44 to record a shutout in his playoff debut. Also, his robbery of what looked like a sure goal off a one-timer by Toronto’s Auston Matthews late in the second period kept the game scoreless and instantly became one of the playoffs’ top highlights. "I felt pretty confident from the get-go, and I think the boys played really good in front of me, battling for me to see the puck," said Korpisalo, who was informed Saturday that he would start the game. "That was awesome. That was fun to play." Not bad for a guy who’d been torched in scrimmages a couple of weeks earlier, and who also had an All- Star season interrupted by a knee injury Dec. 29 at Nationwide Arena. After surgery to fix the meniscus damage, Korpisalo missed 24 games and watched Merzlikins thrive as the No. 1 goalie. Merzlikins had a league-high five shutouts between Dec. 31 and the premature end of the regular season March 12. 2 It felt like Korpisalo had lost his role at the Jackets’ top option because of his injury and Merzlikins’ talent, and the dual two-year contract extensions they signed in April appeared to cement it. Korpisalo signed for an average of $2.8 million a year, whereas Merzlikins got $1.2 million more per season. Merzlikins also stayed in Columbus during the league’s pandemic pause, getting engaged during a visit with Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace in Michigan (and then married), while Korpisalo headed back to Finland. None of it mattered, as it turned out. Korpisalo rewarded his coaches with a shutout Sunday night. What a wild two weeks it’s been. "It’s nothing we didn’t expect," defenseman Seth Jones said afterward. "Korpi’s a competitor, he’s a hell of a goalie and he made massive saves when we needed them … kept us in it. The save on Matthews was probably one of the best of the night, and we’re extremely happy for him. He’s come a long way." 3 Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets 2, Maple Leafs 0: Five takeaways By Brian Hedger – August 4, 2020 It was exactly how the Blue Jackets wanted it to go. Another playoff opener on the road, another dominant defensive performance and another victory to start a series somewhere other than Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets’ 2-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena was similar to their opening wins the previous two years in Washington and Tampa. They got excellent goaltending, this time from Joonas Korpisalo instead of Sergei Bobrovsky, and their stifling defensive effort in the third period made Cam Atkinson’s clutch goal that period stand up as the winner. Alexander Wennberg added an empty-netter for insurance, Korpisalo polished off a 28-save shutout in his postseason debut and Columbus had yet another road victory to open the postseason. It was impressive, clinical and should set off alarms for the Maple Leafs, who are suddenly down 1-0 in a five-game series during the qualifying round of the NHL’s 24-team playoff response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second game is Tuesday in Toronto (4 p.m.), and the Blue Jackets can move one game closer to evicting the Maple Leafs’ from a quarantine "bubble" in their own city. Here are five takeaways: Korpisalo gets the nod After Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella revealed late Sunday morning that Korpisalo would start, defenseman Seth Jones was asked about it during a video conference with reporters. He couldn’t help but grin, thinking of something that was overshadowed by Elvis Merzlikins’ outstanding play after Korpisalo went down with a torn meniscus Dec. 29 at Nationwide Arena. "Both guys did a phenomenal job this year, and ‘Korpi’ started (the year) for us … and was an All-Star this year." Jones said. "I think a lot of people forget that, how great he played for us up to (the injury)." Indeed, Korpisalo earned a spot on the Metropolitan Division’s roster for this season’s NHL All-Star game in January. His play from early November until he was injured in a shootout against the Chicago Blackhawks – which shouldn’t have been necessary because of a clock error in overtime – was simply outstanding. The Blue Jackets won a number of games or earned points in losses primarily because of his play, which made Merzlikins’ excellence in his absence even more impressive. After struggling as Korpisalo’s backup, playing irregularly, Merzlikins suddenly looked like an All-Star himself. His numbers were even better, including five shutouts, and people started to forget about Korpisalo’s All-Star caliber play. "Both of them won a lot of games for us, stole a lot of games for us," Jones said. "They both played outstanding and were really the backbone of our team." 4 Korpisalo provided a strong reminder against the Maple Leafs, stopping all 28 shots he faced. That included a jaw-dropping glove save on Auston Matthews, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Korpisalo’s accomplishment should be put into perspective first. Against the NHL’s highest-scoring team in the final 47 games of the regular season, on the Leafs’ home ice, he was flawless. After backing up Bobrovsky for four years, patiently waiting, Korpisalo took full advantage of his chance to finally play in the NHL’s postseason. His shutout was the first in franchise history in a playoff game and Korpisalo became just the 14th goalie in league history to blank the opposition in his postseason debut. "I felt pretty confident from the get go and I think the boys played really good in front of me, battling for me to see the puck," said Korpisalo, who was informed Saturday that he would start. "That was awesome. That was fun to play." Flashing the leather Now we can talk about the save Korpisalo made late in the second period against Matthews, whose 47 goals in the regular season placed him third in the league scoring race – only one goal behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Boston’s David Pastrnak. In short, the Blue Jackets’ goalie did the unthinkable. After William Nylander got the puck behind the Columbus net, he spotted Matthews standing alone between the face-off circles.