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Split Weekend and FLA Bob |
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The Jackets go into this week having split the weekend back-to-back. Friday was a defensive battle that saw the Jackets fall at home to the Ducks 2-1 and then travel to Carolina on Saturday and steal a 3-2 road victory.
Its early, but the two CBJ wins were against undefeated division leaders. Again, I want to reiterate, it is early and the Sabres and Hurricanes may not be your Metro and Atlantic leaders come US Thanksgiving, but they are right now.
In both games the Jackets were competitive, which is what you look for this time of year. Yes, they need to bank some points now so that come March and April they are not scrambling to gain ground in the standings. In each of these match ups the game could have gone to either team. Columbus could have as easily been 2-0 this weekend as 0-2.
Korpi looked solid in back-to-back nights. He made 51 of 55 saves (.927) while giving up 2 goals to each opponent. The difference was offensive output. The Jackets continue to out-shoot their opposition each night, but finding the scoring touch has been elusive. Columbus has 11 goals in 5 games with no one on the roster scoring more than 2.
Three games await the CBJ this week when DAL comes to town on Wednesday followed by the third straight weekend with a back-to-back. The Union Blue travel to CHI for a showdown of former Central rivals on Friday and then will be back in NWA to face-off against Metro division foe NYI. Two of these three were playoff teams last year (DAL & NYI) and the third looks to restore their franchise dominance in 2019-2020 (CHI). It will be a tough week.
DAL will be in the midst of a 4-game Eastern swing and on their second game in three nights. CHI will be well rested in the middle of a 7-game home stand and facing the CBJ after 3 nights off. The NYI will be in Columbus Saturday after visiting WPG on Thursday and looking forward to 4 days off of their own.
The Bob Report
Periodically I will look in on the former CBJ-franchise goaltender just to see how he's holding up in FLA. Many CBJ fans who witnessed the push for the playoffs, the sweep of TBL and then the fall to BOS, attribute most of that success to the play of the beloved Bob. There was an outcry from them to do anything possible to bring Bob back and avoid the absolute collapse of hockey in Columbus forever. I realize that is a little over-dramatic. However, what most spring-time Jackets fans didn't realized was that Bob wasn't always so hot during the regular season. He had inconsistent play, trouble in the locker room and only played well for Columbus in the playoffs one time. It just happened to be when the Jackets shocked the hockey world and knocked off the Cup favorite TBL in four straight games. Bob's off season contract demands were not too rich for the CBJ front office, but too rich for his perceived future performance. He signed for 7 years at $10M per year. This all with the backdrop that he didn't want to skate in Columbus any longer, regardless of the money.
All that said, here is the early season check in on how Bob is doing:
Games Played: 4
Goals Against: 13
GAA: 3.86
Sv%: .882
Record: 1-2-1
After 5 games FLA has 4 points in the standings and sits in 7th place in the Atlantic standings, 5 points behind BUF. The Jackets also have 4 points in 5 games, sit in 6th place in the Metro and trail CAR by 6 points. Here are the number for the new CBJ starting goaltender Korpisalo:
Games Played: 4
Goals Against: 11
GAA: 2.75
Sv%: .892
Record: 2-2
Those numbers are surprisingly similar and for 1/10 of the salary.
This is a very small sample size. Neither of these goalies find themselves with a particularly good start. The question I will attempt to illustrate an answer to all season is: Would Columbus be better off if they could have re-signed Bob or not?
At this early stage, they seem to have been no better or worse with his departure. Obviously, just looking at numbers on paper don't tell the whole story, but they also don't lie.
Thank you for reading.
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
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