Winter break-down: Blue Jackets goalies seeking consistency

Going into the second half of the season, which begins Jan. 29 with a home game vs. Buffalo, the Columbus Blue Jackets have two goaltenders they believe can win games.
That's a nice thing to have, even if the team has taken a circuitous route to get there.
The team began the season with the stated goal to get Joonas Korpisalo more chances in net given Sergei Bobrovsky's pending free agency. That held for a while, but by the end of 2018, Bobrovsky was receiving most of the starts. Then came Bobrovsky's game away from the team for an incident in a Jan. 8 loss in Tampa Bay, and since then, Korpisalo has been one of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL, while Bobrovsky turned in a standout performance in the team's last game before break at Minnesota.
It's been a roller-coaster, but Korpisalo's improved play and Bobrovsky's career body of work, including two Vezina Trophy wins, leave the team with two trusted options in net.

What follows is a look at what the team's goaltenders have done through the opening half of the season.

What's gone well

The Blue Jackets are 18th in the NHL allowing 3.02 goals per game. While a lot of factors go into that ranking, no team with serious Stanley Cup aspirations wants to be in the bottom half of the league in goals allowed per game.
But there have been stretches when both Bobrovsky and Korpisalo have been red-hot, and both have overall numbers that have been dinged by a few high-scoring games early in the season.
Bobrovsky had a seven-game stretch from Oct. 30-Nov. 17 in which he went 5-2-0, gave up just 10 goals in seven games, and had a .954 save percentage. From Dec. 13 to Dec. 23, Bobrovsky started six games in that compressed stretch and went 5-0-1, gave up just seven goals and had a .962 save percentage.
Korpisalo, meanwhile, is in the midst of a similar heater. Since the start of the calendar year, Korpisalo has played in six games, posted a 1.68 goals-against average, and posted a .943 save percentage. That's one reason he's started four of the last six games.
"He's improving as a goalie," head coach John Tortorella said. "There's no question about that. I know everybody wants to frame it because of the stuff that went on with Bob; to me, it's apples and oranges as to why Korpi is playing. He's just played well. … He's played better than Bob. That's why he's played."
Tortorella was similarly complimentary of Bobrovsky after his showing in the team's last game vs. Minnesota.
"Bob gave us a chance," Tortorella said. "We wasted a great effort by Bob."

Where there can be improvement

On the other side of the coin, the team continues to look for some consistency in net.
For all of the hot stretches Bobrovsky has had, he's posted a season goals-against of 2.91 and a save percentage of .904, both of which are the worst marks of his CBJ career. At times, the goaltender has fought the puck and has struggled to find his game, though his most recent start at Minnesota has to be seen as encouraging.
Korpisalo has had similar stretches where his play has been up and down, one reason his save percentage sits at just .901 with a GAA of 2.95. Not terrible numbers, certainly, but he also has given up at least three goals in 12 of 15 starts this season.

On the spot: Sergei Bobrovsky

What can you say? Bobrovsky's accolades through his career are well-known and well-deserved, but the fact remains the Jackets are yet to win a playoff series in three tries when the Russian star has been in the CBJ net. A postseason series win is now the standard the Jackets need to reach, and it seems fair to say the team's best chance to do so is to have Bobrovsky, twice recognized as the game's best goaltender in a given season, starring in net when it happens.