It was a quiet week for the Jackets, who played one game following their bye week, and don’t play again until Tuesday. Still, the quiet week had a few things we could learn from.
Jarmo’s Willing to Make Moves
On the surface, the Jackets’ waiver claim of Jussi Jokinen wasn’t the sexiest move. A 34-year-old veteran who’s struggled over the last two years as the game gets faster isn’t going to save the season, but it could be one of those moves we look back on in April as a turning point of the season.
Every pundit assumed the Jackets would trade for center help before the season opened. Nothing happened. Three key forwards went down with long-term injuries at the same time. Jarmo didn’t make a big splash, then. Strangely enough, it was an injury to Sonny Milano that perhaps prompted a move, and even then, it was a player who Jarmo knows well.
For a GM as good as Jarmo Kekalainen, it’s a matter of getting the right help at the right price – and that’s precisely what Jokinen is. His role will change as the team gets healthier, and he’ll be capable however he’s deployed. He can play center until Brandon Dubinsky returns, or play alongside Alexander Wennberg until Cam Atkinson gets back. Ideally, if this team is healthy, he’s probably a steady fourth liner who can jump up if Tortorella jumbles the lines, and he’ll provide a boost to both special teams units.
The low cost and lower risk of adding Jokinen could pay dividends down the line. The assumption coming into the season was that the Jackets would target a center at some point. They still might – especially if the price is right – but Jokinen’s ability to play all over frees up the Jackets to pursue a scoring winger instead if they can get better value.
A Bigger Role for Korpi?
It wasn’t pretty, but the Jackets eked out a 2-1 shootout win over the Dallas Stars in their return from the bye week – and it was on the back of a superstar-level performance in net. Only this time, it didn’t come from their superstar netminder.
Joonas Korpisalo has played sparingly this year, and has been sent to Cleveland a few times for the sake of getting some game action. He’s showing flashes of being a really damn good goalie at this level, though, and willed the Jackets to that win on Thursday. This highlight-reel save shows just what he’s capable of doing.
Alternate angle...#CBJ pic.twitter.com/KoDaZgX0Vj
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 19, 2018
Our own Dan Dukart went in-depth on why Korpisalo deserves some additional playing time – you can (and should) read that here – as he’s proven himself more than capable.
Power play: Good?
It may seem weird to write about a unit that scored zero goals this week (albeit in one game), but the Jackets power play deserves a bit of praise after being so maligned for most of the season.
Since the calendar turned over to 2018, the Jackets have the seventh-best power play in the league (25%), notching four power play goals in 16 tries. The caveat here, of course, is that just four teams have fewer power play opportunities in that span – Arizona, Florida, Anaheim and Ottawa – and even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Of course, they went 0-2 on Thursday – including an overtime 4-on-3 where they nearly gave up a shorthanded game-winner – so there’s still work to be done. Still, if the Jackets can regularly find success and have even a league-average power play going forward, things will be a lot easier on the road to the playoffs.
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