Special teams can make or break the chances of winning a hockey game on any given night. Goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins will have large task of keeping the Blue Jackets' penalty kill near the top of the league, where it was a year ago.
No team allowed fewer power play goals than the Blue Jackets, who yielded only 30 times in 2018-19. Not to mention, Columbus also was shorthanded on the fewest occasions (200).
The saying "your goaltender is your best penalty killer" might sound familiar. A year ago it was Sergei Bobrovsky who rose to the occasion – only allowing 18 goals on 163 shots – saving 89% of the pucks coming in his direction while the Jackets were a man (or more) down.
Replicating what was done this past year would be a stretch, but there're reasons to believe the penalty-killing unit could be a strength once again in the 2019-20 season.
Korpisalo's save percentage on the PK hasn't trended in the right direction (as seen below), but he's shown that he's capable of success.
| Season | Sh | GA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 130 | 19 | .854 |
| 2016-17 | 55 | 6 | .891 |
| 2017-18 | 75 | 8 | .893 |
| 2018-19 | 66 | 12 | .818 |
Merzlikins, who will be given a chance to become a regular between the pipes, hasn't had any experience in the National Hockey League. While we know the rinks are smaller here in North America and the pace of play will be faster than what he's accustomed to, it's difficult to make a valid projection for year one.
Head coach John Tortorella is placed with the burden of giving two goalies a fair chance to become the "starter of the future." Korpisalo and Merzlikins will be at the center of attention, especially on special teams. Big saves (or a lack thereof) on the while shorthanded could be what ultimately gives one of the two netminders the edge for the starting gig.
While the goaltending on the PK is anything but a luxury for Columbus, their top skaters from the unit are back.
Seth Jones, Ryan Murray and David Savard all racked up at least 140 minutes of ice time on the PK last year. Zach Werenski wasn't too far behind at 105 min. The top four defensemen for the Jackets will go a long way to stabilize a unit featuring two inexperienced goalies.
Contrary to the power play unit, Columbus will have a familiar set of forwards while they have fewer players on the ice than the opposition. Boone Jenner, Josh Anderson, Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg led the way, all averaging somewhere between 1:17 and 1:28 of ice time per game on the kill this past season. Of these four players, Atkinson sticks out the most. His defensive presence is easy to overlook when considering he's coming off a career-high 41 goals – four of which were of the shorthanded variety.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen made the bold move to have Korpisalo and Merzlikins atop the roster at the goalie position – a decision that will be under the microscope even more while opponents are on the power play. How the Blue Jackets PK looks could go a long way to assessing their chances of making it back to the postseason for a fourth consecutive year.
