Before the season began, Brad Larsen said that the Blue Jackets didn't have a starting goaltender.
Just because they signed Elvis Merzlikins to a five-year, $27 million contract during the offseason didn't mean that Merzlikins was guaranteed the role.
Larsen's held true to that, as Joonas Korpisalo is set to start his second straight game after a phenomenal performance against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Korpisalo let in three goals in the first 30 minutes of the contest but locked in after that as the Blue Jackets came back and won in a shootout.
This season, Korpisalo is 1-2-0 with a 3.27 GAA and .913 save percentage, but those numbers don't tell the entire story. Per MoneyPuck, Korpisalo ranks third in the NHL (minimum 3 GP) in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes with 1.242. This means that over the course of 60 minutes, Korpisalo has saved 1.242 goals more than MoneyPuck's model expects an average goalie to save. That's very impressive.
On the blue line, the Blue Jackets continue to deal with injuries. Adam Boqvist has rejoined practice, but he won't be in the lineup tonight. The top pairing will be comprised of Zach Werenski and Jake Bean. On the second pair, Gavin Bayreuther will make his season debut. The one-time Seattle Kraken defenseman is slated to play on a pair with Vladislav Gavrikov, while Gabriel Carlsson and Andrew Peeke will make up the bottom pair.
"Last year, I liked the games (Bayreuther) played for us," said Larsen on Wednesday afternoon. "He's assertive. He's got a little bit of snarl to his game. He's a simple player, and that's all I want from him. I want him to just come and bring his game...we've got some guys that can do some flashy games. Just stay within yourself. And he's excited. He's excited to play, so I'm excited for him."
In 28 NHL games, Bayreuther has tallied 3-3-6 while averaging 17:17 of ice time. He looked very solid in limited minutes with the Blue Jackets towards the end of the 2020-21 NHL season, and he's earned another chance to impress Larsen.
"It's a massive opportunity to be able to play with Gavrikov," said Bayreuther. "I'm very grateful for it, and I'm excited for tonight. Through the years, I've tried to focus on consistency and I think that if I can play consistent every shift, every game, the rest is laying out there for me."
