Joonas Korpisalo went down tonight, some of the worst news that Columbus Blue Jacket fans could hear.
In a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Korpisalo allowed a goal by opposing captain Jonathon Toews in the shootout and immediately came up hobbling. He went straight to the dressing room following the goal, and Elvis Merzlkins came in as a replacement.
According to Head Coach John Tortorella, Korpisalo suffered a knee injury and is out for "weeks".
A tough scene in Columbus as @BlueJacketsNHL goalie Joonas Korpisalo appears to get injured in the shootout. Backup Elvis Merzlikins came in cold to finish the game. pic.twitter.com/jK3DpJkJ4G
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 30, 2019
To make the organization and fans more sick to their stomach - the play could have been avoided altogether had Columbus won the game in overtime minutes earlier, where botched time management by the referees caused a Zach Werenski goal to be disallowed.
We'll let Tortorella walk you through the play:
John Tortorella rips into the refs and the NHL review process before walking out of his press conference pic.twitter.com/1USZBloGv6
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) December 30, 2019
Before tonight, Korpisalo was 6-0-3 in his last nine games, with a .943 save percentage just 15 goals allowed and one shutout. This is a massive blow an already injury-riddled Blue Jacket club.
