Whether or not to pull Bobrovsky tough call
PHILADELPHIA — Twice this season, John Tortorella has found himself debating whether to pull starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Each time, the Blue Jackets coach left the two-time Vezina Trophy winner in the game and watched as Bobrovsky allowed eight goals, a career high. The first time was Oct. 13 during an 8-2 loss at Tampa Bay. The most recent was Tuesday at Nationwide Arena, a 9-6 loss to the Calgary Flames.
The second one tied Tortorella’s mind into knots, simply because the Blue Jackets had led 4-1 and driven Flames starter David Rittich from the net.
“That’s a hard one to really say, ‘He’s got to come out,’ because we’re (down) 6-5,” said Tortorella, who went right back with Bobrovsky on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. “We’re (down) 6-5 after two periods. No matter what happened, we’re 6-5 and I have Bob, our guy.
“And I still think we can win that game, maybe by three the way that game was going. I just couldn’t come to that point of saying, ‘I’m going to change,’ because I don’t blame Bob for a lot of the goals scored against him.”
The majority of goals the Flames scored came directly off fortunate bounces that left Bobrovsky vulnerable.
Even so, eight goals allowed in two games takes its toll statistically. And for Bobrovsky, who is without a contract extension beyond Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, turning aside a shot with the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds camped in front, stopped 23 of 26 shots in a 4-3 overtime win at Philadelphia. Bobrovsky was coming off a game in which he allowed eight goals.
this season, that can’t feel good. Tortorella made sure he spoke with Bobrovsky on Wednesday at practice, which allowed Bobrovsky to express his feelings and gave Tortorella a chance to explain why he didn’t make a switch sooner.
“When you have conversations like
that, after that type of game, I think it helps the relationship between the coach and the goalie,” Tortorella said. “And I hope it did, because Bob and I had a very honest conversation (Wednesday) and I loved it. I loved how he handled himself. I hope it helped him in my discussion with him.”
Cam Atkinson has reached some milestone moments in his NHL career this season, he but said he is singularly focused on helping the Jackets win games.
Atkinson has reached 300 points, set a Jackets record Tuesday with his sixth career hat trick — moving him ahead of Rick Nash — and with an overtime assist against the Flyers extended a career-high point streak to 12 games, second only to Ryan Johansen’s 13-game streak during the 2014-15 season.
Has he begun to think about his Blue Jackets legacy yet?
“I think it’s too early to think that,” he said. “It’s cool to see your name up there, but that’s not my goal. That’s not my mindset right now. I’m trying to win a Stanley Cup. Once I get closer to the end of my career, then maybe I’ll start thinking that sort of thing.”
Assistant coach Brad Shaw became ill Wednesday night and was taken to a hospital in Philadelphia with an abdominal issue. He didn’t attend the game and hoped to return to Columbus on Friday. … Assistant Kenny McCudden, the Jackets’ skills coach, stood in for Shaw on the bench. … Defenseman Gabriel Carlsson was recalled from the Cleveland Monsters and was a healthy scratch. … Forward Anthony Duclair was scratched for a fourth straight game.