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Former Bednar Goaltender Lands On Injured Reserve In New York
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- Former Bednar Goaltender Lands On Injured Reserve In New York
Joonas Korpisalo has been around the NHL for a long time now, but before he became a veteran goaltender bouncing around the league, he was one of Jared Bednar's young goalies in the AHL.
More than a decade later, Korpisalo is back in the news after the New York Rangers placed him on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He's considered week-to-week, according to the Associated Press.
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It's an interesting development for Colorado Avalanche fans because of Korpisalo's history with Bednar.
The two were together with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2015, when Bednar coached the team to a Calder Cup championship. Korpisalo was only 21 years old at the time and played 18 regular-season games.
He went 8-8-4 with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. He also recorded two shutouts.
Korpisalo ended up taking over the starting job during the playoffs, although he didn't finish the postseason in that role. Anton Forsberg eventually moved ahead of him, leaving Korpisalo in more of a backup spot.
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He still won six of the eight games he played.
The numbers weren't quite as good as they had been during the regular season. Korpisalo finished the playoffs with a .898 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average, but he was still part of a championship team that gave him an early taste of winning at the professional level.
Forsberg, by the way, is still in the NHL too. He's now with the Los Angeles Kings.
Korpisalo went on to carve out his own NHL career and has spent the years since playing for several different organizations. This summer, he landed with the Rangers, who brought him in to back up Igor Shesterkin.
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That job is suddenly on hold.
With Korpisalo on injured reserve, New York recalled Dylan Garand from Hartford. The Rangers have Shesterkin as their clear No. 1, but the timing of the injury isn't great with the team facing Tampa Bay and Detroit on back-to-back nights.
Garand could get his chance sooner than expected.
For Bednar, this is just another chapter in a relationship that goes back to the early years of his coaching career.
Korpisalo was one of the young goalies on that Lake Erie team, long before either of them had reached where they are now.
Bednar is running the bench in Colorado.
Korpisalo is trying to get healthy and get back into the Rangers' crease.
It's been quite a while since those two were chasing a Calder Cup together.
