Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did not join the team for Thursday night's matchup against the Nashville Predators because of an undisclosed incident, per the team's official website. 

"There are certain expectations and values that we have established for our players that define our culture," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "An incident occurred in which Sergei failed to meet those expectations and values, so we made the decision that he would not be with the team for tonight's game. This is an internal matter, and we will have no further comment at this time."

Frank Seravalli‏ of TSN offered some possible context on the unnamed incident: 

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic added that the press release "does not use the word suspension, but that’s how it sounds," adding that a team spokesman told him the veteran goalie was expected to return to practice with the Blue Jackets on Friday.

Bobrovsky, 30, is 18-13-1 on the year with a 2.87 GAA and .906 save percentage. Following the 4-3 win over the Predators, the Blue Jackets are 25-15-3 (53 points), good for third place in the Metropolitan Division. 

One overarching storyline to keep in mind if Bobrovsky and head coach John Tortorella aren't seeing eye to eye is that the goalie is set to hit free agency after the 2018-19 season. 

With Bobrovsky out of action, Joonas Korpisalo got the start on Thursday. Korpisalo is 7-2-2 this season with a 3.26 GAA and .891 save percentage. Cleveland Monsters goalie Jean-Francois Berube was also recalled by the team.