Saying that there were only three things that doomed the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight is generous.
In a battle for first place in the Metropolitan Division against the Washington Capitals in front of a sold-out crowd, the Blue Jackets were held without a goal for the first time in almost a calendar year in their way to a 4-0 loss.
Sergei Bobrovsky was relieved of his duties after a first period of allowing three goals on 13 shots (which weren't all entirely his fault), and Joonas Korpisalo came in (and played well) on his way to making 11 saves on 12 shots.
We take a look at sputtering special teams, defensive lapses and misleading shot totals in tonight's edition of Three Things:
POWER PLAY STRUGGLE IS BACK
After picking up their power play woes and finding some success for the month of November, the Blue Jackets have gone 1-for-14 on the power play in the past four games, including 0-for-4 tonight. That won't cut it.
This lowers them into the bottom-seven in the league in power play percentage at just about a 15 percent conversion rate.
What's most scary is that the scoring chances were there – the Blue Jackets had seven scoring chances on the man advantage throughout the game, five coming in the third period, but no luck. They could use some of that.
(NO) SCORING CHANCES
The final shot count ended up with both teams recording 28 shots, but this does not tell the real game story by any means.
The Capitals led in total scoring chances by a margin of 30-18, as well as the high-danger scoring chance area, which was 9-5 in their favor.
The Jackets have consistently been in the top half of the NHL in shots, but have at times struggled with making them into real opportunities. Now, the club is in the top-10 in the league in goals for, so lack of scoring tonight shouldn't be a cause of absolute panic, but to get blanked in front of your home crowd against a big division rival should question any contentment in that area.
ODD-MAN RUSH CITY
The Blue Jackets have become notorious as of late for letting countless off-man rushes against them, and it cost them dearly tonight.
Just 1:42 into the game, the Capitals had a 2-on-1 opportunity against Scott Harrington, and didn't even need to make the cross-ice pass for it to result in a Brett Connolly goal.
The fourth goal of the night, which ultimately was the dagger to the Blue Jackets' heart, was a 3-on-1 Alexander Ovechkin holding the fate of Korpisalo. It didn't end well for Korpisalo, but it did for Travis Boyd, who scored his first NHL goal on the play.
Eliminating turnovers will need to be a focal point for the Blue Jackets in a month that is looking a lot different than November did. And there are five games left on this season-long home stand to turn it around.
