This is one of those games that drives coaches crazy.
After spotting the Washington Capitals two early goals, the Blue Jackets spent the next 30-plus minutes clawing their way back.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| CAPITALS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Sergei Bobrovsky locked it down while his teammates chipped away at the deficit. The top line of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson and Artemi Panarin clocked in with one of the best shifts of the season to get Columbus on the board. Matt Calvert made an impact in his first game back, tying the game with a shorthanded goal in the second period.
But it came unraveled late in the second period.
Boone Jenner took two penalties, the second coming with under a minute left in the middle period. Alex Ovechkin wasted little time taking advantage of a gift power play, giving the Capitals a 3-2 lead with 38 seconds to go.
And the insurance goal came 1:08 into the third period. Evgeny Kuznetsov walked through the Blue Jackets' defense at the blue line and converted a nifty passing play with TJ Oshie to give Washington some cushion with a 4-2 lead.
The Blue Jackets pulled within a goal with 3:02 to play on Zach Werenski's eighth goal of the season. They had their chances, too; Nick Foligno was stopped on a pair of breakaways, Cam Atkinson as well, and a potential tying goal sat on the goal line as Panarin prematurely celebrated – then the Capitals alertly swept the puck out of danger.
Injury Update
Markus Nutivaara was a late scratch tonight due to an upper body injury. Matt Calvert was activated off injured reserve prior to the game and played his first game in nearly a month.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena for two games this week, beginning Tuesday night against the surprising New Jersey Devils.
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