The Columbus Blue Jackets were dead on arrival tonight.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitals | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Blue Jackets | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
There was no energy, no drive, no hustle most of the night. It was like they were gliding on the ice.
Sergei Bobrovsky did his best to keep the team afloat, coming up with a myriad of saves like this one through the first two periods (23 for 25 overall after period two):
Apparently it is show and tell. Bobrovsky brought a puck.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/B20GLDuCn7
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 20, 2018
But even he faltered at times tonight, surrendering a goal to Alex Ovechkin that shouldn't have beaten the Blue Jackets' goaltender.
This loss, however, is on the guys in front of Bobrovsky.
The Washington Capitals grabbed a hold of the lead early on a Tom Wilson goal that came in the aftermath of a scramble in front of the net. Their lead grew to 2-0 on a power play goal by T.J. Oshie.
Following a successful penalty kill in the second period the Blue Jackets tried to make a push and showed some life for the first time in the contest, but a couple nice stops by Braden Holtby held the score at 2-0 heading into the final 20.
Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets on a tip off a long-distance Josh Anderson snipe.
Correction: Boone Jenner gets a stick on the puck. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/pBfl5zURqj
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 20, 2018
Even that couldn't get the momentum going though, and an empty-netter by Evgeny Kuznetsov sealed the deal.
Injury Update
Alexander Wennberg is still out with an upper body injury, and his status moving forward is unclear. Lukas Sedlak remains out with concussion-like symptoms.
Next Up
Game five is back in Washington as the Blue Jackets look to regain their edge at 3 p.m. Saturday on Fox Sports Ohio.
