Well, well, well.
The Blue Jackets have been stumbling recently, but they've had no problem defeating the mighty Washington Capitals. Columbus was victorious tonight, 3-0, for their second win in their last four games against the NHL's best team.
Joonas Korpisalo was outstanding, stopping all 30 Washington shots. Eric Robinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) notched goals for Columbus. The Blue Jackets were 4-4 on the penalty kill.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| CAPITALS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In the first period, the Blue Jackets dominated play. A goal from Robinson off of a nice feed from Alexandre Texier, good for Robinson's fourth goal of the season, gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead heading into the second period. Shots on goal in the period were 14-8, Columbus.
The Capitals mounted a push of their own in the second period, but Korpisalo and company stood tall, keeping the score at 1-0 after two periods.
Just 32 seconds into the third period, the Blue Jackets struck again. Bjorkstrand scored his eighth of the season on a deflection with assists coming from Nyquist (11) and Jenner (4). The Danish forward wasn't done just yet. He found himself on a breakaway thanks to a heads-up play from Scott Harrington and made no mistake, making the score 3-0 on his ninth goal of the season. Assists went to Harrington (2) and Peeke (1).
"HOLTBY! HOLTBY!" chants rang around Nationwide Arena for the rest of the third period, reminiscent of the playoff series against the Penguins in 2014 when Marc-Andre Fleury was similarly serenaded.
Korpisalo held on for the shutout, and the Blue Jackets got a much-needed two points tonight.
Injury Update
Zach Werenski (shoulder) remains absent from the lineup. He's expected to miss up to a month.
Markus Nutivaara (upper body) is practicing with the team but it is unclear when he will return.
Emil Bemstrom will miss 6-8 weeks with a dislocated rib and broken cartilage.
Sonny Milano missed the game tonight with an upper-body injury suffered Saturday at Ottawa.
Josh Anderson missed the game tonight with an upper-body injury suffered Saturday at Ottawa.
Ryan Murray missed the game tonight with an upper-body injury suffered Saturday at Ottawa.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets will travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings tomorrow. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m.
