Despite Dmitri Voronkov's second goal of the season and a 25-save performance from Elvis Merzlikins, the Blue Jackets lost 2-1 to the Capitals at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
1st Period
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| WSH CAPITALS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Merzlikins made an amazing save on Evgeny Kuznetsov's left-circle bid at 0:20.
Yegor Chinakhov made his season debut and immediately created offense, driving to the net at 5:28 where Charlie Lindgren denied his chance.
Merzlikins denied Tom Wilson's penalty shot at 6:17, but Wilson would later find the net after splitting through Johnny Gaudreau and Damon Severson before firing a knuckle puck past Merzlikins at 12:21.
#ALLCAPS Wilson (43) picks up the puck in the left circle, splits #CBJ players Gaudreau (13) & Severson (78), and fires a knuckle puck past Merzlikins (90). 1-0 WSH https://t.co/PwpccfAvzH
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 5, 2023
Former Blue Jacket Sonny Milano doubled Washington's lead at 17:21 when he finished off a sweet feed from Nick Jensen at the left doorstep.
#ALLCAPS Oshie (77) is in the blue paint and occupies the attention of both #CBJ defensemen, Provorov (9) and Jiricek (55), leaving Milano (15) wide open at the left doorstep as he finishes off a sweet feed from Jensen (3). 2-0 WSH https://t.co/XM1lhUAeSG
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 5, 2023
The Capitals took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission while trailing 13-8 in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Voronkov cut the lead in half at 1:38 when he deflected Kirill Marchenko's long wrist shot past Lindgren.
Nice pinch by #CBJ Jiricek (55) to keep the offensive play alive before finding Marchenko (86) who fires a shot that's deflected by Voronkov (10) and in. 2-1 WSH https://t.co/kRTbQ1JyUb
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 5, 2023
Washington had a chance to regain its two-goal lead at 12:58 when Aliaksei Protas went on a breakaway but Merzlikins made a huge save.
The Capitals took a 2-1 lead into the third period while trailing 21-20 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Alex Ovechkin had a golden opportunity to score on a breakaway at 4:43, but Merzlikins stood tall and made the save.
Cole Sillinger had a great chance to tie the game with a wrist shot from the slot but Lindgren made a fantastic glove save at 10:04.
Lindgren denied Marchenko's game-tying effort from the left doorstep at 15:03.
The Jackets couldn't find the equalizer and are now 4-5-2 on the season.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CBJ 36-27 WSH
- Face-off %: CBJ 50.9-49.1 WSH
- Power play: CBJ 0/4-0/3 WSH
- Giveaways: CBJ 17-10 WSH
- Takeaways: CBJ 14-10 WSH
- Blocked shots: CBJ 13-26 WSH
- Hits: CBJ 13-19 WSH
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.25-2.57 WSH
- Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 49-43 WSH
- Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 25-24 WSH
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 22-22 WSH
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 9-11 WSH
Injury Update
Patrik Laine remains on injured reserve retroactively to Oct. 20 with an upper-body injury.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets travel to Florida to take on the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club will return home to face the Dallas Stars on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu.
