Ovechkin Breaks Drought, Capitals Beat Blue Jackets 3-2 In Overtime, Sweep Season Series

By Will Chase on December 21, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin shoots against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Nationwide Arena.
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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The great wait is over.

Alex Ovechkin scored in overtime to end a career-long 14-game goalless drought and spark the Washington Capitals over the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.

Ovechkin also had an assist.

Anthony Mantha scored twice, and John Carlson had three assists. Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome had helpers.

Charlie Lindgren made 35 saves.

Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov scored for Columbus.

Chinakhov is on a career-best six-game point streak (six goals, four assists).

Emil Bemstrom, Johnny Gaudreau, and Dmitri Voronkov had the assists. Gaudreau is on a four-game point streak (two goals, four assists).

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 30 shots.

First Period

The Capitals came in 5-0-0 on the back half of back-to-backs this season. They beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday.

  1 2 3 OT F
WSH CAPITALS 1 1 0 1 3
BLUE JACKETS 0 1 1 0 2

Columbus came in victorious following Tuesday's 9-4 thrashing of the Buffalo Sabres.

In Thursday's contest, both teams traded a few chances in the first period before Mantha struck first on the power play at 18:24. Ovechkin and Carlson picked up the assists.

Washington entered play 32nd on the power play and was 1-for-1 in the period, while Columbus was 0-for-1.

Second Period

Sillinger scored at 15:17 to tie the game 1-1. Bemstrom and Gaudreau added the assists. The goal was initially credited to Bemstrom.

There was one penalty in the period, which occurred when Alexandre Texier went to the box for tripping 41 seconds into the period. Merzlikins made a highlight save on Ovechkin.

At 17:24, Mantha's second of the game gave the Capitals the 2-1 lead. Protas picked up the primary helper, and Carlson added his second of the night.

As has been the case in recent history, both teams were locked in a one-goal battle through 40 minutes. In the past five meetings coming in, the games were decided by one goal.

Third Period

Chinakhov's third-period goal tied the score 2-2 at 12:49. Voronkov earned his 11th assist.

Overtime

Whoever won this game, it would be the sixth straight decision in the series between the two clubs to be decided by one goal, dating back to last season.

Before we had a game-winner, we had an all-timer in the crease between Merzlikins and Tom Wilson.

As a result, the Capitals earned a power play, with Merzlikins getting two minutes for roughing against Wilson. Kent Johnson served the minor.

At 4:07 on the power play, Ovechkin scored his sixth goal of the season to seal the victory for Washington. Before tonight, Ovechkin's last goal came on Nov. 18 against Merzlikins in D.C.

His 14-game goalless drought entering action tonight was the longest of his career, surpassing his second-longest drought of 10 games from Feb. 22 – Mar. 12, 2017.

Ovechkin has 25 career goals and six career game-winning goals against Columbus.

Columbus is 0-7-1 when trailing after the first period.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: WSH 32-36 CBJ
  • Face-off %: WSH 54.4-45.6 CBJ
  • Power play: WSH 2/3-0/1 CBJ
  • Giveaways: WSH 2-3 CBJ
  • Takeaways: WSH 4-3 CBJ
  • Blocked shots: WSH 15-21 CBJ
  • Hits: WSH 5-9 CBJ
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • ​Expected Goals (xG): WSH 2.04-2.39 CBJ
    • Shot Attempts (CF): WSH 43-66 CBJ
    • Shots on Goal (SF): WSH 20-32 CBJ
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): WSH 24-26 CBJ
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): WSH 8-12 CBJ

Injury Update

Patrik Laine is expected to miss six weeks with a clavicle fracture suffered on Dec. 15 and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 14. Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw he suffered on Dec. 8. Adam Boqvist is expected to miss four weeks with a shoulder strain and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 5. Damon Severson is expected to miss six weeks with an oblique injury and is on IR retroactive to Nov. 19. Jack Roslovic is on IR, and is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken ankle he suffered on Nov. 12.

Next Up

With one more game before the Christmas break, the Blue Jackets will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

The Blue Jackets resume play on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at Prudential Center to battle the New Jersey Devils at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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