Columbus Blue Jackets Roll Washington Capitals, 7-0, Stay Alive In Eastern Conference Wild Card Race


Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals were steamrolled by the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-0, at Nationwide Arena on Saturday afternoon in the opener of the home-and-home series on back-to-back days between the two teams to fall to 50-20-9 (.689 points percentage) this season. Washington has already clinched the top seeds in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Goaltender Hunter Shepard made 19 saves in his first appearance this season.

Washington’s Lines

Ethen Frank — Dylan Strome — Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Taylor Raddysh

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Alexander Alexeyev — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Shepard
Charlie Lindgren

  • Scratched
    • D Dylan McIlrath
    • LW Alex Ovechkin
  • Injured
    • G Logan Thompson (upper-body)
    • LW Sonny Milano (upper-body)
    • C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
    • RW T.J. Oshie (back)
    • D Jakob Chychrun (illness)

Ovechkin and McIlrath both got the day off while Frank and Alexeyev drew in. Beauvillier and Raddysh switched spots in the lineup.

Columbus’ Lines

Boone Jenner — Sean Monahan — Kirill Marchenko
James Van Riemsdyk – Adam Fantilli — Kent Johnson
Dmitri Voronkov – Cole Sillinger — Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese — Sean Kuraly — Justin Danforth

Zach Werenski — Dante Fabbro
Denton Mateychuk — Ivan Provorov
Jordan Harris — Erik Gudbranson

Jett Greaves
Daniil Tarasov

  • Scratched
    • RW Yegor Chinakhov
    • RW Christian Fischer
    • C Luke Kunin
    • RW Jack Williams
    • D Jack Johnson
    • D Damon Severson
  • Injured
    • G Elvis Merzlikins (undisclosed)
    • C Owen Sillinger (knee)
    • RW Kevin Labanc (shoulder)
    • D Jake Christiansen (undisclosed)

First Period

Scoring

  • 1:00, 1-0 Columbus: Werenski wristed a shot over the glove of Shepard from the left dot after Monahan retrieved a loose puck off of a turnover by Carlson in the defensive zone and gave the puck to him in the low slot. The goal was Werenski’s 21st of the season, which set a Blue Jackets franchise record in goals by a blueliner.
  • 4:45, 2-0: Johnson picked up the puck at the blueline, toe-dragged around a sliding Fehervary, deked, and put a shot through the five-hole of Shepard.
  • 19:24, 3-0: After Van Riemsdyk raced up the gut, he threw the puck back to Johnson at the right point. Johnson gave it to Fantilli streaking down the slot and Fantilli ripped a wrister over the blocker of Shepard.

Stats

  • 10-6 Columbus in shots
  • .62 Washington on faceoffs
  • Columbus started the second period with 1:39 left on their first power play
  • 10-6 Columbus in hits
  • 10-7 Columbus in blocked shots
  • 9-3 Washington in giveaways
  • 2-2 in takeaways
Graphs: Natural StatTrick

Second Period

Scoring

  • 2:01, 4-0: Fantilli ripped a shot through a screen from the top after Mateychuk won a puck battle at the point and settled the puck down for Fantilli.
  • 4:37, 5-0: Monahan slammed in a rebound at the left post after Marchenko threw a shot off of the left pad of Shepard from the right half-wall.
  • 5:14, 6-0: Voronkov forced Eller into a turnover from behind the net after hitting him, fed Sillinger in front, and Sillinger whipped a shot over the glove of Shepard.

Stats

    • 16-11 Columbus in shots
      • including 8-5 in the second
    • .585 Washington in faceoffs
    • Washington and Columbus both did not score on their first power play
    • 20-15 Columbus in hits
    • 17-11 Columbus in blocked shots
    • 15-7 Washington in giveaways
    • 7-3 Washington in takeaways

Third Period

Scoring

  • 17:41, 7-0: Van Riemsdyk finished Olivier’s pass over the glove of Shepard from the low slot after Olivier skated around the perimeter of the offensive zone, dangled, and fed Van Riemsdyk on his backhand.

Stats

  • 26-22 Columbus in shots
    • 11-10 Washington in the third period
  • .552 Washington on faceoffs
  • Washington had three power plays
    • Columbus did not score on two opportunities
  • 22-21 Columbus in hits
  • 21-17 Washington in blocked shots
  • 22-12 Washington in giveaways
  • 10-4 Washington in takeaways

Next game: Sunday vs. Columbus (6 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077





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