The Columbus Blue Jackets wanted to use Sunday night’s game against the Washington Capitals to erase the stink of how their game ended Saturday against the Florida Panthers. Although they played well, they couldn’t find a win.
Logan Thompson again had his way with the Blue Jackets making 37 saves. Jakub Chychrun and Aliaksei Protas scored the goals. The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets 2-0 on Sunday night. It’s just the third regulation loss in the Blue Jackets’ past 15 games.
The story of this game was the goaltending duel this turned into.
Game Recap
Although it was a back-to-back situation for the Blue Jackets, the Capitals didn’t have much of an advantage in that area. This was their first home game since coming back from the West Coast. It was also their sixth game in the last 10 days.
Injuries for both teams were a factor too. The Blue Jackets were still without Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson and Mathieu Olivier. The Capitals were without John Carlson for a third straight game. Also rookie Ryan Leonard is expected to be out long term after taking a high hit from Anaheim’s Jacob Trouba.
Despite the amount of hockey played and the injuries, both teams played an even period. No goals. No penalties taken. The Blue Jackets ended with a 12-9 shots on goal advantage in the first.
Both Greaves and Thompson made key saves. Greaves’ best save came late in the period off a turnover. Dylan Strome has an open look in the slot but was unable to score.
The Capitals were able to get on the board early in the second. Chychrun blasted Tom Wilson’s pass home for the opening goal. Chychrun leads all defensemen in goals with 11.
Thompson continued his dominance against the Blue Jackets by making several key saves especially later in the period. He came into Sunday night’s game 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA against them this season.
The Blue Jackets did get into some penalty trouble. Kirill Marchenko took a pair of penalties as well as Brendan Gaunce. They were able to kill all three of them off. The Capitals held a 19-11 shot advantage in the middle period.
The Blue Jackets pushed for the tying goal in the third. They even got a four-minute power play when Gaunce was high sticked. Again, Thompson wouldn’t be beaten. He stopped all 16 shots faced in the third.
With Greaves pulled, Protas iced the game away with an empty-net goal to make the final score 2-0. Greaves finished the night with 36 saves playing in his first game in nine days.
The Blue Jackets will get Monday off and will play next on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals will get three days off and return Thursday night when they host those same Hurricanes.
