The Blue Jackets took a roster to Washington that may look similar to the one we will see on Thursday night. Washington iced a mostly NHL roster, giving the Jackets a good last test heading into the regular season. Here’s how it went down.
1st Period
The Capitals controlled the puck for most of the first period, but there wasn’t much else to write home about. Elvis played well and the Columbus first line continued its dominance while on the ice.
Werenski’s preseason struggles continued to show in the first period. Perhaps the inexperience of his partner didn’t help. The Werenski-Jiricek pair got caved in possession wise.
2nd Period
The Jackets got on the board first when a rush chance led to a Texier to Bemstrom to Jenner tic-tac-toe goal. These are the types of plays we need to consistently see from Bemstrom if he wants to remain in the lineup long-term.
CBJ Goal 1-0: Jenner (Bemstrom, Texier) 4:57
The lead didn’t last long, however. An awkward bouncing puck led to a pass and a one-timer that made its way past Elvis.
WSH Goal 1-1: Carlson (Dowd, Sandin) 6:18
The Capitals took the lead on a weird goal near the halfway point. A brilliant tip by Ovechkin bounced over Elvis and towards the back of the net. Provorov went flying into the net to try and stop the puck, but to no avail. It was originally called no goal, but the call was reversed after a review.
WSH Goal 2-1: Ovechkin (Johansen, Oshie) 10:34
As time wound down in the second, Oshie decided it would be a great idea to blow up Fantilli in a preseason game. This is one of the dumbest things about hockey culture. These types of hits are completely unnecessary in a preseason game, yet across the social media universe it was billed as a “welcome to the NHL moment”. Gross.
It wasn’t a great period by the Jackets, but it was an improvement over the first. The Caps had an edge in possession, but the Jackets won the scoring chance battle 6-5.
3rd Period
It was Silly season when the new number four grabbed a loose puck scored a diving goal to tie up the game. It hasn’t been a great preseason for Sillinger, but he’s scored a couple of goals and hopefully his confidence is building heading into the regular season.
CBJ Goal 2-2: Sillinger (Laine) 6:29
The Jackets survived a 5-on-3 penalty kill and then had a power play of their own. Nothing happened on the abbreviated man advantage and the game stayed tied.
Fantilli got the last laugh on Oshie and the Caps when he scored the go ahead goal. He and Marchenko entered the zone together and the rookie surprised the Caps’ goalie with a tricky release.
CBJ Goal 3-2: Fantilli (Marchenko, Severson) 16:17
Laine made a pretty egregious turnover in the defensive zone that led to a fantastic chance for Washington. Luckily, Elvis was up to the task and made a terrific save.
Then Laine made a great steal and pocketed the empty net goal on a weird angle to ice the game. Jackets win!
CBJ EN Goal 4-2: Laine (Sillinger) 19:04
Observations
- Fantilli struggled for stretches of this game, as did Sillinger. Despite that, they managed to score the two most important goals of the game. You have to like the perseverance both showed.
- The Marchenko/Laine/Gaudreau line continues to be good. You do have to wonder, however, if that line makes the lineup as whole too top heavy. There were long stretches of the game where that was the only line able to hold onto the puck.
- Elvis played a fantastic game. He stopped everything he should have and more. It’s great to see him have one solid performance heading into the games that matter.
- Jiricek didn’t have a very good game, which makes you wonder if he’s bound for Cleveland. It was pointed out by PD in our writers’ chat that Werenski hasn’t had a chance to develop chemistry with anyone in this new system. If they really want to give Jiricek a shot on the top pair, it would probably help to give him a few more games.
What positives or negatives did you see in the last preseason game? Sound off in the comments.