Thursday, December 12, 2024 – 7:00 PM ET
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: FDSN Ohio – Radio: 97.1FM
Opponent’s Blog: Japer’s Rink
Washington Capitals (19-6-2, 1st Metropolitan, 1st East)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (12-13-4, 8th Metropolitan, 12th East)
Tonight, it’s a battle of two teams who have defied their expectations. The Blue Jackets, despite being last in their division, are still in playoff contention: they’re just three points out of the playoffs, and would have been the first team out if they won Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Capitals are somehow not only leading the Metropolitan Division, but the entire Eastern Conference. All without Alexander Ovechkin for almost a month. Yeah, I don’t get it either.
Player to Watch
Kent Johnson
Speaking of out-of-nowhere success, Kent Johnson has been on an absolute tear this season. He got a point in his first nine games of the season, and has three goals and an assist in his last two games. He’s been a revelation to this young core, and will need to be on his A-game if the Jackets want to rebound from Tuesday.
Jackets Notes
Goaltender Jet Greaves was recalled from Cleveland and will get the start tonight. Best of luck! … Last time these teams played, the Capitals scored seven times, including five goals in the first period. … Coach Dean Evason reported that both Justin Danforth and Mathieu Olivier have lower body injuries; neither practiced Wednesday. … It has no been over a month since the Blue Jackets last went a full game without allowing a powerplay goal against, November 10th against Anaheim. That’s 14 straight games. Suboptimal. … Columbus signed defensive prospect Luca Marrelli to his three-year entry-level deal.
The Other Bench
The Caps are on a seven-game point streak right now, but are coming off a four-day break. … They’re also on a nine-game road winning streak. … Alexander Ovechkin has resumed skating, despite his broken leg. … He’s currently 26 goals short of Gretzky’s record. Unbelievably, he has a chance to do it in less games than Gretzky, if he scores 26 or more in his first 43 games after he returns. He was scoring 0.83 goals/game before his injury. … The Caps lead the NHL in goals per game, the only team over 4.0.
Stats
| Washington | Columbus | |
| 4.04 (1) | GPG | 3.39 (7) |
| 2.74 (7) | GAPG | 3.61 (31) |
| 21.2% (16) | PP% | 18.3% (22) |
| 83.7% (4) | PK% | 71.4% (30) |
| 50.7% (15) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 50.8% (13) |
| 52.4% (8) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 51.4% (9) |
| 12.4% (1) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.2% (5) |
| .908 (20) | 5v5 Save % | .894 (27) |
| C. McMichael & A. Ovechkin, 15 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 10 |
| Dylan Strome, 26 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 20 |
| Dylan Strome, 35 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 29 |
| Nic Dowd, 32 | PIM Leader | Matthieu Olivier, 54 |
| 11-2-0 | Home/Road | 8-4-1 |
| 7-2-1 | Last 10 | 5-4-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| James van Riemsdyk | Sean Monahan | Kent Johnson |
| Dmitri Voronkov | Cole Sillinger | Kirill Marchenko |
| Zach Aston-Reese | Adam Fantilli | Mathieu Olivier |
| Sean Kuraly | Justin Danforth | Kevin Labanc |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Damon Severson | Ivan Provorov |
| Jake Christiansen | Jordan Harris |
| Jet Greaves |
| Elvis Merzlikins/Daniil Tarasov |
Washington Capitals
| Aliaksei Protas | Dylan Strome | Tom Wilson |
| Connor McMichael | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Taylor Raddysh |
| Hendrix Lapierre | Lars Eller | Andrew Mangiapane |
| Brandon Duhaime | Nic Dowd | Ivan Miroshnichenko |
| Martin Fehervary | John Carlson |
| Rasmus Sandin | Matt Roy |
| Jakob Chychrun | Trevor van Riemsdyk |
| Logan Thompson |
| Charlie Lindgren |