Monday, December 16, 2019 – 7 p.m. EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: FSOH; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Japers’ Rink
Columbus Blue Jackets (12-14-6, 30 pts, 7th Metro, 13th East)
vs.
Washington Capitals (24-5-5, 53 pts, 1st Metro, 1st East)
Last week, the Columbus Blue Jackets limped into Washington on a four-game losing streak and blew the doors off the Caps, winning 5-2 and looking like the team we all thought they could be. Two embarrassing (for different reasons) overtime losses later, the CBJ hope an infusion of new talent and another Monday date with the conference-leading Capitals could get them back on track.
About that new talent—thanks to a couple of injuries from Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss at Ottawa, the organization called up Kevin Stenlund and Marko Dano from Cleveland with Josh Anderson and Sonny Milano out. Scott Harrington will also draw in for an injured Ryan Murray.
Since losing last Monday against the Blue Jackets (their first game back at home from a West Coast swing), the Caps beat Boston at home, 3-2, before thumping Tampa Bay on the road in a 5-2 Saturday victory. Safe to say they’ll be ready for Columbus tonight.
Player to Watch
Marko Dano
Dano will suit up for the Blue Jackets for the first time since April 11, 2015, a few months before he was traded to Chicago in the Brandon Saad deal. Dano scored 14 points—10 of those coming from assists—in his last 15 games for Columbus that season.
He’s got three goals and nine assists in 25 games for Cleveland this season and leads the team with 61 penalty minutes (!), more than double Justin Scott’s second-place marker of 30. Dano will likely play nine minutes tonight at most, but anything can happen. Gotta find silver linings around here.
Jackets Notes
The CBJ placed Emil Bemstrom on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 7… Apparently Zach Werenski and Kole Sherwood look closer to return, taking part in drills… A note from CBJ PR: “The club is on pace to register the second-most shots in club history as the highest single season shots per game average is 33.7 set in 2017-18”… The Blue Jackets boast a 5-1-0 mark in their past six vs. Washington.
The Other Bench
With Saturday’s win at Tampa Bay, Washington matched the NHL record for fewest games to 15 road wins in a season (18 GP), a mark set by Buffalo in 2006-07 (15-3-0, 30 points). They’ve also won five straight on the road.. Travis Boyd returns for Nic Dowd… Braden Holtby will start tonight, not Ilya Samsonov.
Season Series
12/09/19 – CBJ 5 @ WAS 2
12/16/19 – WAS @ CBJ
12/27/19 – CBJ @ WAS
3/19/20 – WAS @ CBJ
Stats
| Washington | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.59 (2) | GPG | 2.47 (29) |
| 2.79 (10) | GAPG | 3.03 (16) |
| 23.5% (5) | PP% | 17.3% (21) |
| 85.1% (10) | PK% | 79.1% (20) |
| 50.23% (14) | 5v5 Corsi % | 50.56% (12) |
| 50.47% (13) | 5v5 Fenwick % | 52.45% (6) |
| 9.44% (4) | 5v5 Shot % | 6.49% (30) |
| .917 (18) | 5v5 Save % | .919 (14) |
| Alex Ovechkin, 21 | G Leader | Pierre-Luc Dubois, 10 |
| John Carlson, 33 | A Leader | Nyquist and Jones, 13 |
| John Carlson, 45 | P Leader | Dubois and Nyquist, 20 |
| Garnet Hathaway, 47 | PIM Leader | Pierre-Lud Dubois, 29 |
| 15-2-1 | Home / Road | 8-8-1 |
| 8-1-1 | Last 10 | 3-5-2 |
Probable Lineups
| Gustav Nyquist | Boone Jenner | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Eric Robinson | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Alexandre Texier |
| Nick Foligno | Alexander Wennbergh | Cam Atkinson |
| Marko Dano | Riley Nash | Kevin Stenlund |
| Dean Kukan | Seth Jones |
| Scott Harrington | David Savard |
| Andrew Peeke | Vladislav Gavrikov |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Alex Ovechkin | Nicklas Backstrom | Tom Wilson |
| Jakub Vrana | Evgeny Kuznetsov | T.J. Oshie |
| Carl Hagelin | Lars Eller | Richard Panik |
| Brendan Leipsic | Travis Boyd | Garnet Hathaway |
| Michal Kempny | John Carlson |
| Dmitry Orlov | Nick Jensen |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | Radko Gudas |
| Braden Holtby |
| Ilya Samsonov |