Thursday, March 17, 2022 – 7:00 EDT
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Japers’ Rink
Columbus Blue Jackets (31-27-3, 65 points, 5th Metro, 9th East)
vs.
Washington Capitals (33-18-10, 76 points, 4th Metro, 8th East)
After a solid 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators last night, the Blue Jackets are looking to keep the momentum going against a strong Metro opponent and consistent headache-causing team for the CBJ.
Player to Watch
Patrik Laine
Feels only appropriate that we spend St. Patrick’s Day with an eye on Patrik Laine, who has finally been hitting his much-anticipated groove with the Blue Jackets. Despite a series of physical and personal hardships that defined the first part of his season, Laine has risen from the ashes as the player many expected him to be since the day he was acquired. Currently tied for points leader on the team with Oliver Bjorkstrand (45), I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him secure the top points spot tonight.
Jackets Notes
Danforth and Voracek are both welcome additions to the lineup as of last night, and Adam Boqvist has been skating with the team, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be on the roster quite yet. Elvis played a solid game last night, as did Vladislav Gavrikov – both of whom had some sloppy moments in a few of the games prior. Glad to see they’re tightening up as the season rushes to a close.
The Other Bench
Despite being plagued by injuries this season, the Capitals are 5-0-1 in their last six, because of course. Ovechkin just recently surpassed Jaromir Jagr to become third all-time in NHL goals, which is an exceptionally cool feat at the elderly NHL age of 36.
Season Series
11/12/21 WSH 4 @ CBJ 3
12/4/21 CBJ 1 @ WSH 3
2/8/22 CBJ 5 @ WSH 4
3/17/22 WSH @ CBJ
Stats
| Washington | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.25 (11) | GPG | 3.26 (10) |
| 2.79 (10) | GAPG | 3.62 (30) |
| 18.6% (22) | PP% | 18.1% (24) |
| 80.7% (12) | PK% | 79.4% (17) |
| 50.3% (14) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.0% (26) |
| 51.0% (13) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 46.3% (30) |
| 9.2 (7) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.4 (6) |
| .923 (11) | 5v5 Save % | .907 (30) |
| Alex Ovechkin, 37 | G Leader | Boone Jenner and Patrik Laine, 23 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov, 40 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 40 |
| Alex Ovechkin, 72 | P Leader | Oliver BJORKSTRAND and Patrik Laine, 45 |
| Tom Wilson, 70 | PIM Leader | Sean Kuraly, 47 |
| 18-7-5 | Home / Road | 17-12-3 |
| 6-3-1 | Last 10 | 4-4-2 |
Projected Lines
| Gus Nyquist | Jack Roslovic | Patrik Laine |
| Max Domi | Cole Sillinger | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Jake Voracek | Justin Danforth | Yegor Chinakhov |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Emil Bemstrom |
| Zach Werenski | Andrew Peeke |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Jake Bean |
| Gabriel Carlsson | Dean Kukan |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Alex Ovechkin | Evgeny Kuznetsov | Conor Sheary |
| Anthony Mantha | Nicklas Backstrom | T.J. Oshie |
| Daniel Sprong | Connor McMichael | Tom Wilson |
| Axel Jonsson-Fjallby | Nic Dowd | Garnet Hathaway |
| Martin Fehervary | John Carlson |
| Dmitri Orlov | Nick Jensen |
| Trevor Van Riemsdyk | Justin Schultz |
| Vitek Vanecek |
| Ilya Samsonov |