Looking to pull out of their all star break skid, the Blue Jackets kicked off a home and home series with Washington by welcoming the Capitals to town. Would they be able to find what they needed to get back in the win column?
First Period
Things started off pretty well!
BLAST OFF pic.twitter.com/YqMvJ8accL
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 7, 2018
Savard (4) from Wennberg (15) @ 1:58
Unfortunately the Capitals would get a power play when Markus Nutivaara was whistled for a hook a few minutes later, and…well.
Carly with a heater on the power play! #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/6zW0cg9RnL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 7, 2018
Carlson (8) from Backstrom (29) and Kuznetsov (38) @ 4:54
Oh, and this happened:
Wilson and Anderson skate back to their benches after sitting for five for this scrap.#CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/tWDDmF94uN
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 7, 2018
Second Period
The Jackets would start the period on the power play and put some real pressure on Braden Holtby, but failed to solve the Capitals goaltender, and not long after…
Great passing all around and some silky mitts from our boy @tom_wilso for the finish! #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/u1fr4cEMdM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 7, 2018
Yeah.
The Jackets would actually put a lot of work into getting into the offensive zone and throwing pucks at the net, outshooting the Caps 17-7 in the period, but the numbers on the scoreboard still read 2-1 Washington after 40 minutes.
Third Period
The Blue Jackets continued to put a fair bit of pressure on the Capitals, including some great individual work by Artemi Panarin and Zach Werenski, but the score remained unchanged into the final six minutes of regulation. The Jackets got an opportunity on the power play and could not cash in, but just when you started to think “Well, here we go again…”
DUBI TIES IT!!
2-2 game friends! pic.twitter.com/QFI1Nn2UtA
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 7, 2018
second time’s the charm pic.twitter.com/GrVdiVSEYr
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 7, 2018
Dubinsky (4) from Nutivaara (14) and Calvert (10) @ 13:55
Even with the Jackets getting a late power play it looked like this game was going to OT, but in the final minute of play, the Capitals went in hard, and things came apart after a shot went off Bobrovsky’s mask, dropped in front of David Savard, and T. J. Oshie was there to feed it to an open Backstrom.
no. No. NO.
caps score to make it 3-2.
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 7, 2018
Backstrom (12) from Oshie (19) and Ovechkin (26) @ 19:17
Fate is cruel.