Preview: Jackets Look to Beat Capitals with Familiar Face
The Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Washington Capitals tonight at 7 pm est in Nationwide Arena.
Monday, February 26th, 2018; 7 pm est
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Fox Sports Ohio
Radio: 97.1 WBNS FM
Opponent’s Blog: Japer’s Rink
Columbus Blue Jackets; 31-26-5, 67 points, 5th Metropolitan, 8th East
vs
Washington Capitals; 35-20-7, 77 points, 1st Metropolitan, 4th East
Season Series
02/06/2018 - CBJ (2) @ WSH (4) - game faceoff - preview - recaps
02/26/2018 - WSH @ CBJ
Stats
| Washington | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.08 (9) | GPG | 2.53 (29) |
| 2.95 (19) | GAPG | 2.72 (10) |
| 21.7 (7) | PP% | 14.6% (30) |
| 80.0% (17) | PK% | 76.7% (27) |
| 48.08% (23) | EV Corsi % | 51.62% (8) |
| 101.8 (3) | EV PDO | 99.5(20) |
| Alex Ovechkin, 38 | G Leader | Josh Anderson, 18 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov, 42 | A Leader | Artemi Panarin, 33 |
| Alex Ovechkin, 70 | P Leader | Artemi Panarin, 50 |
| Tom Wilson, 145 | PIM Leader | Nick Foligno, 46 |
| 14-11-5 | Home / Road | 18-11-2 |
| 5-3-2 | Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
After coming off a big win against the Blackhawks on Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets look to grab their second game in a row against the Washington Capitals. If they win, it will be the first time during the 2017-18 season the Jackets were able to crack the Capitals code.
Alex Ovechkin is going to be a man on a mission. Since he couldn’t play in the Olympics and win gold one thing will be on Ovechkin’s mind, the Stanley Cup. When Ovechkin is fired up, the whole team is fired up.
Shutting him and Evgeny Kuznetsov will be one of the biggest keys to winning tonight’s game. As well as, making sure Tom Wilson doesn’t pull out any tricks from his magic bag. Wilson tends to provide positive reinforcement for the Capitals when they play against the Jackets. He also plays a more aggressive game against the Jackets as well. Basically, the boys in union blue need to be alert and keep their heads up when Wilson is on the ice.
Yesterday, for the first time in history, the Jackets made a trade that made all fans happy. They traded a 4th round pick for former Jacket, Mark Letestu. Fans have practically been begging all season to bring him back “home” to Nationwide.
The “TBA” spot in the fourth line will likely be our good ol’ buddy Letestu Lebestu.
Tonight will be the first time Taylor Chorney plays against his former squad. Look for Chorney to make the Captials regret letting him go.
Projected Lineups
| Artemi Panarin | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Cam Atkinson |
| Boone Jenner | Alexander Wennberg | Josh Anderson |
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Nathan Gerbe | Lukas Sedlak | TBA |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Jack Johnson | Ryan Murray |
| Taylor Chorney | David Savard |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Alex Ovechkin | Nicklas Backstrom | Tom Wilson |
| Brett Connolly | Evgeny Kuznetsov | TJ Oshie |
| Chandler Stephenson | Lars Eller | Andre Burakovsky |
| Devante Smith-Pelley | Jay Beagle | Alex Chiasson |
| Dmitri Orlov | Matt Niskanen |
| Michal Kempny | John Carlson |
| Brooks Orpik | Christian Djoos |
| Braden Holtby |
| Philipp Grubauer |