CBJ vs. Capitals Preview
CBJ vs. Capitals Preview
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports - CBJ vs. Capitals PreviewThe Jackets are back home after going into Buffalo and absolutely breaking out with a 9-4 win over the Sabres.
The Washington Capitals come into Columbus 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. Alexandre Ovechkin hasn't scored a goal in over a month and the team is 31st in the league in goals scored. That was a weird one to type. Their power play is dead last in the league as well. But, Ovi has a knack for scoring against Columbus, so I would expect one tonight.
The Caps are 6th in the Metro, 9th in the East, and 16th in the NHL.
Three Keys
- Keep Ovechkin Cold. Ovi hasn't scored a goal since November 18th, against the CBJ. So if history tells us anything, it's that he'll score.
- The Power Play Is Red Hot. The Capitals have a good PK at 12th in the league. But the CBJ power play is scorching hot. They've scored a PP goal in three straight games, and are 7-20 in the last 9 games, which is 3rd in the league. The Caps don't give up a ton of PP opportunities but should get a couple.
- Keep Workin'. HC Pascal Vincent has said all year that the team is learning to play together and working to get better. No, this season hasn't exactly gone as planned, and the avalanche of injuries over the last month hasn't helped. But you can see during the games that things are getting better. They just have to put a string of games together to prove it.
Series History
- Columbus is 10-12-4 at home vs. the Caps, with an overall record of 19-25-9 in 53 all-time games.
- The Jackets are 8-8-2 in the last 18 vs. Washington.
- The CBJ are 0-3-1 in the last 4 games against the Caps.
- The last 5 games between the two teams have been decided by one goal.
Who to watch for Washington
- Tom Wilson has 10 goals and 18 points this season.
- Dylan Strome has 12 goals and 18 points.
- Alex Ovechkin only has 5 goals this season.
- Charlie Lingren is 6-3-2 with a save % of .925.
Player Notes
- Johnny Gaudreau has 19 points in 20 career games vs. the Caps.
- Ivan Provorov has 13 points in 34 games vs. Washington.
- Emil Bemstrom has 4 points in 6 games vs. the Capitals.
Injuries
- Jack Roslovic has a broken ankle and is expected to miss 6 weeks. (11/13)
- Damon Severson has an oblique injury and will miss 6 weeks. (11/21) - Severson is skating, and HC Pascal Vincent says he may play in one of the games before Christmas.
- Adam Boqvist will miss 4 weeks due to a shoulder strain. (12/6)
- Boone Jenner has a broken jaw and will be gone for 6 weeks. (12/9)
- Patrik Laine broke his collarbone and will be out for 6 Weeks. (12/14)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 108
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Bally Sports Ohio. As always, the legendary Jeff Rimer will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 105.7 FM with Dylan Tyrer behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.