5 Keys: Blue Jackets at Capitals, Game 1

BLUE JACKETS at CAPITALS
7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN360, TVAS3, NBCSWA, FS-O
WASHINGTON --The Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets will face one another in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for he first time when they play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

RELATED: [Complete Blue Jackets vs. Capitals series coverage]
The Capitals won the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season and are assured of home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets, the first wild card from the Eastern Conference, have not won a playoff series in three attempts since joining the NHL in 2000-01.
Here are 5 keys for Game 1:

1. Grubauer's opportunity

The Capitals begin a playoff series with someone other than Braden Holtby in goal for the first time since 2011. Philipp Grubauer
earned the chance to start Game 1
by finishing with the best save percentage (.933) and goals-against average (2.06) of any goalie since Oct. 27. Holtby was 34-16-4 this season, but his GAA (2.97) and save percentage (.907) were the poorest of his NHL career. Grubauer makes his second playoff start. He won Game 2 of the first round against the New York Islanders in 2015 as a fill-in when Holtby was ill.
"I look from game to game," Grubauer said. "That's all I look at. It's going through the first game. That's all that matters."

2. Bobrovsky's playoff struggles

Sergei Bobrovsky has won the Vezina Trophy twice in his six seasons with Columbus, but the playoffs have been another story. Bobrovsky is 3-10 with a 3.63 GAA and .887 save percentage in 18 postseason games (14 starts). However, 11 of those appearances have come against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2014 and 2017 playoffs; he's 3-8 and has allowed 40 goals in those games.
"I don't like to talk about those things," Bobrovsky said of his playoff struggles. "I think it's the personal development and you learn some things. Every game is different and every year is different."

3. Washington's depth at center

The Capitals are among the deepest teams in the playoffs at center with Evgeny Kuznetsov (83 points; 27 goals, 56 assists), Nicklas Backstrom (71 points; 21 goals, 50 assists) and Lars Eller (38 points; 18 goals, 20 assists). The Blue Jackets trust rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois (48 points; 20 goals, 28 assists) enough to play him on the top line, but the 19-year-old will have his hands full no matter who he's matched against. Alex Wennberg (35 points; eight goals, 27 assists in 66 games) had one point, an assist, in the first-round series loss to Pittsburgh last season.

4. Blue Jackets special teams

Columbus struggled on special teams for most of the season. The Blue Jackets faced 214 power plays, the second-fewest in the League, but finished 27th on the penalty kill at 76.2 percent and are facing the NHL's seventh-best power play (22.5 percent). Washington's Alex Ovechkin was second in the League with 17 power-play goals and has scored 15 power-play goals in the playoffs. The Blue Jackets were 25th on the power play (17.2 percent), and their 39 man-advantage goals were fewer than all but three teams.

5. Offense from defense

Each team relies on its defensemen to generate offensive opportunities. Washington's John Carlson led all defensemen with 68 points (15 goals, 53 assists), and Seth Jones of Columbus was 10th with 57 (16 goals, 41 assists). Zach Werenski, Jones' regular partner, also scored 16 goals and finished with 37 points. Washington's Dmitry Orlov (31 points; 10 goals, 21 assists) and Matt Niskanen (29 points; seven goals, 22 assists in 68 games) are also offensive contributors.

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner -- Alexander Wennberg -- Thomas Vanek
Oliver Bjorkstrand - Nick Foligno -- Josh Anderson
Matt Calvert - Mark Letestu -- Brandon Dubinsky
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Ian Cole -- David Savard
Ryan Murray -- Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched:Sonny Milano, Jack Johnson, Scott Harrington, Taylor Chorney, Dean Kukan, Alex Broadhurst, Markus Hannikainen
Injured:Lukas Sedlak (upper body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Andre Burakovsky -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Brett Connolly -- Chandler Stephenson -- Alex Chiasson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Jakub Jerabek
Philipp Grubauer
Braden Holtby
Scratched: Christian Djoos, Madison Bowey, Shane Gersich
Injured:Jay Beagle (upper body); Travis Boyd (illness)

Status report

Foligno is expected to play for the first time since March 24; he missed the final six games with a lower-body injury. … Beagle skated on his own for a fourth consecutive day after his teammates left the ice, but will not play. Boyd has not skated since April 5.