Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Capitals

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at CAPITALS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 21-40-7, 8th in Metropolitan
WASHINGTON: 33-31-7, 5th in Metropolitan
CAPITAL ONE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
Caps Player Statistics
NHL Standings
RECENT ARTICLES
SvoNotes: Foudy putting it together
Prospect Report: Ceulemans
Laine center of attention

What They're Saying

For 30 minutes on Sunday, the Blue Jackets stood toe-to-toe with the first-place team in the Western Conference.
Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena was rocking as usual, but Columbus was locked in a tight 1-1 battle with the Golden Knights.
Then, everything fell apart. The Blue Jackets ceded four goals in the final 10 minutes of the second period, and it was academic from there as Vegas captured a 7-2 win.
"I thought the second part of the first period and the second period, we had our chances," associate coach Pascal Vincent said. "We were moving the puck quick, we were playing fast.
"The difference between a good team and a team in our position right now, we need to be able to sustain that pace for 60 minutes. We're going to get there. Just right now, it's not the case. As soon as you slow down just a little bit, then the good teams take advantage of that. We had good moments. We had our chances. We just need to sustain it for 60 minutes."
It's been a common theme throughout the season, and on the road trip. The Blue Jackets got off to a similar even start against a very good Los Angeles team on Thursday, then saw the game get away as the Kings scored four times in the second period.
The biggest lesson from a tough season will be the experiences the young players have gotten and what everyone has learned about the need to play complete games at the highest level.
"I feel like we were in it pretty good," said Patrik Laine, who made his NHL debut at the center spot. "They scored, and I don't know what happened, but we kind of just stopped playing. There is a reason why they are the No. 1 team in the West. They are going to feed it to you if you're not playing hard, and we definitely learned that again today."

Know The Foe: Washington Capitals

Head coach:Peter Laviolette (Third season)
Season Stats: Goals per game: 3.09 (20th) | Scoring defense: 3.04 (13th) | PP: 21.4 percent (15th) | PK: 83.1 percent (4th)
The narrative:The 2018 Stanley Cup champs are in a dogfight to keep their eight-season playoff streak alive, and it appeared at the deadline the team realized it needed to look for the future with a bevy of trades that sent Dmitri Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to Boston, Lars Eller to Colorado, Erik Gustafsson to Toronto and Marcus Johansson to Minnesota. But the veteran Capitals remain in the mix, five points out of a playoff spot, and they can't be discounted until the final horn sounds.
2022-23 leaders:Pretty much any NHL observer knows who's gonna be at the top of the scoring chart for the Capitals, as Alexander Ovechkin remains a wonder in his 18th NHL season. Ovechkin is now second all-time in the league in goals, including 39 this year, which places him tied for eighth in the NHL this season. He leads the squad with 68 points as well thanks to 29 assists to go with those goals.
Following up, Dylan Strome has had an excellent season, with the 25-year-old center posting a 17-35-52 line. Evgeny Kuznetsov is next with a 12-39-51 line, while T.J. Oshie has 18 goals. It's been a tough season as far as injuries go, though, as Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and John Carlson all have missed extended time.
In net, Darcy Kuemper's first season in Washington has seen its share of ups and downs, as in 48 starts he's 20-22-5 with a 2.77 GAA and .910 save percentage. Charlie Lindgren backs up and has a 13-9-2 record.
What's new: A 4-4-1 record in March has allowed the Caps to hang around the playoff race, but trading Gustafsson (fourth on the squad in points), Johansson (eighth) and others has signaled this is a squad looking more toward next year than the rest of this season. One nice addition has been defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who has 1-10-11 in eight games on the blue line since being added from Toronto.
Trending:Washington has won all three games in the season series to this point, though Columbus did grab a point in a 4-3 overtime contest in the last meeting Jan. 31 in Nationwide Arena.
Former CBJ:Sonny Milano has found a home in Washington, as the 2014 CBJ first-round pick has a 10-20-30 line in 56 games to place seventh on the team in scoring. Defenseman Gabriel Carlsson also has played in five games.

3 Keys to the Game

Structure: Some weird things have happened along the way, but this is just the second time in franchise history that Columbus has allowed at least seven goals in consecutive games. The Jackets need to find something close to the team game they showed in their last trip to DC, a 1-0 loss in January.
Laine in the middle: Laine's first crack at playing the center position Sunday had its fair share of good moments, and it will be fun to watch as long as it lasts. With two assists there, he showed some potential playmaking acumen in the middle.
Finish strong: The Blue Jackets are back on Eastern time after four games out West. Perhaps that will help bring this season-long road swing to a close on a positive note.

3 Stats to Know

• With two goals in the last three games, Kirill Marchenko has 18 goals and three assists on the season, making him the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 assists. Only one player in the NHL's modern era -- Florida's Brandon Pirri, with 22-2-24 in 2014-15 -- has finished a season with at least 15 goals and only three assists, per Hockey Reference.
• Laine has three multipoint games in the last four outings. That includes a 5-7-12 line in the last nine contests, a 6-9-15 line in the last 11 games and a 13-21-34 line in the last 30 games.
• Milestone watch: Laine is two goals from 200 for his NHL career (198-179-377, 461 GP).

Who's Hot

The Blue Jackets rank fifth in the NHL in power-play percentage since Jan. 21, converting on 17 of 64 opportunities over the last 22 contests (26.6 percent). … Johnny Gaudreau has a 2-6-8 mark in the last five games. … Liam Foudy has notched five goals in the last 14 contests. … Marchenko's 18 goals are the second-most ever for a CBJ rookie, two behind Pierre-Luc Dubois (2016-17), and he is tied for third in the league among rookie goal scorers. … Kent Johnson has 1-4-5 in the last six games, and his 14-20-34 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for sixth) and points (tied for fifth). He ranks sixth in the NHL in goals and is fifth in points among rookies. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place second in points with 45-47-92 in 69 games. … Now with a team-best 23 goals on the season after scoring four in the last five games, Boone Jenner has consecutive 20-goal campaigns and three in his CBJ career. He joins Vyborny, Rick Nash, R.J. Umberger, Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand as the only Blue Jackets with three or more such seasons. … With Michael Hutchinson's assist against Anaheim on Friday night, the Blue Jackets have three goalies with points for the first time ever. He joins Daniil Tarasov, who got an assist Tuesday in San Jose, and Elvis Merzlikins.

This Day in CBJ History

March 21, 2014: The Blue Jackets sign goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to an entry-level contract. The 2012 third-round pick would go on to play in eight seasons with the Blue Jackets.
March 21, 2015: Rene Bourque's overtime winner against Calgary gives the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory at the Saddledome.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Patrik Laine - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Boone Jenner - Jack Roslovic
Liam Foudy - Cole Sillinger - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Lane Pederson - Mathieu Olivier
Nick Blankenburg - Erik Gudbranson
Tim Berni - Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther - Adam Boqvist
Daniil Tarasov
Michael Hutchinson
Scratches:Sean Kuraly (oblique, out six weeks as of March 3), Elvis Merzlikins (personal)
Injured reserve:Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:The move of Laine to center Sunday in Las Vegas went well enough that the Blue Jackets will keep him there for tonight's game. The roster will be the same, with Tarasov getting the start, while head coach Brad Larsen remains away from the team after a death in the family.