What We Learned: CBJ 3, WSH 4 (OT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Overtime can break your heart in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blue Jackets, after a stinging 4-3 loss in overtime Saturday against the Washington Capitals, are determined not to let it break their spirit five games into an intense series in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Despite outplaying the Capitals for much of Game 5 at Capital One Arena, Nicklas Backstrom deflected a puck into the Blue Jackets' net for his second goal of the game to give Washington a 3-2 lead in the series - which continues Monday with Game 6 at Nationwide Arena.
"We'll be back here for Game 7," Columbus coach John Tortorella said afterward, reminiscent of Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin predicting after two games the series would return to Washington, D.C. tied 2-2 for Game 5. "I won't have to say a [single] word to [my team]. We'll be back here for Game 7."

First, they'll have to even things up again in Columbus, where the Capitals won back-to-back games Tuesday and Thursday to make Ovechkin's prediction reality. This was the first game won by a home team in the series, which has needed overtime to decide four of the five games, and there's no telling how the next game at Nationwide Arena will turn out.
If this game is any indication, expect Game 6 to be just as pulse-pounding. The Blue Jackets and Capitals have played the most entertaining series of the entire first round, regardless of conference, and Columbus now faces elimination as a possibility.
"I feel like we've been like this all year," captain Nick Foligno said. "Like [Thomas Vanek] said, 'We're the Blue Jackets. We don't do things easy. We do it the hard way. That's just the mentality in here. We're going to go home and we're going to have our crowd behind us and we also have a little more emotion towards that, that we really didn't play our best hockey in front of them. We kind of have that as a little momentum too, going home and knowing we can play a lot better in front of our crowd and get their momentum behind us. We're looking forward to that."
The Blue Jackets struck first, for the first time in the series, on a shorthanded goal 10:08 into the first period by Matt Calvert - who popped in two goals and leads Columbus with three goals in the series, including an overtime game-winner in Game 2.

Backstrom tied it with the first of his two goals, at 13:22 of the first, before the Capitals took a pair of one-goals leads that forced the Jackets to respond to with game-tying goals in the second and third.
After Evgeny Kuznetsov put Washington up, 2-1 just 3:21 into the second, Calvert tied it, 2-2, with his second of the game - scored off a breakaway. T.J. Oshie put the Capitals up 3-2 on a power play with 3:18 left in the second, but Oliver Bjorkstrand scored an equalizer 2:30 into the third, making it 3-3 to start the Jackets' best period of the game.
Columbus, which outshot Washington 42-29, just couldn't get a second goal past Braden Holtby in the third or OT, despite some great scoring chances.

Then there was Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who made several dazzling stops among his 25 saves. That included two in overtime, prior to Backstrom's game-winner.
"Initially, you're disappointed," Calvert said. "I think for myself, mentally, and I know the rest of the team will go through it, what the leaders got to do is, you've got to move on. I'm already over it. Bob's been great for us all series, the balance [up front] and the [defensemen] have played great too, but it's how you handle yourself mentally. That's going to determine whether we go back with a positive attitude in Game 6. I know the character, the grit and the leadership in here is going to make it that way, and we're going to have some fun in front of our fans."
Here's what we learned:
I: SUPER 'BOB' RETURNS
Bobrovsky's been good all series, but a save he made during a Capitals power play in the second even had Alex Ovechkin staring up at the replay afterward, shaking his head.
Washington kept the puck in the Columbus zone for much of the man-advantage midway through the period, which followed a tripping call that put Calvert in the penalty box. The puck came out to Kuznetsov, who wound up for a one-timer from above the right circle, but he instead sent it to Ovechkin with a diagonal shot-pass to the back door.
Bobrovsky, who had the near-side post covered, somehow pushed back to his right in time to deny Ovechkin, who pounded a low one-timer to the back side of the net. The puck hit Bobrovsky's right skate and he was then able to cover the puck for a stoppage.
It was Bobrovsky's third save this season that will likely get replayed a bunch on NHL Network, joining an incredible right skate save against a 2-on-0 in overtime Nov. 11 in Detroit and a blocker save to thwart a 2-on-1 in Montreal three days later (Nov. 14).
"You catch yourself every game shaking your head, with saves he makes," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "Tonight, we just wanted to get that one for him, the way he made some point-blank saves and some huge ones."
Bobrovsky wasn't done, though.
In overtime, he made two more great saves in overtime to deny goals off shots by Ovechkin (again) and defenseman John Carlson.
The second one against Ovechkin was against a one-timer for the Capitals' star left wing, alone in the slot, which Bobrovsky soaked up and froze - causing Ovechkin to again stare up at the video board above in disbelief. The one on Carlson was off a wrist shot, uncontested, from the doorstep. The puck hit Bobrovsky's glove and bounced away.
II: THE BIG TIPPER
Bjorkstrand has a great wrist shot, with a lot of velocity to it.
He tied the game, however, with a great impersonation of Thomas Vanek, who's one of the NHL's best at tipping shots past goalies. Standing in front of the Capitals' net early in the third, Bjorkstand saw Ian Cole launch a low shot from the left point and got his stick on it to change its path.
Holtby had no chance to stop it, as the puck changed directions sharply and went into the Capitals' net to tie the game, 3-3, on Bjorkstrand's first career playoff goal as an NHL player. It turned out to be a huge goal, too, when the game went to overtime for the fourth time in five games.
III: WENNBERG'S BACK
Alex Wennberg played a key role in creating Bjorkstrand's game-tying goal and helping the Blue Jackets re-establish their puck-possession game.
On Bjorkstrand's goal, Kuznetsov broke up a cross-ice pass in the slot, with the puck sliding a few feet away. Wennberg prevented him from clearing the zone by diving headfirst and chipping the puck out to Cole at the blue line.
Cole took a shot from there and Bjorkstrand tipped it past Holtby, giving Wennberg a secondary assist in his first game back from an upper-body injury that knocked him out of Game 1 in the third period and kept him out the previous three games.
"To have 'Wenny' back and how well he controls the puck, how much he controls the play and that sense of desperation that he has to see a loose puck and touch it back to me, it's a really heads-up play," Cole said.
Wennberg's presence at center of the second line also created more depth and balance throughout the forward lines, allowing Nick Foligno to center the third line and Brandon Dubinsky to re-join Mark Letestu on the fourth.
As a result, according to naturalstattrick.com, the Blue Jackets had the puck the most they have all series. They not only outshot the Capitals by 13, but took 56 percent of all 5-on-5 shot attempts in the game (70-55), created 10 more scoring chances (33-23) and finished with a 13-12 edge in high-danger chances (52 percent).
"He's our second-line center," Cole said. "You look at their team, what their team would be like without their second-line center (Backstrom), right? It's a huge hole. It's great to have him back. I thought he played great and really contributed for us. We're certainly looking for more from him and from everybody in Game 6."
IV: MR. APRIL
Calvert notched the second multi-goal playoff performance of his NHL career and has three goals in the series, including the overtime game-winner in Game 2 at Capital One Center. He has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 15 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Calvert began the playoffs at left wing on the fourth line, but has played the past three games in the same spot on the third line - playing Game 5 with Foligno at center and Josh Anderson on the right wing.
"It's just working hard," Calvert said. "It's win or go home. It's an all-out effort in the playoffs. We're just three hard-working guys and we're just trying to keep it simple, get pucks to the net and they're going in for us."
V: SO UGLY, YET SO BEAUTIFUL
Calvert's second goal was a thing of beauty. Sort of.
After the Capitals turned the puck over at the Columbus blue line, Calvert chased down the loose puck and turned it into a breakaway. He whiffed on the initial attempt, which would've been a forehand wrist shot, but had the wherewithal to know the puck was still near him.
"I was just looking to shoot, and I don't know if it jumped or I completely missed," Calvert said. "I made a quick turn on it and luckily it flipped in when [Holtby] bit on the shot. It was a good fake, but … yeah. That's about it."
Well, that wasn't completely it.
He scored with a spin move, sending the puck into the net off Holtby's left skate with a backhand that tied it, 2-2, 1:24 after Kuznetsov gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead off a 3-on-1 rush.
"I was trusting it was there," said Calvert, who wound up in the net with the puck and Holtby. "I knew I missed [the puck] and it's got to be in that same pocket, so I did a Spin-O-Rama and luckily it went in the back of the net. I could see it go in, as my head was crossing the goal line too. It was great to see that one go in.
VI: WHAT A THIRD
The Blue Jackets trailed 3-2 starting the third period but tied it on Bjorkstrands goal at 2:30 and then dominated the final 20 minutes of regulation time.
Columbus didn't get another goal out of it, thanks to some great saves by Holtby, but the Blue Jackets applied some intense pressure.
They outshot Washington 16-1, but according to naturalstattrick.com, they also took 73.8 percent of all 5-on-5 shot attempts (31-11) and generated 12 more scoring chances (16-4), including a 9-2 edge in high-danger chances.
VII: POWER OUTAGE
They started the series red hot on power plays, going 4-for-8 in the first two games, but since then the Blue Jackets have gone ice cold on the man-advantage.
They went 0-for-5 in Game 5 and have now gone 0-for-13 since Zach Werenski's power-play goal with 1:08 left in the second period of Game 2, which gave them a 4-3 lead in a game Calvert eventually won in OT.
The Capitals went 1-for-4 on power plays Saturday, are now 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) in the series and have scored at least one power-play goal in all five games.
"They're a good team, give them credit, that's what they do … they capitalize," Foligno said. "And you know what, our power play didn't tonight. We have chances. The first two games, our power play was unbelievable and we're winning hockey games, right? We've stalled off a little here. We've got to find a way to get that back."
VIII: STRONG START
It was happened while they were shorthanded, but the Blue Jackets still managed to take their first 1-0 lead of the series thanks to Calvert's first goal, midway through the first.
A bad bounce went against Columbus about three minutes later, resulting in Backstrom's tying goal, but the Blue Jackets had to feel good about the first 20 minutes. They had a lot more time in the offensive zone than in Game 4, outshot the Capitals 11-7 and took 57 percent of all shot attempts in the period.
Prior to this game, the Capitals had scored the first goal in each of the first four games and took 2-0 leads three times, forcing Columbus to claw out of multiple-goal deficits just to draw even.
Their early lead didn't last long, but the Blue Jackets weren't trailing after one period and started the second with a clean sheet. That's an improvement from some previous games.
IX: LUCKY BOUNCE(BACK)
It wasn't all good news for Columbus in the first, because Backstrom tied it 1-1 just 3:14 after Calvert beat Holtby shorthanded. It wasn't so much the goal that stung as it was the way it went into the net.
Backstrom sent the puck toward the crease with a backhand flip, from below the goal line, and watched it take two fortunate bounces for the Capitals into the net. First, it hit David Savard's right skate and then it hit Bobrovsky up high, flipping over him and landing in the net before Savard could reach over to swat it away.
"I was trying to make a pass," Backstrom said. "Honestly, got lucky. I don't know who came [open] back door there, but I was trying for him. I'll take it."
X: TROTZ DOESN'T BITE
Capitals coach Barry Trotz spoke with the media after Tortorella following the game and was asked about the Blue Jackets coach predicting the series would return for a deciding Game 7 on Wednesday.
Trotz said he understands where a statement like that comes from in such a tight series.
"Well, what else are you going to say?" Trotz said. "That's good. He wants to get it out there that he believes in his team, just as I believe in my team. So, it's our job for that not to happen and we're going to try to do that."
NEXT UP
The series continues in Game 6 on Monday at Nationwide Arena (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, 97.1 FM).