5 Keys: Blue Jackets at Capitals, Game 5

BLUE JACKETS at CAPITALS
3 p.m. ET; NBC, NBCSN, SN, TVAS
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2

WASHINGTON --The Washington Capitals will try to take the lead for the first time in their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Capital One Arena on Saturday.
RELATED: *[Complete Capitals vs. Blue Jackets series coverage*]
The Capitals tied the best-of-7 series 2-2 with a 4-1 win in Game 4 at Columbus on Thursday. Neither team has won a home game.
Here are 5 keys for Game 5:

1. An early goal

The Blue Jackets have fallen behind 2-0, 2-0, 1-0 and 3-0 in the first four games. They rallied to win the first two but are making things harder on themselves. Columbus needs to make Washington chase for once.

"It'd be nice to get on the score sheet first," Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson said. "But we're a resilient club. You're never out of the fight until the final whistle."

2. Improved Capitals penalty kill

The Blue Jackets scored on four of their first eight power plays in the series, but their last man-advantage goal was at 18:52 of the second period in Game 2 by defenseman Zach Werenski. The Capitals have killed eight in a row.
"There's adjustments, triggers and commitment level," Washington coach Barry Trotz said. "When they all come together you're going to have better success. If you're missing one of those elements … you'll be frustrated because one part of it broke down and the puck usually winds up in the back of the net."

3. More secondary scoring

The top players have produced for each team. Washington's top two lines have 23 points, Columbus' have 20. The Capitals' third and fourth lines have six points, and the Blue Jackets' have five. Which team will get offense from the bottom six Saturday?

4. Get to Holtby

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby has looked like his old self since coming into the series in the third period of Game 2, making 63 saves on 67 shots. The Blue Jackets were somewhat unlucky with pucks off the post in Games 3 and 4.

"There were still times where I would've liked to play a few of them better," Holtby said. "I got fortunate on a couple."

5. Keep Panarin under wraps

The Capitals struggled with Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin, who had two goals and five assists through the first three games. But they swarmed him in Game 4 and dropped into a version of the neutral zone trap that left Columbus flustered.
"I don't think frustration is an emotion that is beneficial," Columbus defenseman Ian Cole said.

Blue Jackets projected lineup

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

Capitals projected lineup

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

Status report

Burakovsky needs surgery and is out for the rest of the first round. … Wennberg returns from an upper-body injury and Milano will be a healthy scratch.