Jenner's late goal gives Blue Jackets win against Capitals

WASHINGTON --Boone Jenner scored with 45 seconds remaining in the third period, helping the Columbus Blue Jackets recover for a 5-4 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

Jenner's shot on the rush was saved by Ilya Samsonov, but Gustav Nyquist got the rebound and passed back to Jenner, who put a backhand over the goalie's left pad.
The goal came after Tom Wilson tied it 4-4 at 17:34, scoring from the low slot following a failed clearing attempt by Vladislav Gavrikov.
"We were on our heels a little bit. They were pushing and we just stuck with it," Jenner said. "Gus got to the rebound quick and made a nice play to me, and I just tried to finish it."

Patrik Laine had two goals and an assist, Adam Boqvist had a goal and an assist, and Trey Fix-Wolansky scored in his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets (21-22-1), who have won three of four. Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves.
"We found a way multiple times today," said Laine, who has scored six goals during a three-game multigoal streak. "Proud of our whole group today."
Nic Dowd had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (25-14-9), who have lost four of six. Pheonix Copley allowed four goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Samsonov, who made six saves.
"Everyone's a little fatigued over playing a lot of games, but it's real important to get together as a group and really play for each other," Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom said. "The only one that's going to turn this around is us players. We've just got to keep grinding and come together as a team and find our identity."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had an assist in 21:49 of ice time in his return after missing one game in NHL COVID-19 protocol. He is not eligible to travel with Washington for its game at the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday because Quebec requires a 10-day isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19.
Garnet Hathaway gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 17:19 of the first period, knocking in the rebound of Dowd's shot with a backhand.
Dowd scored 40 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0. His initial shot was saved by Merzlikins, but the rebound deflected in off the skate of Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Laine cut it to 2-1 at 9:38 with a one-timer from the left circle on the power play.

Boqvist tied it 2-2 at 12:42. Max Domi received a pass from Nyquist on a 3-on-2 before sending the puck back to Boqvist, who was the trailer on the play and beat Copley glove side from the high slot two seconds after a power play expired.
"Special teams hurt us, obviously. I actually thought we played really well 5-on-5," Dowd said. "They had a couple chances early where they hit the post, but we weren't giving them much and we had a 2-0 lead again in our building, and that's a really good spot to be in."
Evgeny Kuznetsov gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal from the right circle at 15:57, but Laine tied it 3-3 at 19:56 after Jenner pushed the puck back to him in the high slot off a face-off.
"We just have to find a way to play consistent 60-minute games," Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen said. "We have to learn to win games 1-0, 2-1, stuff like that. It can't be 4-4 run-and-gun style games. That's not winning hockey in the long run, in my opinion."

Fix-Wolansky put the Blue Jackets in front 4-3 at 2:40 of the third period when he skated off the bench, took a drop pass from Jack Roslovic, and had his shot trickle through Copley.
Fix-Wolansky, a seventh-round pick (No. 204) in the 2018 NHL Draft, finished with two shots, one hit and two blocks in 5:23 of ice time. His parents traveled from Edmonton to watch his debut.
"Coaches were telling me all night to shoot, so I shot the puck and I kind of heard the crowd roar a little bit, so I knew the puck was behind him," Fix-Wolansky said. "I tried just going to the net and I saw it go in, and it was probably the most excitement I've ever had in my life."
NOTES: Fix-Wolansky is the sixth player in Blue Jackets history to score in his NHL debut. ... Laine is the first player in Columbus history with three consecutive multigoal games. … Defenseman John Carlson had an assist on Kuznetsov's goal. It was his 557th point (124 goals and 433 assists), passing Dale Hunter for sixth in Capitals history.