5 Keys: Capitals at Blue Jackets, Game 4

CAPITALS at BLUE JACKETS
7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-O, NBCSWA
Columbus leads best-of-7 series 2-1

COLUMBUS --The Washington Capitals will try to even the Eastern Conference First Round series when they play the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
Each game has gone into overtime and been won by the visiting team. The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets 3-2 in Game 3 on Tuesday on Lars Eller's goal at 9:00 of the second overtime.
"There's no reason to celebrate after one win," Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "We're still in a hole here when you look at the series."
This is the sixth series in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to begin with three straight overtime games. The most recent was when Washington played the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2017 first round. They tied an NHL record with five overtimes in that series.
Here are 5 keys for Game 4:
RELATED: [Complete Capitals vs. Blue Jackets series coverage]

1. Goalie matchup

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby has saved 40 of 43 shots (.930 save percentage) since replacing Philipp Grubauer at the start of third period in Game 2.
"There's still some mistakes made, some things I'd like to clean up here and there, but mentally it's always fun to get back in the playoffs," Holtby said. "That's what you play for. It's going to make for an exciting challenge tonight, one that we're looking forward to."

Sergei Bobrovsky has saved 96 of 103 shots (.932 save percentage) the past two games for the Blue Jackets. He had a 3.88 goals-against average in a five-game, first-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last year.

2. Managing fatigue

Fatigue could become a factor with the Blue Jackets and Capitals having played so much extra hockey, but Columbus coach John Tortorella scoffs at the idea that his players might be tired.
"There's no specific plan when I'm looking to give guys ice time," he said. "Some of it is earned. Some of it is being in situations."
The Capitals had the advantage in distributing minutes among the forwards in Game 2. Washington's fourth line of Chandler Stephenson, Jay Beagle and Alex Chiasson played a combined 42:03, compared to 22:14 for Columbus fourth-line forwards Sonny Milano, Mark Letestu and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

3. Strike first

Columbus wants to take advantage of the home crowd and force Washington to play from behind. The Capitals have scored the first goal in all three games and had two-goal leads in Games 1 and 2. The Blue Jackets had opportunities early to take the lead and win Game 3, but hit the post five times.
"Our starts haven't been great," Columbus right wing Thomas Vanek said. "Puck luck you can't really control, but you can control how you start and generate more chances, and hopefully with that they'll go in."

4. Winning the special teams battle

Washington was 1-for-4 on the power play in Game 3, a 5-on-3 goal by John Carlson, and is 6-for-17 in the series (35.3 percent). Columbus is 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) on the power play but was scoreless on four chances with two shots on goal Tuesday.

A big reason for the Capitals' success is that Holtby is a better puck-handler than Grubauer and can corral shots rimmed around the boards. He also is more confident in going after Blue Jackets' passes near the paint. Holtby is like an extra defenseman, and will get his stick in the passing lane, and Columbus will need to make adjustments.
"The biggest difference is, especially in a playoff series, is it's real physical," Orpik said. "If a goalie can come out it definitely minimizes the amount of times you get hit on the forecheck."

5. Quick on the draw

The Capitals' first three goals in Game 2 were off face-off wins. The Blue Jackets did a better job during Game 3 and won 54 percent of the draws.

Getting the proper matchups will be critical. Brandon Dubinsky was 18 of 28 (64.3 percent), and Mark Letestu and Boone Jenner each won six of nine (67 percent) for Columbus.
Washington will want to use Jay Beagle (9-for-15) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (12-for-20), both of whom were at 60 percent.

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:Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey, Shane Gersich, Pheonix Copley, Jakub Jerabek
Injured:Andre Burakovsky (upper body)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner -- Nick Foligno -- Thomas Vanek
Matt Calvert -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Josh Anderson
Sonny Milano -- Mark Letestu -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
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
Injured:Lukas Sedlak (upper body), Alex Wennberg (upper body)

Status report

Burakovsky will miss his second straight game. Vrana and Stephenson will switch lines from Game 3. … Wennberg has not played since being injured in Game 1.