The Washington Capitals downed the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1 Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of 35 shots faced and Tom Wilson and Sonny Milano recorded tallies in the victory. The win improves the Capitals record to 5-4-1 on the season.
LINEUP
Charlie Lindgren (0-1-0, 4.00 GAA, .868 sv%) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Elvis Merzlikins (3-2-2, 2.97 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Blue Jackets. The Capitals forward lines and defensive pairs:
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas – Connor McMichael – Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn – Hendrix Lapierre – Matthew Phillips
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Alex Alexeyev – Nick Jensen
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Scratches: Defensemen Hardy Häman Aktell and Lucas Johansen
Injuries: Center Nic Dowd, defenseman Joel Edmundson (hand; long-term injured reserve), and forward Max Pacioretty (Achilles; long-term injured reserve)
FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals opened the scoring in the first period on a wrist shot from the slot by Tom Wilson (3) at 12:21. Nick Jensen (2) and Rasmus Sandin (1) had the helpers.
that shot-pass had everybody fooled pic.twitter.com/EWNHENTmTc
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 4, 2023
The Capitals held the 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The Blue Jackets dominated five-on-five shot attempts, 23-9 and xGF, 1.11 to .37.
SECOND PERIOD
The Blue Jackets quickly closed the gap to 2-1 early in the middle frame. Dmitri Voronkov notched the Blue Jackets first marker at 1:38 of the second period, assisted by Kirill Marcenko (4) and David Jiricek (2).
Marchenko to Voronkov to get the Jackets on the board! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/EkEvr9j43r
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 5, 2023
And that was it for the middle frame. Capitals flipped the script on possession and 5v5 shot attempts in the middle frame, out-attempting #CBJ 28-11 and xGF 2.39 to .70.
THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals and Blue Jackets skated to a scoreless draw in the final frame.
SHAVINGS
- Sonny Milano scored his second goal of the season to extend the Capitals’ lead to 2-0. Milano, who was drafted by Columbus in the first round (16th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft, has recorded three points (2g, 1a) in seven career games against the Blue Jackets.
- The Capitals recorded a season-high 25 blocked shots against the Blue Jackets. John Carlson and T.J. Oshie led Washington with four blocked shots.
- The Capitals have killed off 12-straight opposing power-play opportunities over their last five games.
- Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of 35 shots faced against Columbus to earn his first win of the season. In two games this season, Lindgren has a record of 1-1-0 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
- With a 2-1 victory tonight against Columbus, the Capitals earned their 1,000th home win in franchise history. The Capitals are the 15th team in NHL history to win 1,000 home games and the first franchise to do so that entered the NHL in 1974 or later.
- Aliaksei Protas played in his 100th NHL game.
Capitals Postgame Audio