Columbus Blue Jackets upend Washington Capitals in fiery preseason finale
The Blue Jackets finished the preseason on a high note Saturday night, leaving Capital One Arena with a comeback win and an internal fire sparked by the Washington Capitals' T.J. Oshie.
Oshie's open ice hit late in the second period on Adam Fantilli, the Jackets’ top prospect, provided the Jackets with an emotional rallying point for a 4-2 comeback victory to wrap up their exhibition schedule with a 4-3-1 record.
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Cole Sillinger tied it 2-2 early in the third, Fantilli scored the winning goal late in the period and Patrik Laine scored an empty-net goal to seal it with 56 seconds left. Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner opened the scoring at 4:57 of the second, which was countered by Washington's John Carlson just 1:21 later to even it at 1-1.
Oshie's hit, albeit clean, drew the Blue Jackets' ire near the end of the second. They confronted him on the ensuing shift and then regrouped for a push in the third period overcome a 2-1 deficit. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins was a big reason why, earning the win with 25 saves and not allowing another goal after Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals up 2-1 at 10:34 of the second.
That included a save against Ovechkin during 1:05 of a 5-on-3 for Washington with the game tied 2-2 in the third plus three more stops on shots from close range in the final two-plus minutes to preserve the lead. Darcy Kuemper started for the Capitals (3-2-1) and allowed three goals on 24 shots.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals notes
- Oshie upended Fantilli in the neutral zone late in the second and separated the Blue Jackets’ rookie from his stick. Fantilli was OK, but the hit drew his teammates’ attention. Jenner and defenseman Erik Gudbranson both went after Oshie on the ensuing shift, which prompted Washington forward Tom Wilson to go after Jenner in the period’s waning seconds. Oshie took a couple hits in the third, including a cross-check from Ivan Provorov that prompted the 5-on-3, but the game's boiling pot of emotions didn't spill into a melee. Instead, Fantilli took a nice pass from Kirill Marchenko with 3:43 to play and buried the winner past Kuemper for his second goal of the preseason.
- The Blue Jackets placed forward Trey Fix-Wolansky on waivers Saturday for the purpose of assigning him to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The Jackets also assigned defenseman Marcus Bjork, defenseman Billy Sweezey and forwards Josh Dunne, Brendan Gaunce and Carson Meyer to Cleveland after they cleared waivers.
- Sillinger’s goal, his second of the preseason, happened at a great time for the third-year forward. Sillinger is on the final year of his entry-level contract, which means the Blue Jackets don’t have to put him on waivers if they want him to start the season in Cleveland. That doesn't appear likely with him starting in this game, but the goal might’ve synched his spot in the lineup.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals statistical breakdown
-- Advanced stats per Natural Stat Trick
The Blue Jackets struggled out of the gate and couldn't gain any foothold during a first period controlled by the Capitals nearly start-to-finish. The good news for Columbus was Merzlikins' play in net. He stopped all nine shots he faced in the first to keep it 0-0 while the Blue Jackets were outshot 9-4.
Columbus steadily improved its play with and without the puck as the game progressed, finishing with slight edges in 5-on-5 attempted shots (28-27), shots on goal (14-12) and scoring chances (13-10) through the final two periods. Individually, the Blue Jackets' top line of Johnny Gaudreau with Laine and Marchenko had another dominant possession night as a group. During their 7:13 together at 5-on-5, the Blue Jackets had 75% of attempted shots (9-3), 88.9% of unblocked attempts (8-1), 75% of shots on goal (3-1) and 66.7% of scoring chances (4-2).
The "kid" line of Kent Johnson, Fantilli and Sillinger had a tough night together. During their 7:06 together, the Blue Jackets took just 22.2% of attempted shots (2-7), 25% of unblocked attempts (2-6), 20% of shots on goal (1-4) and 25% of scoring chances (1-3). Fantilli's goal was scored with Marchenko as his right wing and Sillinger's goal was scored while he was on the ice with Gaudreau and Laine.
Columbus Blue Jackets lineup at Washington Capitals
The Blue Jackets faced the Capitals in their preseason finale with their likely starting lineup to open the season, including Laine centering the top line. Here’s how it looked to start the game:
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Patrik Laine – Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier – Boone Jenner – Emil Bemstrom
Kent Johnson – Adam Fantilli – Cole Sillinger
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Justin Danforth
Defensemen
Provorov – Severson
Werenski – Jiricek
Bean – Gudbranson
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Fantilli's winner caps Blue Jackets' preseason with spirited comeback
