The Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets met yesterday for the second time in as many days. Saturday’s 7-0 shutout loss in Columbus clearly did not go Washington’s way, but the hope was that they would bounce back in DC yesterday and snag a win in their final home game of the season. Sadly, that was not the case. The Caps had a much better start to their game, but it was all downhill from there on the road to a 4-1 Columbus win. Yes, the Jackets had everything to play for and the Capitals did not, but Saturday’s blowout loss certainly warranted a better response than the Caps gave. Once again, a series of simple mistakes were the Capitals’ undoing. Let’s unpack a few of them…
Adam Fantilli’s first goal of the game came after Tom Wilson mishandled a pass from Rasmus Sandin and the puck ended up right on Fantilli’s stick in the slot. This error was uncharacteristic for Wilson, and it cost them the eventual game-winning goal.
Adam Fantilli’s next goal was courtesy of an admittedly incredible pass from Kent Johnson, so credit where credit is due there. However, the Capitals’ defense was…an absolute mess on this play. Pay close attention to the players in black in the replay below, and count how many of them simply aren’t on their feet:
The Blue Jackets’ fourth and final goal of the game was a tally from Dmitri Voronkov, assisted by…Dylan Strome. Yes, you read that right, a CBJ goal with a primary assist from Stromer. Strome was trying to clear the puck out of his own zone but turned it over at the blueline to Voronkov, who turned right around and scored.
All of these defensive errors combined with not being able to solve Jet Greaves for the second day in a row meant the Caps lost this one 4-1. They have two games left this season, a meeting with the Islanders on Tuesday and a season finale in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Fingers crossed they can tighten their game up and ride some positive momentum into the postseason.