The Blue Jackets completed the preseason slate Saturday night with a 4-2 comeback victory against Washington at Capital One Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
After a slow start for each side, things picked up as the game went on both in the scoring department and in physicality. The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes but got the tying goal early in the third and the winner in the final minutes as rookie Adan Fantilli scored with 3:43 to go.
CBJ Standouts
- Cole Sillinger tallied to tie the game in the third period and Fantilli gave the Jackets the lead for good.
- CBJ captain Boone Jenner notched his second goal of the preseason.
- Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist to finish the preseason with a 4-4-8 line in five games.
Quick Recap
The two teams went through a scoreless and quiet first period before splitting goals just 81 seconds apart early in the second period. Columbus got on the board first on a well-worked odd-man rush, with Alexandre Texier carrying the puck up the left wing and centering for Bemstrom, who quickly touched the puck to Jenner for the finish past goalie Charlie Lindgren at 4:57.
But just 1:21 later, Washington got on the board as Nic Dowd kept the puck in when it looked like the Jackets might break out, giving the Caps numbers. Dowd then threw the puck to the left circle, where John Carlson one-timed a shot past Elvis Merzlikins to make it 1-1. Washington then took the lead at 10:34 of the second, as Lucas Johansen shot the puck from the right wall and Alexander Ovechkin tipped the puck over Merzlikins and into the net despite the sliding effort of defenseman Ivan Provorov.
Columbus got the equalizing goal to make it a 2-2 contest at 6:29 of the third period. Off a faceoff, Sillinger battled his way into the pile, controlled the puck and put it on net, then tallied on the rebound past Lindgren despite losing his footing. Then with 3:43 to go, the Blue Jackets entered the zone and Kirill Marchenko found Fantilli for a quick shot past Lindgreen that made it 3-2.
Moments later, Merzlikins made a huge stop on Connor McMichael alone in front to keep the Jackets up. Laine then set the final score with 55.2 seconds to go with an empty-net goal.
Notable
Columbus finished the preseason with a 4-3-1 record. … Sillinger finished with two points on a goal and an assist. ... With his assist, Bemstrom finished the preseason with a 3-4-7 line in five games. ... Washington had a 27-25 edge in shots on goal. … The Caps were 0 for 3 on the power play, while Columbus was 0-1.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets’ roster could very well have been a precursor to the opening night 20, with all of the team’s big guns playing in the dress rehearsal game. The full roster can be seen here. In addition, defenseman Erik Gudbranson left the game after skating one shift in the third period.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets open their 23rd season of hockey Thursday night vs. Philadelphia in Nationwide Arena.
