EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND, GAME 4:
CAPITALS (1-2) AT BLUE JACKETS (2-1)
Location: Nationwide Arena, 7:30 p.m., Thursday
Local TV: Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Go (Jeff Rimer, Jody Shelley);
National TV: USA (Ken Daniels, Darren Pang); Sportsnet, TVA (Canada)
Radio: 97.1 FM & BlueJackets.com (Bob McElligott)
So, it's going to be one of those, huh?
The answer to that is undoubtedly, "yes," it is, with "it" being this Eastern Conference First Round series between the Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals and the way things have begun, with three straight games needing more than 60 minutes to decide.
This is only the 18th time in NHL history a series has featured three straight overtime games at any point and just the sixth time it's happened to begin a series. There's no reason to doubt whether Game 4 might go past three periods, either, because there's a decent chance it will.
Even the losing sides have acknowledged how close these games have been, including the Blue Jackets, who dropped their first game in the series to the Capitals, 3-2, in double overtime of Game 3 on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.
"It's fantastic," Columbus coach John Tortorella said of the series, which his team lead leads 2-1 after two OT wins in Washington, D.C. "[Tuesday night's] game was a great hockey game. As I said when we were on the other end of it out in Washington, to be involved in that, in the high-stake games, it's just a whole different level versus regular season. This is just different, playoff hockey, now three games going to overtime and one being doubled. It's a great series."
GAME 4 PREVIEW: Jackets, Capitals ready for more OT if necessary
After three straight overtime games, teams ready for another pivotal game.
![Gameday_0419](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_ratio16_9-size20/f_auto/prd/s57ixpnxyqovrfhg3srw.jpg)