GAME 3 PREVIEW: Jackets look to keep scoring, stay out of the box

EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND, GAME 3:
CAPITALS (0-2) AT BLUE JACKETS (2-0)
Location: Nationwide Arena, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday
Local TV: FOX Sports Ohio/FOX Sports Go (Jeff Rimer, Jody Shelley) - FOX Sports Ohio channel finder
- Columbus/Lima and Cleveland areas can find the game on the main FOX Sports Ohio cable channel
- Cincinnati, Dayton, Louisville/Lexington, Charleston/Huntington, Toledo areas can find the game on the alternate FOX Sports Ohio cable channels
National TV: NBCSN (U.S.); SN360 (Canada); TVA Sports (Canada)
Radio: 97.1 FM & BlueJackets.com (Bob McElligott)
Prepare the cannon and make sure to bring your ear plugs.
An exciting first-round series between the Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals is headed to Columbus, which means it could get pretty loud inside Nationwide Arena if the home team continues its torrid scoring pace.
After scoring four-or-more goals in 14 of the final 20 games in the regular season, going 12-0-2 in those games, Columbus continued to pile up goals in the first two games of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After winning the first two games of this first-round series in overtimes at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the Blue Jackets already have nine goals to their credit.
They scored 79 goals in their final 20 games, going 14-4-2 and averaging 3.95 goals per game, and haven't missed a beat thus far in the postseason.
"I just think we have found our confidence at the right time, for a lot of our main players," coach John Tortorella said, following the Jackets' 5-4 victory in overtime Sunday in the nation's capital. "We were struggling through the middle of the year, when a lot of those guys weren't going. I think our team has found itself and feels good about itself at the right time, and it's showing here."

VISIT THE BLUE JACKETS STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB
It's showing in their offensive production, but also in the way they continually claw their way out of holes within games. They've fallen behind first in six of the past 10 games, including regular-season games, and have come back to win four of those games.
Hearing or saying the term, "finding a way to win," has become commonplace with the Blue Jackets this season, but especially of late. Since the NHL Trade Deadline passed Feb. 26, ushering in three veterans in separate deals, Columbus has become more balanced, more experienced and more dangerous offensively.
It also helps that goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is feeling good.
The Blue Jackets aren't spending any time looking backward, though. They're looking ahead, knowing the Capitals won the Metropolitan Division with 105 points this season and will press even harder to get back into the series.
"We're in a good spot, but by no means is this thing over," Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones said. "We've got to get to four games. We're going to do the same thing. We're not going to change a thing. Less penalties is the only thing. You give dangerous players too many opportunities, they're going to make something happen."
Penalties have certainly been an issue for Columbus, which has been whistled for 13 of them in the first two games. Washington has scored five power-play goals already, so the Jackets know they can't afford to keep giving the Capitals loads of time with a man-advantage.
"Sometimes it doesn't always go according to plan," Jones said. "[It's a] game of mistakes. That's all I can say about that one. We can't take five, seven, eight penalties a game. They have such great players and such great chemistry. Those guys have been on the PP together for I don't know how many years, and they know each other well."
SERIES RECAP
GAME 1
The Capitals took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals scored late in the first period by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who made the Blue Jackets pay a heavy price for Josh Anderson's heavy hit on defenseman Michal Kempny. Anderson was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct, which led to Kuznetsov's goals. Columbus clawed its way back on goals in the second by center Alexander Wennberg and veteran Thomas Vanek early in the third. Devante Smith-Pelly and Seth Jones traded goals past the midway point in the third, and Artemi Panarin won it for the Blue Jackets at 6:03 3 of overtime.
GAME 2
Washington built another 2-0 lead in the first period on the first two goals of the series by Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals allowed a breakaway goal by Cam Atkinson in the final stages of the first period, but Ovechkin's second power-play of the game started the scoring in the second period and pushed Washington's lead back up to 3-1. Columbus got the next three goals, by Anderson, Atkinson and Zach Werenski to take a 4-3 lead into the third. Washington outshot the Jackets 21-5 in the third, tying it late on a power-play goal by T.J. Oshie, but again the Jackets prevailed in overtime. Matt Calvert got the game-winner and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made a franchise-record 54 saves.
WHO'S HOT
Capitals: John Carlson has back-to-back games with three assists, helping on six of Washington's seven goals to start the series. Carlson is now tied with Scott Stevens for the Capitals' franchise record with three career three-assist playoff games.
Blue Jackets: Artemi Panarin had two more assists in Game 2 and has started the postseason with back-to-back multi-point games. Including the end of the regular season, Panarin has finished with multi-point games in seven straight games; Bobrovsky has stopped 81 of 88 shots for a .920 save percentage in the first two games.
SERIES ANALYTICS
Columbus
Washington
SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY
Columbus
Washington
PENALTY KILL
Columbus
Washington
SCOUTING REPORT
EYES ON: THE CAPITALS
EYES ON: THE BLUE JACKETS
PROJECTED LINEUPS
CAPITALS
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly - Lars Eller - Devante Smith-Pelly
Chandler Stephenson - Jay Beagle - Alex Chiasson
Defensemen
Michal Kempny - John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov - Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik - Christian Djoos
Goaltenders
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Madison Bowey, Andre Burakovsky (upper body), Jakub Jerabek, Shane Gersich, Brian Pinho, Travis Boyd, Pheonix Copley
BLUE JACKETS
Forwards
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner - Nick Foligno - Thomas Vanek
Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Josh Anderson
Sonny Milano - Mark Letestu - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Defensemen
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Ian Cole - David Savard
Ryan Murray - Markus Nutivaara
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Others: Markus Hannikainen, Alexander Wennberg (upper body), Alex Broadhurst, Taylor Chorney, Jack Johnson, Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan, Lukas Sedlak (upper body)