SvoNotes: Blue Jackets trying to find a full 60 minutes

Down 2-0 after 40 minutes of hockey on Saturday night in Washington, staring a fourth straight defeat in the face, the Blue Jackets put together a third period of desperation.
Justin Danforth set up Eric Robinson's goal early in the period, and the Blue Jackets put together a good forecheck and pushed for the tying goal.
"Yeah, it was just, we knew if we got one in the third there, we'd be able to get on them and build that momentum," Robinson said. "We had a few chances there to tie it and it seemed like one was gonna go in, it just didn't happen."

As Robinson said, it didn't happen. The Blue Jackets never could quite get another golden chance against Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov, and once Garnet Hathaway put home an empty-net goal with 1:27 to go, it was the end of an 0-for-4 road trip for Columbus.

It was a tough night all around to get anything going, as the Blue Jackets were held to just 18 shots on goal the whole way. Washington played stifling defense, and the Blue Jackets just weren't able to generate much on Samsonov as the night went on.
There were a few chances -- Yegor Chinakhov continued to be snakebit, having a goal wiped off the board for offsides, while Adam Boqvist hit the post at one point in the second period.
But if there was a lesson to be taken, it's that the Blue Jackets need a 60-minute effort like the one they got in the third period. That has come in fits and starts during the four-game skid, but Columbus just hasn't put together enough minutes to grind out a victory.
"No one is going to give you a game," head coach Brad Larsen said. "It's the NHL. You've seen our schedule, who we're playing. We're playing all the top teams right now, and they're playing well, too. No one is going to hand you a game. You gotta go get it, and you have to find a way and grind through it, not just for 10 minutes or 12 minutes. It's gonna have to be shift after shift. We're learning some hard lessons here."
That will happen when playing a team like the Capitals that is leading the Metropolitan Division. The home team jumped on top early with Aliaksei Protas taking advantage of a broken play, a puck that dribbed on goalie Daniil Tarasov that the netminder couldn't parry far enough away. Protas was there to jump on the puck and beat Tarasov back to the far post and give the Caps a 1-0 lead 4:33 into the game.
In the second period, the game-winning goal came off the stick of Alexander Ovechkin, who earned his 20th goal of the season, his 20th goal ever against the Blue Jackets and the 750th goal of his NHL career. He came into the right circle and found Tarasov a little too close to the near post, beating him to the blocker far side with a hard wrist shot to make it 2-0.
Danforth made a nice play to feed Robinson for a slam dunk that made it 2-1 just 6:28 into the third, but while the Jackets had some good moments, they just couldn't get the tying goal.
"I think we all know what the situation is right now," Danforth said. "We're doing whatever it takes to try to get a win. The first two periods, they were all over us, but Tarry kept us in it. The third period, that's how we play hockey. We simplified the game and were heavy on the forecheck, good sticks on pucks, we were turning pucks over. That's how we have to do it.
"I thought we had a chance there in the last 10 minutes. We were all over them, but it just wasn't the case tonight."

Tarasov Shines Again

Thursday morning, Tarasov didn't have a ton of time to really think about his first NHL start. He woke up in Cleveland, flew to Dallas, took a nap and was on the ice, making 34 saves in a 3-2 setback against the Stars.
This time around, there was no crazy travel, just a much more normal gameday experience for the 22-year-old Russian. And he turned in another excellent game, stopping 29 shots including a handful of dangerous chances for the Capitals including a breakaway by Connor McMichael that forced him to go to full extension with his right pad.
"Yeah, much more comfortable," he said. "Second game, it was more comfortable. The guys helped me a lot. We didn't have the hard start like the last game, so it was good."

Through two games, he has performed admirably with both Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins both out because of illness, posting a save percentage of .926.
"He's a phenomenal goalie," said Danforth, who saw Tarasov play earlier this season with Cleveland of the AHL. "I hear it around the room. A lot of guys come up to me and are like, 'Wow, he's a top-end goalie.' You could see it tonight. He wasn't nervous at all. You're playing against Washington, they have some big shooters there. He did a great job tonight. He kept us in the game. It goes to show what kind of a pro he is and what kind of future is in store for him."
There was also the connection between Tarasov and Ovechkin, as the two both call Russia home. Ovechkin finished with just two shots on goal, one a power-play slapper from his office in the first period that Tarasov turned aside. The other was the goal.
"He's one of the greatest players in the world," Tarasov said. "It was good to play against him. I saw him when I was a kid. I can say I played against a real legend. It feels good."
As for facing the Great 8's legendary shot, he said, "Yeah, it's pretty hard. It's one of the hardest shots in the league."

Danforth Does It

One of the biggest questions pregame was how Danforth would fare in his first NHL game at the center position, and the answer turned out to be pretty good.
He was one of the most energetic and dangerous Blue Jackets on the night, setting up Robinson's goal by skating down a puck and centering it into the blue for the tap home. In the third period, he centered a line with Robinson and Gregory Hofmann that had some of the team's best chances, and Danforth finished with three hits, five faceoff wins in seven chances and the assist in 10:10 of action.
"I didn't even know it was Eric, to be honest with you," he said. "I just saw it was one of our jerseys going hard to the net. I knew if I put the puck there, he had a pretty good chance of hitting it home."
It was a goal that seemed to spark the Jackets a bit, and while an equalizer didn't follow, Danforth said putting one behind Samsonov showed it could be done.
"I think when we're struggling to score a goal in the game and you finally get one, it relieves a bit of pressure off the guys -- 'OK, here we go, it's possible.' " he said. "I think you could feel that within the group, that, 'OK, we're back in this. We're one shot away.' You could see it out there on the ice, the desperation from just that we really want to win."

Stats and Facts

• Ovechkin scored his 750th goal and became the second-fastest player in NHL history to reach the mark (1,222 games played) behind only Wayne Gretzky (1,001).
• He also became the seventh player in NHL history to record 20 goals in 17 consecutive seasons. He joined Gordie Howe (22), Brendan Shanahan (19), Marcel Dionne (17), Brett Hull (17), Jaromir Jagr (17) and Mats Sundin (17).
• Zach Werenski got an assist on Robinson's goal and now has a 3-7-10 line in the last 11 games. He led the team with seven shot attempts, one more than Jake Bean.
• Columbus has spent much of the season in the top 10 of the league in goal-scoring, but the team finished the four-game road trip with just six tallies.
• The Blue Jackets won 29 of 44 faceoffs, led by Sean Kuraly, who went 12-2 at the dot.