Jackets Down Caps, 2-1

Yegor Chinakhov's goal at 6:46 of the third period snapped a 1-1 tie with the Capitals stood up as the game-winner in a 2-1 Columbus victory on Saturday night in Columbus. Chinakhov's goal gave the Blue Jackets their first lead of the night and enabled them to overcome the Caps, who had the better of the territorial and possession battles over the game's first 40 minutes.

Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins went the distance, making 34 saves to earn the victory. One of his best stops of the night came in the waning seconds of the contest with the Caps vying for the equalizer with a sixth attacker. After stopping Anthony Mantha's bid from down low on the right side, Merzlikins slid across and denied Erik Gustafsson's rebound attempt with 15.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
"I thought there were some good looks and some good chances," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "We kept the puck on the wall a lot in the offensive zone; we couldn't get it off to the middle. But when we did, we had some good looks and chances and he made some good saves in there.
"It's tough, you're going into that third period and you think you're doing the right thing, and it comes back and just takes one time and it's in the back of your net. But I thought the guys played hard. It was a pretty good showing."
Saturday's loss leaves the Caps with a 2-1-1 record for the preseason The two teams will meet again a week from tonight in Washington in the exhibition finale for both sides.
Playing for the second time in as many nights, the Caps got off to a good start in Saturday's game. Before the first television timeout, Washington managed to draw a penalty in its own end of the ice. After moving up ice and getting an extra skater on for goaltender Charlie Lindgren, the Caps took a 1-0 during the delayed penalty.
Aliaksei Protas missed wide on a shot try, and Merzlikins set aside Trevor van Riemsdyk's shot from the point. Merzlikins also stopped Mantha's long drive from the right side, but Protas was there to bury the rebound at 7:01 of the first for a 1-0 Caps lead. Washington kept possession of the puck for 53 seconds between the time of the penalty call and Protas' lamplighter.
Shortly after the midpoint of the first, Columbus pulled even on a Carson Meyer goal from the shot, the first goal allowed in this preseason by either of the Caps' varsity goaltenders, Lindgren and Darcy Kuemper. The Caps' newly minted netminding tandem went exactly 112 minutes into the preseason before being nicked for a goal. The Meyer tally made it a 1-1 contest at 12:03.
The Caps killed off a late Columbus power play with aplomb late in the first. Garnet Hathaway blocked the lone Jackets shot try during that penalty killing mission, and Protas, Connor Brown and Nic Dowd each was able to strip a Columbus skater of the puck during that kill.
Neither team was able to score in the second period, and Washington's penalty killing unit again did good work, killing off a bench minor for too many men without incident. The Caps were noticeably aggressive on the kill, challenging the puck holder and taking away time and space to good effect.
"No question," says Laviolette. "You're trying to jump and move and see if we can force the issue a little bit. I thought it was really good. I think the guys are learning it, because it's been broken groups. We haven't really had our team in for meetings for the most part, so when we get together on a game day, we're feeding them information. And from game one, we take what we see and we feed it into game two and game three, and so hopefully it keeps building. But I thought the pressure was pretty good tonight."
The pressure is noticeable, particularly among the penalty-killing forwards high in the zone.
"That's definitely a big focal point," says Hathaway. "What we say is 'controlled aggression.' And we're building the foundation right now. It's okay if you make mistakes, but we're going to learn what works for us. We're going to try and pick our spots right now on when to pressure, when to force them to make a play, and then when to be controlled and fall back a little bit and be a little more structured.
"But there's a few changes, noticeably more aggressive. but a lot of communication and some guys pulling us aside to make sure if we have any questions, [they're] answered. I think we're growing with it right now."
Columbus came out with some jam in the third, and the Jackets grabbed the lead when the lefty shooting Chinakhov motored down the right side and fired a precision shot to the far side - the glove side of Lindgren - at 6:46.
After putting up 14 shots in each of the game's first two periods, the Caps managed only seven in the third, and three of those came in the final 70 seconds as they pushed for the tying tally with Lindgren on the bench for an extra attacker.
Playing for the fourth time in as many games, Protas was once again a standout.
"He's here working, and they all are," says Laviolette. "But he continually gets called back up because of his game and the way he is playing the game. It's training camp. We're here to evaluate all the players, and I thought he had another strong game tonight.
"Pro is really skating hard, he's physical, he's on the puck. His effort is really good, so he's noticeable."