The Washington Capitals fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 on Saturday afternoon at Nationwide Arena. It was simply not their day.
A game to forget and a rematch Sunday
Alex Ovechkin did not play but not because of injury just rather to take a game off. He deserved it after what he chased down all season long. Ethen Frank would draw into the lineup while Jakob Chychrun remained out. Dylan McIlrath came out for Alex Alexeyev to draw in. Hunter Shepard had the start in goal in a game he'd like to forget.
Zach Werenski struck first a minute into the opening period. Kent Johnson doubled the lead at 4:45. Adam Fantilli made it 3-0 at 19:24. Blue Jackets led in shots 8-6 after one.
Fantilli scored again in the second period at 2:01. Sean Monahan made it 5-0 at 4:37. Cole Sillinger put a touchdown on the game at 5:14. James van Riemsdyk made it 7-0 at 17:41 in the third. The Blue Jackets had an 8-5 edge in shots in the second period. Caps had the edge in shots 11-10 in the third period. Blue Jackets had the edge in shots 26-22 overall. Shepard finished with 19 saves.
"I worry about it from a standpoint of we're more of a team game (team), and when our team game slips, you see what happens tonight and some other nights down the stretch here. We've got to figure out a way to play the right way and.... get our game on track," Spencer Carbery told the media after the game.
The Caps will take on the Blue Jackets tomorrow night in a rematch in what will be the final home regular season game before the playoffs. That game is at 6 p.m. and you can catch the game on Monumental Sports Network.
Following that contest there's two more regular season games left both on the road for the Caps. First up is the New York Islanders on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. and then at the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.