The Columbus Blue Jackets head to the nation’s capital to face the best team in the NHL tonight. The game has huge President’s Trophy implications, as Columbus is just two points behind the Washington Capitals, but even better than that- It’s one of two sneak previews we’re going to get for the best potential playoff series this year.
Coming off a difficult 5-2 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets must bounce back on the road. Coming into the game with no rest and a long trip to D.C., the Jackets have the opportunity to take first place in the NHL.
Columbus trails the Washington Capitals by two points; with a regulation win and a Pittsburgh Penguins loss, the Jackets will take control of first place in the league. This is a great test for the Jackets against one of the most explosive teams in the NHL.
The Washington Capitals enter the game leading the league in a couple key categories. Those include fewest goals allowed, and best goal differential. Second in those categories, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Capitals have scored 232 goals and allowed 161 this season. The Jackets have scored 230 and allowed 169. These are the most explosive offenses and the best two goaltenders in the league on display tonight.
Two Deep Teams
The Capitals are known for having depth in scorers and an all-star goaltender. The Jackets are quickly garnering that same reputation. With eleven skaters with ten or more goals, Columbus has proven their scoring comes from everywhere. Watching those scorers face off against Washington’s would make for an unbelievable series.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Capitals boast ten players with ten or more goals showing an equal amount of depth in scoring. They put that depth on display the last time these two teams met.
The depth of these two teams in a playoff series matchup would be so much fun to watch. Line for line these teams have an unreal amount of offensive prowess. Just imagine- Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and Alex Ovechkin, facing off against Nick Foligno, Alex Wennberg, and Brandon Saad.
Those six players have combined for 389 points this year- and that’s just the first line!
Last Time Out
The Jackets came into the last meeting on a historic win streak, and it was the Capitals playing the role of campus cop. You know, the kind that put streaking to an end. The Capitals put up five goals in that contest, all coming from different players.
That game kept the Jackets from breaking the NHL record and left them just one game short with a 5-0 shutout. They look for revenge tonight. With Sergei Bobrovsky fresh, expect a big game from him. A game that Columbus has been used to seeing and one they will definitely need tonight.
Top Notch Tendy
Bob has proven himself one of the best goaltenders in the league, as he currently leads the league in wins, goals against average and save percentage. Shortly behind him in all three categories, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.
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The Jackets will need a big performance from him tonight if they want to compete with the best team in the league.
As two of the best goaltenders, offenses, and team prepare to face off tonight, enjoy the preview of what could be the best playoff series in this year’s playoffs. Look for both teams to show off an explosive offensive attack and enjoy the goaltenders attempts to stifle those rushes.