The Washington Capitals dropped to 1-3 in the preseason after the Columbus Blue Jackets found the end zone and converted a two-point conversion for an 8-4 victory. Columbus secured the victory despite major travel delays, which saw them arrive at the arena well after puck drop was scheduled at the start of the day.
Alex Ovechkin, Jakub Vrana, Dylan Strome, and Jakob Chychrun all got on the board for Washington. Charlie Lindgren took the loss in what turned out to be an ugly first outing for the team’s presumed number-one netminder.
- Really rough night at the office for Lindgren who allowed six goals on 25 shots. Per NaturalStatTrick, Lindgren allowed the six goals on just 2.31 expected goals against. While a couple of those goals featured some tough bounces and one-on-one chances for Columbus, Lindgren never seemed settled in his crease.
- Ovechkin got on the board with his very first shot of the preseason after he went without one against the New Jersey Devils earlier this week. The Capitals’ captain finished with a team-high four shots on goal and combined very well with Strome and Andrew Mangiapane for a second straight game. With those three on the ice, Washington saw positive differentials in shot attempts (+16), scoring chances (+5), and high-danger chances (+3). They did not allow a single high-danger chance for Columbus.
- Andrew Cristall was a major standout in his third game of the preseason and could be playing his way onto the team’s Opening Night roster. The 19-year-old winger delivered a pretty primary assist on Strome’s goal and was all around the puck the entire night. He led the Capitals in individual shot attempts (7), individual scoring chances (4), and individual high-danger chances (3).
- Vrana continued his fight to earn a contract with Washington as he potted his first goal of the preseason. His line with Connor McMichael and Ethen Frank played the least at five-on-five of any of the trios but were good in their minutes, creating three high-danger chances and giving up none.
- Jakob Chychrun skated a game-high 22:52 of ice time and was the only Capitals player to have a multi-point game, tallying two points (1g, 1a).
- The Caps will have the day off tomorrow and travel to Columbus, where they’ll participate in a team bonding event. There will likely be roster cuts before that, and I think fringe names like Frank, Pierrick Dubé, Alex Limoges, Riley Sutter, and Bogdan Trineyev could all be in jeopardy of being sent to AHL Hershey’s camp.
- Despite the lopsided score, made worse by Columbus’ two empty netters, the numbers favor Washington’s five-on-five effort in the loss. The Capitals, when adjusting for score and venue, controlled 53 percent of the shot attempts, 52.1 percent of the scoring chances, 60 percent of the high-danger chances, and 56 percent of the expected goals.
The Capitals have just two preseason games remaining for the coaching staff to continue evaluating and preparing for the start of the regular season. They’ll travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Monday night and then have almost a full week off before wrapping up their exhibition matchups with the Boston Bruins at home on October 5.
