Blue Jackets impress despite 1-0 loss to Washington Capitals
WASHINGTON — Among the most important things the Blue Jackets need their young team to learn is how to handle the relentless grind of the NHL schedule.
There’s a lot of hockey during an 82-game schedule and it doesn’t grant much time to celebrate highs or wallow in the lows. Games arrive in waves and it can be overwhelming for those not used to it. Growth opportunities arise with nearly the same frequency and the Blue Jackets grew from a challenging one Sunday in a bittersweet 1-0 loss to the Washington Capitals.
“That was an excellent game by us all the way around, (from the) goaltender out,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said after watching his team outshoot Washington 37-19. “The compete (level) was very high. We had a ton of looks. It was good.”
It was also the day after rookie Kirill Marchenko thrilled a sell-out crowd Saturday at Nationwide Arena with his first NHL hat trick in a 4-3 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Still missing nine NHL regulars, the Blue Jackets didn’t show signs of fatigue, physical or mental, and did everything they could to win except get the puck past Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper.
It was the fourth time this season Columbus was shut out, but this one was different.
The Blue Jackets (12-25-2) overcame an early push from the Capitals (23-14-6) and steadily gained command from about the 10-minute mark of the first to the final horn. Erik Gustafsson scored the lone goal 2:43 into the game, but even that was helped through goalie Elvis Merzlikins’ pads by a fortunate deflection off the skate of Blue Jackets rookie defenseman Tim Berni.
“I feel like we played a good game,” said Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, who led all players with nine shots. “Sometimes when you play good games, (you don’t get) the results and we couldn’t score, so it came down to zero goals. But we had a lot of chances and I feel like overall we played a good 60 (minutes), which we haven’t done too many times this year.”
Columbus outshot Washington in all three periods. After finishing the first with a 12-8 advantage, the Blue Jackets cranked out margins of 12-5 in the second and 13-6 in the third, including a late 6-on-5 push for the last 1:28 with their net empty.
During that stretch, the Capitals blocked three shots and Kuemper made key saves against Kent Johnson, Laine and Johnny Gaudreau.
“That’s a game you want to win so badly,” Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke said. “For 60 minutes, we put it all together there. I think every guy can look themselves in the mirror and be like, ‘I put it all on the table.’ That’s the unfortunate part. Sometimes, you’ve got to tip the cap to the goalie and we’ve just got to take what the game gave to us and move on from it.”
It was the latest “bad luck” goal for Merzlikins, but it stiffened the resolve of both the goalie and his team. Merzlikins only needed to make 18 saves to keep the Blue Jackets within a goal and he held up his end of the bargain. The Blue Jackets just couldn’t help him out offensively, which has become an issue of late with such a green team facing a parade of strong defensive teams.
As Larsen said, it was an impressive performance. The Capitals had a day off Saturday while the Blue Jackets played Carolina and Washington also got top forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson into the lineup for the first time this season.
Holding the Capitals to a season-low in shots, despite losing, is the kind of thing a struggling young team can use as a badly needed building block.
“We have nine NHL regulars out who’ve been through it and understand back-to-backs, the grind of it,” Larsen said. “With youth, you hope you get energy, a quick recovery and all that stuff, but you have to manage it. You have to dig deep. You have to bring that same energy you brought (before). That’s the consistency. There can’t be a big drop-off in there and you’ve got to go through it.”
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Washington Capitals takeaways
— This one stung, but not in the usual way. While the Blue Jackets didn’t get the result they wanted out, they did leave Washington knowing there wasn’t a lot else they could’ve done. That’s a feeling they haven’t had nearly enough this season, which is a positive in itself.
Despite not scoring, Columbus finished with advantages at 5-on-5 in attempts (54-42), shots (26-17), scoring chances (24-13) and high-danger chances (11-6). If the Blue Jackets can string together a stretch of games with that same effectiveness and effort, their confidence should skyrocket.
“The guys had a back-to-back, I was fresh, and they still didn’t let me work a lot,” Merzlikins said. “That’s awesome. The guys were blocking the shots and they were working hard in the corners, as well. That was our priority. Win the battles 1-on-1 and 2-on-2s, as well, and they did awesome.”
— After scoring his first NHL goal since 2021 in the Blue Jackets' 6-2 loss to the Capitals in Columbus last week, defenseman Gavin Bayreuther said, "I’m fighting for my life a bit here," in reference to injured rookie defenseman Nick Blankenburg nearing a return from a fractured ankle and high-ankle sprain. Bayreuther is a candidate to be returned to the Cleveland Monsters once Blankenburg returns, along with rookies Marcus Bjork and Tim Berni, but his "fight" was more literal Sunday.
Washington's Garnet Hathaway smashed Bjork in front of the Columbus bench late in the first, Bayreuther didn't like the hit. He immediately threw his gloves down to fight and grabbed Hathaway, who worked to get Bayreuther's helmet off before landing a big overhand right. Bayreuther countered with a glancing blow before stumbling in front of the Capitals' bench, having his head rammed into the railing and then receiving a punch to the head from Hathaway while he was on his knees.
Adding insult to all of that, Bayreuther was assessed an extra two minutes for roughing to his five-minute fighting major, putting Washington a power play. Bayreuther was rewarded for quick reaction to the hit when the Blue Jackets killed off the roughing penalty and that lift carried into the second period.
— Larsen and associate head coach Pascal Vincent have a difficult riddle to solve with the Blue Jackets’ forwards.
Their most trusted group appears to be Sean Kuraly’s line, which includes Liam Foudy and Mathieu Olivier while Eric Robinson (upper body) is out. Kuraly is the team's most experienced faceoff option while captain Boone Jenner is out with a fractured thumb, so his line is being used as a first or second group.
The problem is that none of them are top offensive weapons, despite Kuraly’s seven goals in 37 games. Olivier has scored just two goals and hasn’t found the back of the net since Nov. 23, a 17-game drought. Foudy is looking for his first NHL regular-season goal after logging 49 games over the past four seasons, a span that includes 23 games this year.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Kuraly's line logged 12:01 together for the Jackets' second-highest 5-on-5 ice time, including 11 shifts combined with the Capitals leading 1-0 in the second and third periods. The second line of Gustav Nyquist, Jack Roslovic and Laine earned the most 5-on-5 ice time (12:54), including seven shifts in the third. The “first” line of Johnny Gaudreau, Kent Johnson and Emil Bemstrom skated just 9:00 of 5-on-5 — despite Gaudreau’s 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points all team-highs in scoring.
Johnson, Gaudreau and Bemstrom have more skill than Kuraly, Olivier and Foudy – who hit the crossbar from the low slot and was stonewalled by Kuemper on a breakaway – but the Blue Jackets’ coaching staff appears to prefer the two-way security of the latter unit. Cole Sillinger’s line, which includes Marchenko, was limited to 7:19 of 5-on-5.
— Merzlikins was solid after allowing yet another bad-luck goal through his pads on Gustafsson’s early shot off Berni's skate. After being tagged for six goals against the Capitals on Thursday in Columbus, he needed a game like this just to start restoring confidence. Merzlikins had a bloated 4.78 goals-against average and frigid .861 save percentage going into the game, which was his second appearance since Dec. 13 against the Florida Panthers.
This is the first year of a five-year contract Merzlikins signed last season, so the emphasis from now until season’s end is relocating his top form.
“Trust me, the feeling is not nice,” Merzlikins said. “This is the worst season of my career up until now. This is like my mom told me, in this disgusting and negative situation: ‘There is something positive … just find it,’ and I’m trying to (find) that positive and follow the words of my mom.”
— Andrew Peeke’s play has noticeably improved since the 22-year old defenseman was a healthy scratch Dec. 31 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Jan. 3 at the Ottawa Senators.
After skating on the right side of the third pairing, Peeke returned to the lineup at right point on the top pair with Vladislav Gavrikov. He logged 25-plus minutes in both ends of the weekend back-to-back against the Hurricanes and Capitals, including a game-high 25:32 in Washington with two shots, two hits and two blocked shots.
“Obviously, it happens,” Peeke said of being scratched. “When I got the chance to come back in, I wanted to make the most of it. I wanted to play to my strengths and play to my game. I’ve just got to keep doing that. That’s the biggest aspect for me.”
Columbus Blue Jackets lineup vs Washington Capitals
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Kent Johnson – Emil Bemstrom
Gustav Nyquist – Jack Roslovic – Patrik Laine
Liam Foudy – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Carson Meyer – Cole Sillinger – Kirill Marchenko
Defensemen
Vladislav Gavrikov – Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni – Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther – Marcus Bjork
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: D Adam Boqvist, F Liam Foudy
Injury/illness: C Boone Jenner (fractured thumb), LW Eric Robinson (upper body), F Yegor Chinakhov (ankle), G Daniil Tarasov (upper body), D Zach Werenski (shoulder), F Justin Danforth (shoulder), D Jake Bean (shoulder), D Nick Blankenburg (broken ankle/high-ankle sprain), F Jakub Voracek (concussion).
Up next for the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets are headed back to Florida finish the season series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the first two games by scores of 5-2 on Oct. 14 at Nationwide Arena and 4-1 on Dec. 15 at Amalie Arena.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets impress in loss to Washington Capitals
