Washington Capitals (16-9-3 35pts) v. Columbus Blue Jackets (16-10-2 34pts)
Time: 7p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington and Fox Sports Ohio
Preview:
The Washington Capitals take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time in Columbus since the first round of the playoffs when the Capitals stormed back from being down 2 games to none to defeat the Blue Jackets in 6 games. The Capitals will look to win their second straight game after going on a 2 game losing streak.
CAPS TODAY: Jakub Vrana's nine goals in 28 games this season are tied for third most on the Capitals and his five first-period goals lead the team. More info on Vrana and the Caps at https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/2uG6pn4pbA
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) December 8, 2018
GAME NOTES: The Capitals visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, when the Capitals beat the Blue Jackets 6-3 in the game and 4-2 in the series en route to the Stanley Cup. https://t.co/97bfZNr2sC pic.twitter.com/qqCB6gdHXL
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) December 8, 2018
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Caps morning skate lines:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Burakovsky
Vrana-Kuznetsov-Connolly
Stephenson-Eller-DSP
Jaskin-Dowd-BoydKempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Siegenthaler-BoweyHoltby starts
Barber and Djoos are the extras.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 8, 2018
Injured: T.J. Oshie (concussion), Brooks Orpik (knee surgery), Tom Wilson (concussion)
Caps morning skate has started. Tom Wilson is not on the ice. Will miss a second straight game.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 8, 2018
Keys to the Game:
1. Capitalize on mistakes
A couple weeks ago Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella talked about how this is a game of mistakes and that you need to capitalize on them rather than try to prevent them. While Tortorella is trying to get his team to create more opportunities than give through mistakes, the Blue Jackets still have a lot of issues with their puck management and the Capitals need to take advantage of this fact.
2. Keep your feet moving
The Capitals have not fared well these last few games and will need to keep their feet moving and play a full 60 minutes against a hard working Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Projected Lineup:
Panarin-Dubois-Atkinson
Foligno-Jenner-Anderson
Dubinsky-Wennberg-Duclair
Hannikainen-Nash-BjorkstrandMurray-Jones
Nutivaara-Savard
Werenski-HarringtonBobrovsky
KorpisaloScratched: Sedlak
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) December 8, 2018
Keys to the Game:
1. Minimize the mistakes
The Blue Jackets have been having puck management issues which has caused Tortorella to bench players and change his lineup to send the message that they need to manage the puck better.