The Columbus Blue Jackets do not have a long time to stew about a disappointing setback with Sunday’s clash at the Washington Capitals on the docket.
The Blue Jackets arrive in Washington, D.C. after dropping a wild 7-6 overtime decision to the Florida Panthers on Saturday,
“That’s the beauty of the NHL, there’s not much time to dwell on the past or think about yesterday,” forward Cole Sillinger said. “Once you’re on the bus and on the plane, our focus is on Washington and make sure we give ourselves the best chance at getting two points.”
The Blue Jackets had plenty of chances to beat the defending Stanley Cup-champion Panthers.
Columbus held a 4-1 lead only to see it become a tied game – aided by a couple of Florida power-play goals. The Blue Jackets then squandered a 6-4 edge with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
“We played hard, and I think we deserved better,” defenseman Ivan Provorov said. “There were a couple bad bounces and then we were short-handed quite a bit for some reason. Any time you lose, you wish you won.”
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Blue Jackets, who have cobbled together a 3-1-4 mark in their last eight outings. Columbus has scored 19 goals in the last four games, plus a shootout marker.
“When you score six goals, you give yourself a pretty good position to win,” Sillinger said. “We were short for a little bit, and you don’t want to give their power play any momentum. … I definitely thought we were in a good position, and the expectation is to close that game out.”
The Capitals return home after suffering a 4-3 shootout loss in Anaheim to end a four-game road swing that concluded with a trio of games against the California clubs.
The defeat snapped a six-game winning streak.
“We didn’t have our fastball, but we were gutting through the game against a really good hockey team, against a fast team, against a team that can give you all sorts of issues defensively,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “So, I give our guys a lot of credit. At the end of a trip, you could tell we didn’t have – like I said – our best, but we found a way to get a point.”
Washington surrendered a trio of leads before losing, but nobody is about to be devastated. The Capitals posted a 3-0-1 mark on the journey, which began with a clash against the New York Islanders, before heading back across the country.
“We probably turned too many pucks over in the second and third (periods) and it fed their transition a bit,” forward Dylan Strome said. “Overall, take the positives from the road trip and take the point and move on.”
Even with the drawback, they are on a 9-1-2 roll that has them atop the Eastern Conference standings. With their position, the Capitals can afford to accept a disappointment without too much stress.
“We have a really good grasp of what we need to do and what it looks like and how it feels,” Carbery said. “When you have that at this point of the year, it’s nice as a coach because the guys can correct a lot of the stuff. I don’t need to say anything. They know what needs to be done.”
