Blue Jackets at Capitals
The Columbus Blue Jackets had the Washington Capitals on the ropes in the spring, winning Games 1 and 2 on the road of their first-round series before the latter provided the knockout blow with four consecutive victories. The Metropolitan Division foes will face off for the first time since that series on Friday at Capital One Arena in Washington.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored four goals and set up four others in that first-round series against the Blue Jackets and finished with 32 points in the postseason as the Capitals claimed the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. The 26-year-old Russian has continued his torrid play into the 2018-19 campaign, collecting one goal and five assists on his five-game point streak to boost his point total to a team-best 19. While Washington has won two in a row for the first time this season, Columbus snapped a two-game skid with a 4-1 triumph over Dallas on Tuesday. Two-time Vezina Trophy recipient Sergei Bobrovsky yielded just one goal for the third time in four outings in that contest and bids to atone for a postseason series in which he registered a 3.18 goals-against average.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet1, FS Ohio (Columbus), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (8-6-1): Columbus' staggered results this season are worrisome for captain Nick Foligno, who admitted he thought the team would be inspired following last season's playoff loss to the Capitals. "I thought we'd come out with something to prove and not worry about the battle and compete level we haven't had," the 31-year-old Foligno said. "That should be standard with the feeling we all had after Washington and what I heard guys saying, and how that team (Washington) upped their compete and their battle and we didn't to a degree." Artemi Panarin, who notched his team-leading 11th assist and 16h point on Tuesday, collected seven points in the first three games of the playoff series before being held off the scoresheet and posting a minus-6 rating in the final three.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (7-4-3): T.J. Oshie returned to action after being on the receiving end of a pair of blows to the head to score the go-ahead goal with 1:14 remaining in the third period of Wednesday's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh. "My face is a little messed up but I'm feeling pretty good now," said the 31-year-old Oshie, who recorded four points (three goals, one assist) in the final five games of the first-round series versus Columbus. Like Oshie, captain Alex Ovechkin has scored in back to-back contests overall and resides one power-play goal shy of Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux (236) for seventh place in NHL history.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus RW Josh Anderson, who leads the team with seven goals, was held without a point in all four regular-season games versus Washington last season.
2. Capitals G Braden Holtby turned aside 41 of 42 shots on Wednesday after yielding at least three goals in seven of his previous nine appearances.
3. Blue Jackets C Boone Jenner is riding a three-game assist streak.