Boone Jenner scored the tiebreaker with 44.2 seconds left in regulation and Patrik Laine recorded his third straight two-goal game as the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for a 5-4 victory over the struggling Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
A little less than two minutes after Washington tied the game on Tom Wilson’s goal with 2:26 left, Jenner flipped in a backhander for Columbus, which overcame a 2-0 hole to win its third straight road contest. The Blue Jackets have three victories in their past four games overall.
Adam Boqvist and Jenner each had a goal and an assist, Laine added an assist for his ninth point in four games and Trey Fix-Wolansky scored a goal in his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets.
Fourth-liner Nic Dowd recorded a goal and an assist and Alex Ovechkin added an assist in his return from COVID-19 protocol for the Capitals, who are 5-8-2 in 2022. Washington is also mired in its first four-game regulation home losing streak since 2007-08.
Washington’s Garnet Hathaway posted his fourth goal against Columbus this season with 2:41 left in the opening period. The Capitals made it 2-0 just 40 seconds into the second, when Dowd threw the puck toward the net and it went in after deflecting off the Blue Jackets’ Oliver Bjorkstrand.
On the power play, Columbus cut its deficit in half 9:38 into the middle frame when Laine blasted a one-timer in from the near side.
A little more than three minutes later, the Blue Jackets evened the contest as Boqvist drove a knuckler that cleared the top of goalie Pheonix Copley’s glove.
Washington got the lead back with 4:03 left in the busy second period. With the Capitals on a power play, Evgeny Kuznetsov, off an Ovechkin pass, found the net just under the arm of Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins (29 saves).
With four seconds left in the second, the Blue Jackets tied the contest at 3-3. Again with the man advantage and right off a faceoff, Laine, alone in the slot, easily converted.
Columbus took its first lead 2:40 into the third period. Called up on Monday, Fix-Wolansky fired the puck past Copley, who was immediately pulled after saving 15 of 19 shots.
Ilya Samsonov stopped six of seven shots in relief for Washington.
–Field Level Media
