Photo: @BlueJackets

The Washington Capitals fell the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final score of 2-1 at Capital One Arena on Friday night. With the loss, Capitals fell to 2-2-0 on their five-game homestand. Goaltender Braden Holtby made 34 saves in the loss. 

Capitals Lines vs. Blue Jackets

#Caps lines vs CBJ:
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 23-Jaskin
18-Stephenson, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
65-Burakovsky, 72-Boyd, 25-Smith-Pelly

6-Kempny, 2-Niskanen
9-Orlov, 29-Djoos
34-Siegenthaler, 22-Bowey

Holtby vs Bobrovsky. #CapsJackets

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) November 9, 2018

Defenseman John Carlson missed the game with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler stepped in for Carlson and made his NHL debut on Friday night against Columbus. Forward Jakub Vrana got bumped up to the third line in favor of Andre Burakovsky. The Capitals switched up their defensive pairs with Carlson out of the lineup.

First Period

Oliver Bjorkstrand received a freed from Nick Foligno on the power play and zipped it past Holtby’s glove from the right circle​. The Capitals had three guys covering Foligno and he made them pay setting up Bjorkstrand at 17:16 of the first.

Despite trailing 1-0 after 20, the Capitals controlled most of the play in the first frame, leading 15-9 in shots and 5-2 in giveaways.

The Blue Jackets led 8-3 in blocked shots and 12-3 in hits. Columbus had two giveaways while Washington had six. The Blue Jackets won 52% of the faceoffs. Each team had one power play in the first but Columbus was able to convert on theirs, unlike the Capitals.

Second Period

Replacing Carlson on the power play, Matt Niskanen tied it at one after getting a pass from Nicklas Backstrom on the power play. Niskanen went glove side on Sergei Bobrovsky for his third goal of the season at 7:53.

BOOOOOM! #ALLCAPS #Niscannon pic.twitter.com/ona0amSqkN

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 10, 2018

The Capitals led 10-8 in blocked shots and 9-6 in takeaways through 40 minutes of play. They also won 54% of the draws.

The Blue Jackets led 16-9 in second-period shots and 20-10 in hits. Columbus had only two giveaways while Washington had 10 after the second period.

Each team had 25 shots and scored a power-play goal on two opportunities through two.

Third Period

Anthony Duclair scored from a sharp angle 5:09 into the period after getting Artemi Panarin’s shot along the back boards to give Columbus the 2-1 lead.

The Capitals swarmed the Blue Jackets zone for most of the final three minutes and forward Jakub Vrana drew a penalty with 42.9 seconds left but were unable to convert.

The Capitals led 14-9 in takeaways. They also won 53% of the draws. Washington went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

The Blue Jackets led 11-9 in third-period shots, 36-34 in shots, 17-13 in blocked shots, and 24-18 in hits. Columbus had only eight giveaways while Washington had 13. They went 2-for-3 on the power play.

The Capitals conclude their homestand against the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday evening. Puck drop from Capital One Arena can be found on NBC Sports Washington at 5 PM.

By Harrison Brown