Washington Capitals fall to Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime -NHL Preseason Update
Washington Capitals lost their second straight National Hockey League (NHL) preseason matchup against Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, September 21, 4-3, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States.
Nearly half of the stadium was packed as Washington entered and got off to a fast paced start with Jeff Halpern firing off for the first goal of the night, 12:42 into the first period.
Cam Atkinson did not allow Washington to stay ahead for long and potted a goal of his own nearly a minute later to level up the match.
A fight broke out during the initial period, midway through, as Washington’s Joel Rechlicz and Jared Boll exchanged fists and were awarded five-minute major penalties.
Blue Jackets took the lead during the second 20 minutes as Maxim Mayorov scored shorthanded, assisted by R.J. Umberger, who recently signed a five-year contract extension with the franchise the same day.
Adam Payerl of Columbus was penalised for delay of game and sent packing for a two-minute minor, giving Mayorov the opportunity which he capitalised by making the tie-breaker, 15 seconds after losing a player.
With a 2-1 score at the end of the second period, the third and final period was tense for both teams as Washington needed to at least tie-up the match and Columbus was on the edge of extending the lead even further.
David Savard eased the tensed crowd and group of players as he extended their lead to 3-1 which had the crowd on the edge of their seats as less than 13 minutes remained in the period.
Andrew Carroll scored and added his first of the preseason with less than three minutes remaining in the period.
Columbus decided to take the situation easier and let down their defences while Roman Hamrlik scored the levelling goal and forced overtime with 1:13 remaining.
Alexandre Giroux fired off during a power play opportunity and scored the winning goal with 2:24 left in overtime, sealing the deal for Columbus, that on the other hand, was nearly put down with a surprise attack in round three.
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