Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 4th 2023

The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to make it two straight wins when they visit the Capitals in Washington on Saturday night.

The Blue Jackets snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Columbus fell behind 2-1 in the second period against the Lightning but responded with three unanswered in the third to win for the first time since Oct. 21.

“To come back the way we did in the third, that response facing the adversity and how we dealt with it, that’s what we’re looking for,” said Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent. “That’s the type of win that builds character and builds confidence that, ‘OK, we did it once, we can do it over and over and over.’ For everyone, that was a big one.”

Defenseman Ivan Provorov leads all Blue Jackets with eight points through 10 games, while captain Boone Jenner has a team-leading five goals and seven points in 10 contests.

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is 3-2-2 with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in seven games.

A single point separates the Capitals and Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division entering Saturday’s play. Last season, the Capitals took the season series, winning three of four meetings.

Washington continues a five-game homestand on Saturday, looking to bounce back from a 3-0 blanking at the hands of the New York Islanders on Thursday. The loss snapped the Capitals’ three-game win streak.

The shutout loss was the second in six home games for Washington this season. The Capitals rank 29th in the league in goals-for with 19 through the first nine games.

“There’s two areas for me that when you look at it, we’re not doing a good enough job offensively,” said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “Once we create that turnover, it’s attacking and finishing. When I say finishing, I don’t mean shooting the puck past the goalie; I mean making two passes and stringing them together on the tape. We have a team in a vulnerable spot, and we’re just not able to make those last one or two plays.

“The other part is just not doing a good enough job against National Hockey League-caliber goaltenders with traffic and interior presence.”

Thursday’s loss was Washington’s first game without center Nicklas Backstrom, who announced he is taking a leave of absence due to his surgically repaired left hip.

“That’s still a pretty emotional subject, not having 19 (Backstrom) in the rink. It’s going to be felt for a long time,” said Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie. “We have to still find ways to move on and play and get wins, but you’re just not going to fill the hole that 19 leaves and those emotions aren’t going to go away.

“There’s not a night where we’re not going to miss him.”

Center Dylan Strome leads all Capitals with six goals through nine games, while captain Alex Ovechkin has a team-leading eight points this season.

Goaltender Charlie Lindgren will get the start against the Blue Jackets — Lindgren lost his only other start this season, 4-0 to the Penguins.

–Field Level Media