Observations from the Washington Capitals’ 3-2 preseason win against the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Washington Capitals secured the second win of their 2024 preseason, downing the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 inside Nationwide Arena on Monday night. Washington is now 2-3 overall through five preseason games and have just one more exhibition left on their schedule.

Nic Dowd, Tom Wilson, and Pierre-Luc Dubois all dented the twine for the Capitals. Logan Thompson received his second start and impressed again.

• Wilson and Dubois, linemates on Washington’s top line for the evening, were the lone players to record multiple points in the game. Wilson tipped home a Trevor van Riemsdyk point drive and grabbed the primary assist on Dubois’s power-play goal. Dubois also earned the secondary assist on Wilson’s goal as he fed the puck to TVR at the point.
• Thompson made 24 stops on the 26 shots he faced from Columbus including a nice breakaway save on defenseman Zach Werenski in the third period. The 27-year-old backstop is responsible for both of Washington’s wins during the preseason. Charlie Lindgren will likely get the start in the team’s final preseason game and could need a big night to force Thompson out of the conversation for Opening Night starter depending on how Spencer Carbery values preseason performance in net.
• Dowd, Brandon Duhaime, and Taylor Raddysh all got on the scoresheet again, combining for three points (1g, 2a). They now have eight points (3g, 5a) in the two games they’ve played together this fall.
• Dylan McIlrath received plaudits from Carbery on Sunday but the Capitals struggled at five-on-five with the big rig on the ice against Columbus. While they held an advantage in shot attempts during his ice time (+4), they lagged behind in scoring chances (-4) and high-danger chances (-3). Washington did not create a high-danger chance with him and his partner Alex Alexeyev on the ice.
• Monday night’s contest was Sonny Milano’s first since he received a direct callout from Carbery about his preseason performance. Milano didn’t do much to reshape that narrative as he did not get on the scoresheet nor record a shot on goal.
• Hendrix Lapierre has recorded zero points through three games. The 22-year-old center had two shots on goal, one hit, and went 8-5 in the faceoff dot.
• Rasmus Sandin was excellent in his preseason debut after visa-related issues delayed his arrival at this year’s Training Camp. Sandin skated 21:28 of ice time in the win, second only to Matt Roy (21:34) on the team, and Washington dominated during his minutes. At five-on-five with the slick Swede on the ice, the Capitals held positive differentials in shot attempts (+4) and high-danger chances (+3).
• Jakub Vrana’s speed and forechecking pressure were notable all game. The Czech winger was sprung on two breakaways and drew Washington’s first power play of the game. Vrana, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Mike Sgarbossa all put together good outings in what could be their final game fighting for the few NHL roster spots available. Miroshnichenko led the team with five individual shot attempts.

The Capitals plan to spend the next few days in Columbus to do some team building activities before wrapping up their preseason at the end of the week against the Boston Bruins. NHL rosters are due in exactly a week.