The Blue Jackets were impressive for almost two periods Oct. 24 at Nationwide Arena, but it wasn’t enough.
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The Washington Capitals broke a 0-0 tie late in the second on John Carlson’s goal, got two more goals from Alex Ovechkin and Justin Sourdif early in the third and used that 3-0 lead to deal the Blue Jackets a frustrating 5-1 loss to open a Metropolitan Division back-to-back that concludes Oct. 25 in Pittsburgh.
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The game was much closer than the score made it look, aided by two more Capitals goals scored late in the third while Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier sat in the penalty box serving a controversial five-minute major penalty for elbowing defenseman Declan Chisholm.
The hit occurred with the Capitals (6-2-0) leading 3-1 with 7:25 left, as Olivier finished a check on Chisholm along the boards. Chisholm grabbed his face, an elbowing major was assessed and an official video review upheld the call. The Blue Jackets (3-4-0) didn’t agree, especially head coach Dean Evason.
“That’s not a 5-1 hockey game,” Evason said. “That was such a great game. It really was. Like, we come in after the first period and we’re just like, ‘Man, this is fast, it’s great, guys are playing hard.’ Just stay out of the bloody thing. Let the players frickin’ figure it out, and they’re not allowed to do that because of what happened. It’s frustrating as hell.”
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) kicks a puck past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) during the third period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Oct. 24, 2025. The goal was disallowed after review. The Blue Jackets lost 5-1.
Powered by the goals from Wilson and McMichael, the Capitals took their four-goal cushion and kept on truckin’ out of town while some vocal Blue Jackets fans in a crowd of 17,714 let referees Pierre Lambert and Riley Brace have it on Grateful Dead Night.
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Capitals goalie Logan Thompson was outstanding, making 34 saves and notching a primary assist with a pass to spring Sourdif for a breakaway goal that made it 3-0 just 2:40 into the third. Denton Mateychuk scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, who had an apparent second goal overturned when an official review ruled Dmitri Voronkov kicked the puck into the net.
Jet Greaves started in net for the Blue Jackets and made 24 saves.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan (23) shoots at Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48)during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Oct. 24, 2025.
Prior to Carlson’s goal, the Blue Jackets made Thompson work hard to keep them from scoring. They outshot the Capitals 22-14 through the first two periods, including 10-2 in the second, but one of the Capitals’ shots deflected past Greaves off teammate Zach Werenski’s stick.
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It was the kind of night for the Blue Jackets.
“Going into the third, that was a very winnable hockey game, and they come out and get two quick ones on us,” Mateychuk said. “Then, it ends up 5-1. That’s definitely frustrating.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Washington Capitals topple Columbus Blue Jackets with late push