Logan Thompson crossed off the only thing he hadn’t done yet against the Blue Jackets, notching a 39-save shutout to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Thompson improved to 3-0-0 against the Blue Jackets this season, becoming the 17th goalie in NHL history to log his 100th career victory in 170 games or fewer. In three games against Columbus, he’s stopped 95 of 97 shots for a scorching .979 save percentage.
“We had a ton of opportunities to score, obviously, and their goaltender’s played extremely well against us every (game) … but he certainly did tonight,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason told reporters in Washington. “We had some quality, quality opportunities and he made some saves when he was on his backside. We certainly liked our ‘compete,’ our push was real good in the third period … we just couldn’t get one by him.”
After earning wins over the Jackets by 5-1 scores Oct. 24 in Columbus and Nov. 24 in Washington, the Capitals’ goalie was even better the third time around. As a result, the Blue Jackets (13-10-6) were swept in back-to-back games to start a three-game road trip while earning one of four possible points after losing 7-6 in overtime Dec. 6 at the Florida Panthers.
The victory for the Capitals (18-9-3) kept them on top of the Metropolitan Division and kept the Jackets stuck in the division’s basement. The Blue Jackets will conclude their trip with another tough division matchup Dec. 9 at the Carolina Hurricanes, playing their third road game in four days.
Jakob Chychrun scored the lone goal of the game with a goalie defending, beating Jet Greaves (36 saves) with a one-timer 50 seconds into the second period. Aliaksei Protas sealed the win for the Capitals by scoring into the Blue Jackets’ empty net with 1:26 left to play.
Columbus went 0-for-3 on power plays, unable to beat Thompson despite getting a four-minute advantage in the third on Hendrix Lapierre’s double-minor for high-sticking Brendan Gaunce in the mouth.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.socialÂ