For the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets — a team riding a 16-game winning streak that is one shy of the NHL record — Thursday’s showdown with the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center is a chance to make history.
That, according to the Capitals, is why all the pressure is on the visitors from Ohio.
“For us, it just feels like another game,” Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said. “It’s obviously pretty cool for them that they’re able to play at that level of hockey for this long. But we’re just going to work on our game. We’ll feel like that will be enough. If we stick to our game, it should be a pretty good battle.”
The Blue Jackets, who haven’t lost since Nov. 26, need one more win to tie the mark set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.
For Washington, seven points behind Columbus in the Metropolitan Division, the priority Thursday is making up ground in the standings — not playing spoiler.
Preventing the Blue Jackets from making history doesn’t enter into it. At least, that’s what the Capitals are saying.
“No, not for us,” Capitals forward Jay Beagle said. “I mean, it’s their streak. It’s not our streak.”
“No, it doesn’t,” said Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, echoing his teammate. “It doesn’t at all. We’re focused on getting two points. It doesn’t matter what their history is.”
Still, defenseman Brooks Orpik admitted that immediately after the Capitals’ 6-5 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, teammates were checking their phones to see if Columbus had beaten the Edmonton Oilers.
The nightly numbers the Blue Jackets are putting up are enough to pique any NHL player’s interest. During the streak, the team has a .943 save percentage and a 12.06 shooting percentage. To put that into perspective: Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy last season as the NHL’s top goaltender, recorded a .922 save percentage. The NHL shooting percentage last year was 8.98 percent — more than three percentage points under what the Blue Jackets’ have averaged in the last 16 games.
That’s certainly helped fuel the streak, but there are other factors, too. The youngest team in the NHL — average age 25.7 — the Blue Jackets have a roster loaded with puck-moving defensemen and young forward contributors.
Led by coach John Tortorella, Columbus is also one of the only NHL teams to make the traditional game day skate optional.
Most teams opt to skate in the mornings as a way to warm up and go over last-minute scenarios for that night’s game. Tortorella’s system allows for a consistently fresh team to take the ice every night.
“I think it’d be pretty nice [having optional game-day skates],” Oshie said. “All the optionals that we’ve had this year, I’ve taken off. I think, especially this time of year, all the rest you can get is better.”
One of the key components of Thursday’s matchup will be Columbus’ power play against Washington’s penalty kill. The Blue Jackets are converting on a scorching 28.3 percent of their power play opportunities this season, 4.3 percent more than the second-most successful team, the Anaheim Ducks. On the other hand, Washington has killed 86.4 percent of its penalties this season, good for fourth in the NHL. In the Capitals’ last 47 penalty kill opportunities, they’ve allowed just three goals, a 93.6 percent success rate.
“They got that good, young kid at the top there [defenseman Zach Werenski],” Oshie said. “They’ve got good players. I’ve played a lot of these guys for a while, and even last year when we played them, they’re a hard team to play against.”
While the Capitals’ longest win streak in their 120-point 2015-16 season was just nine games, Washington is still familiar with the pressure Columbus is feeling.
“Everybody brought their ’A’ game against us,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Wednesday. “We welcomed it. It was part of the deal.”
• Tommy Chalk can be reached at tchalk@washingtontimes.com.
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