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Jet Greaves shines for Columbus Blue Jackets in OT loss to Washington Capitals
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- Jet Greaves shines for Columbus Blue Jackets in OT loss to Washington Capitals
It was another ugly hockey game Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, but the Blue Jackets stayed competitive enough to get a point against the Washington Capitals .
Despite being outshot and struggling to possess the puck for a second straight game — issues that derailed them Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers — the Jackets did just enough against the Capitals to keep it tight in a 2-1 overtime loss.
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They also got a sterling performance from rookie goalie Jet Greaves , who made 35 saves against the Metropolitan Division's leading team a day after being recalled from AHL Cleveland. Greaves, who bailed the Jackets out multiple times, was a driving force in getting the game to OT for a standings point in a game they easily could've lost in regulation.
"Obviously, it's a team game but I'd argue that he won a point for us," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "For us to get a point in that game, yeah, we're fortunate."
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) makes a save during the second period of the NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Dec. 12, 2024.
The Capitals (20-6-2) benefited from their own outstanding goaltending performance after Charlie Lindgren stopped 32 of 33 shots for the win. Washington also outshot the Blue Jackets (12-14-3) by a 37-33 margin, winning Aliaksei Protas ' second goal of the game scored 2:23 into OT.
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Protas also tied it 1-1 just 31 seconds into the third period, one-timing a pass from former Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois past Greaves. His tally in OT clanked off the left post and into the net off a wrister from the high slot.
"I saw it a little bit," Greaves said. "I'd like to have that one for the guys, but it is what it is. There were a lot of positives that I'll take going forward. There's also some things I'll look at, try to learn from and get better at moving forward."
Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (21) scores a goal past Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) and goaltender Jet Greaves (73) during the third period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Dec. 12, 2024. The Capitals won 2-1 in overtime.
Zach Werenski 's 10thgoal of the season and 100th career tally gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 14:12 of the second period, capping a power-play with a laser from the high slot. It stayed that score after two periods, but the Capitals tied it quickly on Protas' goal to start the third.
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His latest daggers against the Blue Jackets were the fourth and fifth goals of his career against Columbus in just nine games. They were also the 10thand 11thpoints of his career against the Blue Jackets, lifting the Capitals to their 10thstraight road victory.
"That's a tough one," Werenski said. "You're up 1-0 going into the third, you'd like to hold that lead as long as you can. They come out kind of buzzing on that first shift, score a goal to tie it up ... but then I even felt we had some chances in the rest of the period there in the third to take back the lead. We didn't. It would've been nice to play that third period out up 1-0 for a little bit longer."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Greaves shines for Columbus Blue Jackets in OT loss to Capitals
