3 major takeaways from Washington Capitals 8-4 loss in preseason game vs Columbus Blue Jackets

The Washington Capitals lost a frustrating 8-4 game to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night at the Capital One Arena in Washington. Adam Fantilli led the way for the Blue Jackets with a hat trick. James Malatesta, Mathieu Oliviers, Cole Sillinger, and Mikael Pyythia had the other goals.

Meanwhile, Alexander Ovechkin opened the scoring for the Washington Capitals. Jakub Vrana, Dylan Strome, and Jakob Chychrun had the other markers for the Caps.

Overall, it was a tough night for the Washington Capitals. So, it’s worth taking a look at the three major takeaways from the Caps’ preseason loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

3 major takeaways from Washington Capitals preseason loss vs Columbus Blue Jackets

#3. The Capitals played a sloppy game at times

Overall, the Capitals played a sloppy game. There were several instances where the team was caught off-guard, leading to scoring chances.

For instance, Mathieu Olivier’s first goal of the game started in the Washington Capitals’ zone. The Blue Jackets got possession of the puck. As the Jackets made their way through the neutral zone, Capitals’ blueliner Ethan Bear made a lazy play, trying to poke the puck away from the Blue Jackets forward.

The play didn’t work. The puck bounced to Hunter McKown who fed a streaking Olivier who was all alone. He didn’t miss and buried the puck home.

Unfortunately, the Caps committed several mistakes such as Bear’s. The Blue Jackets didn’t miss, leading to the eight-goal outpouring.

#2. The Caps left Charlie Lindgren out to dry

The sloppy effort by the Capitals meant that goaltender Charlie Lindgren was left on his own. Lindgren faced multiple breakaway opportunities such as the Olivier goal in the second period.

However, there were other instances in which Lindgren didn’t help himself. The Malatesta goal was a prime example. After a shot ricocheted off the boards, Ovechkin failed to pick up the puck at the Blue Jackets blue line.

That situation allowed Malatesta to streak up the middle and get a breakaway from center ice. Then, a quick fake allowed Malatesta to beat Lindgren's glove side who looked visibly frustrated by the goal.

#1. The Capitals’ mental lapses got the best of them

The two previously mentioned goals were examples of mental lapses that came back to haunt the Caps. But perhaps the worst instance came on the Blue Jackets’ fourth goal.

After Alexander Alexeyev made an errant pass across the Blue Jackets blue line, Fantilli took a lead pass that led to another breakaway. Fantilli didn’t miss and put the Jackets up 4-2 at the time.

On the whole, the Caps consistently made mistakes throughout the night despite a relatively strong offensive effort.