Road to the Stanley Cup: Game 1 of Columbus vs. Washington

Throughout the regular season, it was a tight matchup for these two teams. Washington won the first three games, but they were by no means easy fights.

In each game, Columbus was right on Washington's tail until the very end. In game 1 it was 4-3, game 2 was 3-2, and game three was 4-2.

However, in the final game between the two clubs, Columbus dominated and pulled out an impressive 5-1 victory.

Now, the slate has been wiped clean, and Columbus has spent the last three days training in the nation's capital.

"It is exciting," Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. "You kind of feel the new season's coming up and all the guys are excited, so it's going to be fun."

Columbus needs to be careful of Washington's star players if they want to win tonight and ultimately bring home the cup. For starters, they have to be weary of Alexander Ovechkin.

The Capitals captain has had an outstanding season. He snagged 49 goals in the regular season as well as 38 assists. Ovechkin is a dangerous man with the puck, but he's just as deadly without.

Washington also has the likes of Niklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Backstrom netted 21 goals and 50 assists, while Kuznetsov had 27 goals and 56 assists.

That's not to say Columbus is completely hopeless. They also have some star players on their roster.

Columbus' first line has been generating quite a bit of momentum for the team. Rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois will be centering the line with Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin flanking him. All three of whom nabbed hat tricks this season.

There's also the Lumberjackets and Werenski/Jones to brag about. The top defensive pairing of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones have each gotten 16 goals this season; a franchise record for defensemen. The Lumberjackets have also been vital to the team when it come to penalty kills.

Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net tonight, and he hopes he can improve his playoff record. In previous years, Bob is 3-10 with a 3.63 GAA. That adds up to a .887 save percentage, a staggering low for the two-time Vezina winner. For comparison, his regular season stats are 2.44 GAA and a .920 SV%.

200 feet away, Washington has decided against playing their star goalie Braden Holtby. Holtby has an outstanding record against Columbus, but in the fourth and final matchup of the season, he was pulled after allowing four goals in the opening period.

In place of Holtby, Head Coach Barry Trotz will be starting backup Philipp Grubauer. He has won seven of his previous nine starts and boasts a .925 SV%.

Look for Nick Foligno and Markus Nutivaara to draw back in the lineup.

Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson

Boone Jenner - Alexander Wennberg - Thomas Vanek

Oliver Bjorkstrand - Nick Foligno* - Josh Anderson

Brandon Dubinsky - Mark Letestu - Matt Calvert

Zach Werenski - Seth Jones

Ian Cole - David Savard

Ryan Murray - Markus Nutivaara*

Sergei Bobrovsky

*Nutivaara will be replacing Jack Johnson and Foligno will be replacing Sonny milano

Washington Capitals Projected Lineup

Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov- Tom Wilson

Andre Burakovsky - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie

Chandler Stephenson - Lars Eller - Devante Smith-Pelly

Brett Connolly- Chandler Stephenson - Alex Chiasson

Dmitri Orlov - Matt Niskanen

Michal Kempny - John Carlson

Brooks Orpik - Jakub Jerabek

Philipp Grubauer