Alex Ovechkin and Marcus Johansson each scored twice to lead the Washington Capitals in a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Nicklas Backstrom and Andre Burakovsky each posted two assists, while Braden Holtby stopped 24 shots for the Capitals, who have won three straight.
Cam Atkinson and David Savard lit the lamp for the Blue Jackets, who have matched a franchise record by dropping their ninth straight game. Curtis McElhinney allowed all four goals on 32 shots
The Capitals got on the board just 1:36 in as Johansson jammed in a bouncing puck down low for his seventh of the season.
It was a 2-0 game at 7:49 of the first as Ovechkin's one-timer from the left circle beat McElhinney for a power-play goal.
Columbus made it a one-goal game halfway through the first as Boone Jenner won a right circle faceoff back to Atkinson, whose shot made it past Holtby for his sixth of the season.
Washington, though, took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission as Jay Beagle left a drop pass in the slot for Ovechkin, who beat McElhinney with a heavy wrister over the glove.
The only goal of the second came with just 56.8 seconds remaining when Savard let fly with a shot that Holtby stopped, but it got behind him and he knocked it in with his right skate.
Johansson scored on a wraparound from the right side off a feed from Burakovsky with 5:21 to play to put the game out of reach.
[SportsNetwork.com]
