Jakob Chychrun scored twice, while Tom Wilson and John Carlson each had a goal with an assist, as the Washington Capitals rolled to a 5-1 home victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night.
Justin Sourdif added two assists and Logan Thompson stopped 22 of 23 shots for the Capitals, who broke the game open with three goals in the second period to win for the fourth time in five games.
Chychrun, the defensemen who posted 20 goals last season, has recorded four of his eight this campaign in the last three contests.
Denton Mateychuk scored early in the third period for the Blue Jackets, who played without star Kirill Marchenko as he deals with muscle tightness that reportedly surfaced during Monday’s morning skate. Marchenko entered play Monday with a team-leading 22 points.
Meanwhile, star Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, second on the club with 21 points, missed the third period due to an upper-body injury. Teammate Mathieu Olivier also sat the final two periods Monday with an upper-body issue.
Off a Columbus turnover, Washington opened the scoring 6:05 into the contest. The Capitals’ Ryan Leonard appeared to lose control of the puck in the high slot, but Chychrun pounced in it, found an opening and beat Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins (26 saves) to extend his point streak to eight games.
In the second, and minutes after Thompson made a key point-blank glove save on Mateychuk’s slap shot, Washington made it 2-0. Beginning with a behind-the-back pass from Sourdif, Aliaksei Protas touched it across the slot for Wilson, coming off the bench, to bury.
Wilson was the only forward to account for a goal in the game.
The Capitals put the game away with two goals in the final 14.7 seconds of that middle frame. On the power play, Chychrun sent a wrister that made its way past Merzlikins. Some 13 seconds later, Alex Ovechkin dished the puck to Carlson, who delivered a successful one-timer.
Washington made it 5-0 via Martin Fehervary’s drive that blazed past a screened Merzlikins and in at 4:05 into the third.
The Blue Jackets have dropped three of their last four contests.
