Blue Jackets win fifth straight game

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Suddenly, the Columbus Blue Jackets are working themselves into playoff contention.

Cam Atkinson scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky continued his hot streak to lead the Blue Jackets past
the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
“When we’re at our best, all four lines are definitely buzzing and creating some chances,” Atkinson said
after scoring goals No. 14 and 15. “Then the power play was good, Bob was hot and our penalty kill was
strong.”
The Blue Jackets, 19th in the league on the power play coming in, were 2 for 4 with a man advantage.
Bobrovsky made 26 saves, including some stout ones when the outcome was still in doubt. And Columbus’
penalty kill held the NHL’s best power-play unit scoreless in four attempts.
The Blue Jackets moved to two points out of playoff position with at least one game in hand on every team
in front of them in the Metropolitan Division and wild-card playoff races.
They’re also two points back of the Capitals, who have lost four in a row and 11 of 15.
“This was a bad effort by us,” said John Carlson, who scored the Capitals’ lone goal. “But you’ve got to
give it to them. They played exactly how we expected. They’re playing well right now. They’re a team
that doesn’t have a (Sidney) Crosby, but they all work as a unit, force a lot of turnovers and they made
that happen.”
Ryan Johansen added a goal and assist, James Wisniewski had a goal, Mark Letestu scored for the fifth
time in six games and Jack Johnson had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who had lost their past five
meetings with Washington.
“We can compete with anybody in the league,” Johansen said. “We’ve had a couple of hiccups this year,
although every team goes through that.”
Bobrovsky came in 5-0-0 with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage in his past five
starts. He stood tall to frustrate the Capitals when the game was still up for grabs.
At 12:08 of the first, Wisniewski one-timed a hard drive from the point that climbed over Philipp
Grubauer’s glove. It was Wisniewski’s first power-play goal and fourth tally of the season.
In the final minute, the Blue Jackets crowded the nets and benefited.
Matt Calvert got two whacks at the puck from the crease, Grubauer deflecting each. Defenseman Dmitry
Orlov then whiffed on an attempt to clear the puck, with Atkinson hopping on it to lift the puck into
the net over a diving Grubauer.
The Blue Jackets stretched it to 3-0 at 1:44 of the second. R.J. Umberger carried the puck through the
neutral zone and then pulled up in the right corner, sending a pass to the high slot for Johansen. He
slid laterally, waiting for an opening, before wristing a shot for his team-high 18th of the season.
Grubauer was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 shots, replaced by Braden Holtby.
The Blue Jackets killed off two Washington power plays late in the second period, including 18 seconds
when the Capitals had a 5 on 3 advantage.
Bobrovsky was at his best then. He twice stymied Russian Olympic teammate Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL’s
leading scorer with 34 goals, on power-play shots — once on a one-timer from the left dot and a second
time when the Columbus defense broke down and the three-time goal-scoring champ was all alone on a shot
that Bobrovsky deflected wide off his catcher.
Two quick goals to open the third period put the game out of reach.
“The biggest frustration is we weren’t mentally ready,” Washington coach Adam Oates said. “You make
mental mistakes, you get in trouble. You can’t let a game get away and be that easy.”
It was Columbus’ Todd Richards’ 300th game as an NHL head coach. He was asked what he thought the next
300 will be like.
“What would be great, at 600 you can ask me that question,” he said, laughing.
Notes: Washington C Brooks Laich played in his 600th NHL game. … The Blue Jackets had been off since
Monday, while the Capitals were playing their third game in four days. … Columbus had a pair of
five-game win streaks in last year’s shortened season.
BLUE JACKETS 5, CAPITALS 1
Washington 0 1 0 — 1
Columbus 2 1 2 — 5
First Period—1, Columbus, Wisniewski 4 (Johnson, Johansen), 12:08 (pp). 2, Columbus, Atkinson 14
(Calvert, Dubinsky), 19:08. Penalties—Wilson, Was (roughing), 10:48; Tropp, Clm (charging), 10:48;
Carlson, Was (tripping), 11:12; Murray, Clm (tripping), 14:22.
Second Period—3, Columbus, Johansen 18 (Umberger), 1:44. 4, Washington, Carlson 8 (Erat, Brouwer), 8:53.
Penalties—Johansson, Was (hooking), 5:39; Jenner, Clm (goaltender interference), 16:03; Columbus bench,
served by Calvert (too many men), 17:46; Green, Was (holding), 19:41.
Third Period—5, Columbus, Letestu 6 (Horton, Johnson), 1:08 (pp). 6, Columbus, Atkinson 15 (Murray,
Nikitin), 4:24. Penalties—Ovechkin, Was (cross-checking), 2:21; Carrick, Was, major (fighting), 13:22;
Calvert, Clm, served by Jenner, minor-major (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 13:22.
Shots on Goal—Washington 12-7-8—27. Columbus 13-10-13—36.
Power-play opportunities—Washington 0 of 4; Columbus 2 of 4.
Goalies—Washington, Grubauer 6-3-5 (14 shots-11 saves), Holtby (1:44 second, 22-20). Columbus, Bobrovsky
14-11-2 (27-26).
A—14,121 (18,144). T—2:28.
Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RustyMillerAP

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