Capitals stay hot on road, shed Jackets and reach halfway point on fire

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Washington Capitals reached the halfway point of their campaign Thursday night, blazing across the 41-game threshold with a 6-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets that bore a striking resemblance to their season thus far.

The Capitals got off to a slow start, digging themselves an early hole, before finding their footing and dominating the second and third periods.

Similarly, the Capitals' season started with just seven wins in their first 20 games, putting them well off the pace for a playoff spot. They are 15-3-3 in their past 21 contests and have won seven straight on the road. At 50 points (22-13-6), they are fourth in the Metropolitan Division, just six points behind first-place Carolina.

Trailing 1-0 after the first 20 minutes, Washington stormed back with a four-goal second period, fueled by strikes from T.J. Oshie, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Martin Fehervary and Garnet Hathaway, taking a 4-2 lead into the intermission.

"Kind of a slow start, weren't really moving our legs," Coach Peter Laviolette said. "We were turning too many pucks over and it ends up costing us scoring chances and d-zone time, but once that got cleaned up I thought we were really good."

Injury-plagued Columbus, sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference at 11-24-2, appeared to trim its margin to one goal early in the third period with a goal from Gavin Bayreuther. But Washington successfully challenged for offside, wiping away the goal.

Oshie kept momentum in the visitors' favor minutes later, knocking in a rebound in front for his second goal of the night at 6:41 of the third. The power-play tally was his seventh goal of the season.

Alex Ovechkin added his 29th goal with 6:55 left from his signature spot in the left circle on the power play, giving him seven goals in his past four games.

The win extended the Capitals' streak without a regulation defeat to nine (9-0-2). As well as Washington is playing, things could get better as it awaits the imminent return of Nicklas Backstrom (hip) and Tom Wilson (ACL) within the week.

"We can't wait to get them back," Hathaway said. "We've had that next-man-up mentality. We've faced a lot of adversity. To be where we are right now, 50 points through half the season and there is room to get better? Those guys are going to make this team even better. They've been working hard and it's obvious and we are excited for them to get back."

Johnny Gaudreau gave the Blue Jackets an early lead after he stole the puck from Aube-Kubel in the offensive zone and turned it into a quick strike up front that beat Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper (25 saves).

With Washington looking for a spark, Oshie delivered, tying the game just 1:51 into the second period after he beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (31 saves) from the slot.

Aube-Kubel made up for his early error with a goal midway through the second period, giving the Capitals a 2-1 lead by beating Merzlikins between the legs to cap off a great individual effort.

The hosts evened the game at 2 at the 13-minute mark of the second when defenseman Gavin Bayreuther beat Kuemper from the left point for his first goal of the season.

The rest was all Capitals, who scored in ways they didn't even intend. The most memorable: Fehervary's goal with 2:40 remaining in the second, which went off his helmet after Dylan Strome's shot him in the head, popped in the air and landed behind Merzlikins. It was Fehervary's third goal of the season.

"Listen, they play soccer before the game all the time so they must be work on that stuff," Laviolette cracked.

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Ovechkin will represent the Capitals next month at the NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Fla. The Capitals' captain was selected to franchise-record 13th All-Star Game. Ovechkin has played in seven midseason showcases (he did not participate in the 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022 games). Ovechkin is planning to attend this year's game, according to the team.

Last season, Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov represented the Capitals at the event. Ovechkin was originally selected, but he could not attend after he tested positive for the coronavirus. There is still a chance more Washington players will be chosen for the game through the fan voting process.

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Forward Nic Dowd was a scratch, staying in Washington to be with his wife, Paige, and their newborn daughter, Ruby. Dowd is expected to be available for Washington's game Friday against Nashville.

Aube-Kubel filled Dowd's roster spot.

Defenseman Matt Irwin was a healthy scratch with Alex Alexeyev entering the lineup. It was Alexyev's eighth game this season.

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Anthony Mantha was moved to the fourth line with Dowd out of the lineup. The forward, who is making $5.7 million this season and next, played on the left side with Aliaksei Protas shifting over to play at center and Hathaway slotting in on the right. Mantha recorded a primary assist on Hathaway's goal.

Mantha has one goal in his past 10 games.

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