Johansen scores twice as Blue Jackets clip Capitals
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Johansen had two goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves and Columbus got back to its winning ways, beating Washington 5-2 on Thursday.
Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson and Derek MacKenzie also scored for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a three-game losing streak. They had won a club-record eight straight prior to the slide.
Joel Ward and Eric Fehr supplied the goals for Washington, which has dropped eight of its last 10 games. Braden Holtby stopped 24-of-29 Columbus shots, while Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was a frosty minus-5.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Blue Jackets mustered only five first-period shots, but two wound up behind Holtby.
MacKenzie opened the scoring at 12:18 on a short-handed breakaway. He entered the Washington zone with speed and deked before tucking the puck past the goaltender's right skate for his fourth goal in five games.
Johansen made it 2-0 with 3:04 remaining. A right-point shot by Jack Johnson hit Boone Jenner and Johansen buried a shot from the left circle after collecting the carom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We were terrible. It was probably the worst period that I've seen the boys play in over a year," Washington head coach Adam Oates said about his team's start.
Columbus stretched its lead to 4-0 in the second period.
Dubinsky let go a slap shot from just inside the blue line that beat Holtby on the glove side at the 24-second mark. The puck may have struck a Capitals player's stick, causing Holtby to misread the shot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Johansen scored his second goal at 12:14. Free of impediments as he emerged from behind the net, Johansen toe-dragged past a Washington player and fired a backhander that beat Holtby for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.
"He stepped up. I thought (Johansen) had a big game for us tonight," said Columbus head coach Todd Richards.
The Capitals got on the board before the end of the middle stanza, then halved their deficit early in the third period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ward beat Bobrovsky stick-side from the right circle for a short-handed goal with 1:41 remaining in the second. Fehr whipped a backhander past Bobrovsky's glove from the slot 3:18 into the third to close the gap to 4-2.
Atkinson responded 64 seconds later for Columbus as he converted Matt Calvert's cross-crease pass at the left post.
The Blue Jackets killed consecutive penalties, including 17 seconds when down two skaters, shortly thereafter to preserve the three-goal lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Washington defenseman Mike Green (upper-body injury) left in the first period and did not return. He was shaken up after being checked at the end boards by Jenner ... Both teams were 0-for-7 on the power play ... These clubs split the four-game season series, with the home team winning each time.