Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets roll past Ovechkin-less Capitals 7-0

Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goal-scoring mark on Sunday, was a healthy scratch to rest up for the playoffs. Washington has already clinched the Metropolitan Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The victory kept Columbus in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Montreal, which leads the race for the last postseason position, lost to Toronto in overtime Saturday night.

James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists, while Kent Johnson and Sean Monahan each had a goal and an assist. Zach Werenski and Cole Sillinger also scored for Columbus, which extended its win streak to three games.

In his first NHL start since being recalled from AHL Hershey, Hunter Shepard made 19 saves for Washington.

The teams combined for 76 penalty minutes, including two fighting majors apiece and three game misconducts.

Takeaways Washington: Without Ovechkin, the Capitals were outplayed from the opening puck drop and managed just six shots by the time Columbus had scored its sixth goal.

Columbus: The Blue Jackets played like their postseason hopes depended on this game — because they did. They scored three goals in both the first and second periods, marking the most goals ever scored against the Capitals at Nationwide Arena.

Key moment Werenski and Johnson scored on Columbus’ first two shots of the game. Fantilli added the third goal of the period with 36 seconds remaining — just 10 seconds after a crushing hit on Washington’s Riley Leonard.

Key stat Werenski’s score a minute into the game was his first in 18 games and set a Blue Jackets franchise record for goals in a single season by a defenseman with 21.

Up next The teams play the second half of the home-and-home series in Washington on Sunday.

WSH leads series 2-1