WASHINGTON (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored twice, Jet Greaves made 29 saves to win his third start in four days and the Columbus Blue Jackets remained in playoff contention by beating the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals 4-1 on Sunday night.
The Blue Jackets outscored the Capitals 11-1, sweeping the teams' weekend home-and-home back to back and winning their fourth in a row. They still need to win their final two regular-season games and get some help from Montreal's opponents the rest of the way to get the East's second and final wild card.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 896th career goal to extend the NHL record he broke a week earlier. That gave Washington a 1-0 lead 70 seconds in before Columbus got goals from top defenseman Zach Werenski, Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov to keep their playoff chances going.
The Blue Jackets finish with games at Philadelphia and the New York Islanders. The Canadiens play Chicago Monday night before wrapping up the regular season Wednesday at Carolina.
Whichever team gets in will face the Capitals, who got 19 saves from Charlie Lindgren and rested No. 1 defenseman John Carlson. They've allowed three or more goals in 11 consecutive games.
Takeaways
Blue Jackets: Their inspirational season after Johnny Gaudreau's death in August continues. Greaves is the latest in the list of heroes, playing his fourth game in five days — counting one in the American Hockey League — before getting called up.
Capitals: They just need the playoffs to get here, but flipping a switch to meaningful hockey won't be easy.
Key moment
With the score tied early in the second period, Washington's Rasmus Sandin turned the puck over to Fantilli, who beat Lindgren for an unassisted goal.
Key stat
Greaves stopped 90 of 93 shots during this three-game stretch.
Up next
Blue Jackets visit Philadelphia on Tuesday, and Capitals play at the Islanders.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press