Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals concluded their three-game road trip with a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday night. With the win, the Capitals are ahead of the second-place Blue Jackets by three points in the Metropolitan Division. Goaltender Braden Holtby made 28 saves for his second shutout of the season. 

Capitals Lines at Blue Jackets

#Caps‘ lines at CBJ:
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 65-Burakovsky
13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson, 20-Eller, 25-Smith-Pelly
23-Jaskin, 26-Dowd, 72-Boyd

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
34-Siegenthaler, 22-Bowey

Holtby vs. Bobrovsky. #CapsJackets

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) December 8, 2018

Defenseman Christian Djoos drew out of the lineup for defenseman Madison Bowey. Forwards T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson missed their 11th and second consecutive games, respectively, with possible concussions. The team made no lineup changes up front from their 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

First Period

Forward Brett Connolly deked around goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and stuffed it into the crease on a two-on-one with forward Jakub Vrana on a delayed penalty 1:42 into the game for a 1-0 Capitals lead.

Odd man rush? Who needs it?

Conno sneaks one by Bobrovsky to get us on the board 1-0 #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/D7zJQvsk3t

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 9, 2018

Forward Dmitrij Jaskin deflected the shot with his left skate off of center Travis Boyd’s shot from the slot and the puck went high shoulder on Bobrovsky for a 2-0 Capitals lead with 9:41 left in the period. The goal marked Jaskin’s first as a Capital.

Jaskin scores his first as a Capital and we’re up 2-0! #CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/zHd42XJvnu

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 9, 2018

Captain Alex Ovechkin extended his point-streak to 11 on a tic-tac-toe play between him and defensemen Michal Kempny and John Carlson. Kempny fed Ovechkin from the left circle on Ovechkin was on the doorstep for his 22nd goal of the season to make it 3-0 with 18.8 seconds left in the period.

If Ovi’s on your doorstep, you’re gonna have a bad time – #Caps lead 3-0!#CapsJackets #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/lhnfdHMNgP

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 9, 2018

The Capitals led 13-8 in shots and didn’t have a giveaway while the Blue Jackets had two. They went 0-for-1 on the power-play in the first frame.

The Blue Jackets led 5-1 in blocked shots, 2-1 in takeaways, 7-1 in hits after 20 minutes of play. Columbus also won 59% of the faceoffs in the opening period.

Second Period

Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo started the second period after Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 13 shots in the first period.

The Capitals led 21-17 in shots and 3-1 in takeaways following 40 minutes of action. Washington had no giveaways while Columbus had three.

The Blue Jackets led 10-1 in shits and 8-5 in blocked shots after two. They won 54% of the faceoffs through 40 minutes.

Each team was credited with eight shots in the second period. Neither team scored on the power-play. The Capitals had three opportunities while the Blue Jackets had one.

Third Period

Center Travis Boyd tallied his first NHL goal, burying a cross-ice feed from Ovechkin back door into a wide open net with 8:53 to extend the lead to 4-0. It was his second point of the night.

Ovi gets turnover in the neutral zone to set up Travis Boyd for his FIRST NHL GOAL! #CapsJackets#Caps 4 – Blue Jackets 0 #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/J8Rrl5UR7o

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 9, 2018

The Capitals led 4-1 in takeaways. Washington had one giveaway while Columbus had three.

The Blue Jackets led 11-7 in third-period shots, 16-5 in hits, and 13-9 in blocked shots. They won 58% of the faceoffs.

Each team was credited with 28 shots. Neither team scored on the power-play. The Capitals had three opportunities while the Blue Jackets had four.

Tonight’s shutout was the team’s first since March 22, a 1-0 win at the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesers Arena.

The Capitals return home on Tuesday night, when they host the Red Wings at 7:30 PM Eastern. Action from Capital One Arena can be viewed on NBC Sports Washington or NBCSN for those outside of the DMV.

By Harrison Brown