Alex Ovechkin and Travis Boyd each had a goal and an assist, and goalie Braden Holtby made 28 saves as the visiting Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 Saturday night.

The contest turned out to be an early battle for first place in the Metropolitan Division as Washington, which now has won two straight, holds a three-point lead over Columbus for the top spot.

Brett Connolly and Dmitrij Jaskin also scored a goal apiece in the victory. Holtby played after sitting out the last game, a win over Arizona, and posted the shutout.

The Capitals played without right wing Tom Wilson (upper-body injury, believed to be a head issue) for the second straight game.

For the Blue Jackets, Cam Atkinson's point streak ended at 12 games. He finished one game short of the club record.

Washington quickly took command of the game with three goals in a first period where it controlled plenty, outshooting the Blue Jackets 13-9.

Connolly gave the Capitals an early lead when he scored 1:42 into the game. He made a quick move with his stick to get around goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and then pushed the puck into the open net.

Jaskin then made it 2-0 when a shot deflected off his skate and past Bobrovsky. That gave Jaskin his first goal this season and came just past the midway point of the period.

Ovechkin added the third goal by scoring from in front at the end of a tic-tac-toe sequence that started with John Carlson and Michal Kempny. The latter then sent a perfect pass to Ovechkin, who put it away with 19 seconds left in the period for a 3-0 lead.

Columbus coach John Tortorella then replaced Bobrovsky with Joonas Korpisalo after the first period, and Korpisalo made 14 saves and gave up one goal. Bobrovsky finished with 10 saves in his 20 minutes of action but allowed those three goals.

Boyd got the last Washington goal -- and his first in the NHL -- after a cross-ice pass from Ovechkin set up the rookie perfectly midway through the third period.

--Field Level Media