Only for Guild Members » Capitals completed their first penalty kill

COLUMBUS Jack Johnson Jersey Womens , Ohio (AP) The Blue Jackets only had Seth Jones for two periods. It turned out to be more than enough.Jones was the driving force behind two first-period power-play goals, and Columbus won its fifth straight, 5-2 over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.”We’re taking it game by game even with this winning streak,” said Alexander Wennberg, who tied a career high with four points on a goal and three assists. ”We’re playing good, we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves. You just face the challenge.”Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Ian Cole also scored for Columbus.Behind a run of eight wins in 11 games overall and a season-high six straight at home – including a just-completed four-game homestand – the Blue Jackets moved past idle New Jersey into the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Columbus also edged within two points of third-place Philadelphia, its next opponent, in the Metropolitan Division.”We’ve got a huge one coming up in Philly,” Foligno said.Jones sat out the third period with an upper-body injury Brett Howden Jersey Womens , and Montreal suddenly put Sergei Bobrovsky to the test. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped all 24 shots the suddenly energetic Canadiens threw his way. He had 38 saves overall.”We lose Jonsey, which is a big part of or tempo and our transition,” coach John Tortorella said. ”You know it’s going that way when we don’t score our goals. We have a number of great chances to make it five. You know what the third period is going to be. They are going to take every chance they possibly can. But I still thought we were on our heels too much.”Tortorella said Jones pleaded his case to play in the third.Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin scored for banged-up Montreal, which has lost five straight and has three wins in its past 16 games.The Canadiens have been playing without Carey Price, Max Pacioretty and Shea Weber. Charlie Lindgren was weak on his glove side, finishing with 20 stops while battling traffic in front.A bright spot for Montreal came early. Gallagher scored the fastest goal against Columbus this season to start a game, only 34 seconds in. He redirected a high shot alone at the crease for his team-leading 25th.”The first shift, a turnover and they score it,” Tortorella said. ”It didn’t affect us. We just kept on playing.”Columbus tallied the next three to close out the period.Foligno countered four minutes later on a steal in the Canadiens’ zone. His backdoor pass to Oliver Bjorkstrand ping-ponged off two Montreal players and skidded into the net.Jones then helped add two more for the Blue Jackets, giving him four goals – three of them game-winners – and three assists in his last three games. He set up Wennberg’s tip-in goal at 7:51 and scored his own at 14:03 Paul Carey Jersey Womens , his 14th this season. Jones’ 48 points are three short of the franchise record for a blueliner, set in 2013-14 by James Wisniewski.”I’d like to see our guys do a much better job when it comes to fronting pucks,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. ”Lindy had a bit of a tough night, and your best penalty killer can also be your goaltender.”Early in the second period, not long after Zach Werenski saved a goal by swiping away the puck before it could cross the goal line, Jenner stuffed home his own rebound, the entire play nicely set up by Wennberg.Drouin scored on a breakaway – spurned by a blocked shot – at 15:46 of the second with a backhander to pull the Canadiens within two.Cole capped the scoring with a floating wrister with 2:19 left in the game.”We just feel good about ourselves and the way we’re playing hockey,” Jenner said. ”You can see tonight if we play the way we can, we can kind of dominate teams.”NOTES: Columbus scored its three first-period goals on its first seven shots. … Jones has a goal in three straight games. He scored twice Friday against Detroit. … The Canadiens dropped to 9-22-4 on the road. … Montreal wrapped up its six-game trip with a 1-4-1 mark and allowed nine power-play goals.UP NEXTColumbus: At Philadelphia on Thursday.Montreal: Hosts Dallas on Tuesday.— WASHINGTON (AP) Evgeny Kuznetsov beat Ottawa’s goaltender twice on Tuesday night. The Washington Capitals‘ penalty kill took it from there.Kuznetsov scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season and the Capitals killed six of seven penalties en route to a 3-2 victory over the struggling Senators.”I thought the PK was the start. I thought our resiliency was a start,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. ”And we sort of had each others’ back a little bit. We took some penalties Chris Tierney Jersey Womens , warranted or not, and we had to battle through with it.”Tom Wilson also scored for Washington, which completed a 3-0 season sweep of Ottawa to move back into first place in the Metropolitan Division by one point over Philadelphia.Capitals No. 2 goalie Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves in his 18th start and fourth straight win. Matt Niskanen assisted on both of Kuznetsov’s goals, each coming less than a minute after one of Ottawa’s failed power plays.”Pretty special night by Kuzy,” Wilson said. ”He’s really feeling it as of late. It’s pretty fun to watch when he turns it on.”Kuznetsov has three goals and three assists over his last three games.The Capitals entered with the NHL’s 19th-ranked penalty kill unit, but got the better of the Senators’ 27th-ranked power play. A day before, the same unit allowed two goals in a 5-1 road loss at Columbus.”It’s been a little bit up and down lately,” Grubauer said of the team’s overall performance. ”You’ve got to find a way to make sure the next one is as good as this one.”Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist a day after Ottawa elected not to deal the All-Star defenseman at the NHL trade deadlineMike Hoffman added his 18th goal on a second-period power play for the Senators, who have lost five straight overall and 22 of their last 25 on the road.Ottawa’s man-advantage struggles included failing to score during two 5-on-3 stretches that totaled 2:20, though Hoffman’s goal came seconds after the first one ended. The Senators’ power-play unit didn’t apply much pressure after Washington’s last two penalties.”A lot of around and around and around Tyson Barrie Jersey , and no pucks on net,” coach Guy Boucher lamented. ”No pucks on net, 100 percent sure of not scoring.”Kuznetsov put Washington up 1-0 late in the first period on a breakout only 12 seconds after the Capitals completed their first penalty kill, easily one-timing T.J. Oshie’s cross-ice feed past goaltender Mike Condon.Kuznetsov struck again moments before the second period expired, making it 3-1 when he beat Condon on a slick wraparound.Karlsson snuck in a shot from a tight angle behind Grubauer early in the third to cut Ottawa’s deficit to one. But the Capitals killed two more penalties in the final period to preserve their win.”The percentage and the kill on the year and the rank in the league, it doesn’t matter,” Wilson said. ”It comes down to big kills late in the game, and we got the job done tonight.”NOTES: Senators D Mark Borowiecki strained his neck in the first period and did not return. . Ottawa D Chris Wideman (hamstring) rejoined the team for practice on Monday. He hasn’t played since Nov. 16. . Grubauer started after playing the final two periods of Washington’s 5-1 loss Monday night. . Swedish Ambassador to the United States Karin Olofsdotter was in attendance.UP NEXTSenators: Visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.Capitals: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs in an outdoor game Saturday at U.S. Navy Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.—