Blue Jackets cruise past Capitals, keep playoff hopes alive

COLUMBUS -- Jet Greaves made 21 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Columbus Blue Jackets kept their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes alive with a 7-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Adam Fantilli had two goals, and James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets (37-33-9), who won their third straight game. Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson each had a goal and an assist.

"I never thought about it too much," Greaves said of the shutout in his 18th NHL game. "I just like to try to win games. Obviously, when you have shutouts, it usually means you're winning so I like it there, but otherwise it's just trying to help the team win."

Columbus trails the Montreal Canadiens by five points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

"We're ready to live with whatever fate comes our way and just keep playing hard," Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly said. "We know we're just going to keep playing hard regardless of what happens elsewhere. Tonight was a good example."

The Blue Jackets led 3-0 after the first period.

"We just gave up those early goals, which puts us in a hole, and then the game's essentially decided at that point," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "So, then it becomes what it was. You just get through the periods."

Hunter Shepard allowed seven goals on 26 shots for the Capitals (50-20-9) in his season debut.

Forward Alex Ovechkin, who set the NHL all-time goals record last Sunday, and defenseman Jakob Chychrun each did not play due to rest. Washington previously clinched the Metropolitan Division and No. 1 seed in the East.

Carbery said after the game Ovechkin would play in the home game against the Blue Jackets on Sunday, although he was unsure about Chychrun.

"Obviously, the stakes are different for both teams," Capitals forward Nic Dowd said. "But it doesn't matter. I think if we play our game and play with detail and work hard, I think good things are going to happen."

Zach Werenski made it 1-0 at 1:00 of the first period from the left face-off dot. His 21st goal set the Blue Jackets record for most goals by a defenseman in a season.

Johnson upped the lead to 2-0 at 4:45 scoring in front.

Fantilli made it 3-0 at 19:24, completing the rush with Johnson that started with Fantilli's check at the other end that leveled Ryan Leonard.

"I feel like we studied it for a little bit but to give up that third one was tough," Washington defenseman John Carlson said.

Fantilli then made it 4-0 at 2:01 of the second period.

Monahan increased the lead to 5-0 at 4:37 at the crease from a setup by Kirill Marchenko, and Cole Sillinger extended it to 6-0 at 5:14, taking a pass in the slot from Dmitri Voronkov. It was his first goal in 15 games.

Van Riemsdyk scored for the 7-0 final at 17:41 of the third.

"Do we need to play chippy? Do we need to play undisciplined? No," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "Do we need to have an edge? Do we need to have some bite? Are we desperate? Yeah, we need that tomorrow night."

NOTES: Werenski's goal total is the most by a U.S.-born defenseman since Mathieu Schneider of the Detroit Red Wings had 21 in 2005-06. … Fantilli (27 goals, 23 assists) become the fourth Blue Jackets player with 50 points in a season at age 20 or younger joining Pierre-Luc Dubois (61 in 2018-19), Rick Nash (57 in 2003-04) and Jakub Voracek (50 in 2009-10). … The Capitals have allowed at least three goals in each of their past 10 games (4-5-1).