Capitals' 7th straight win puts them on Blue Jackets' heels

It took about half the season, but the Washington Capitals are making their move.

A 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night - one that was historic in multiple ways for captain Alex Ovechkin - gave the Capitals their seventh consecutive win and their eighth in the last 10 games.

Watch: Ovi adds patented one-timer goal to historic night

Washington now sits one point back of the first-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division.

The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets last Thursday, ending Columbus' 16-game win streak and derailing their bid to tie the longest such run in NHL history.

Washington now has the same number of ROW (regulation or overtime wins, which serve as a major playoff seed tiebreaker) as their Ohio-based counterparts, but the Blue Jackets have a game in hand and an 11-goal edge in goal differential at plus-45, which leads the NHL.

Still, the Capitals are making a push to overtake Columbus and claim the best record in the league, a distinction that earned the Capitals the Presidents' Trophy over the 82-game schedule last season.

Wednesday's win gave Washington the second-best record in the NHL - considering the number of games each team has played - behind Columbus.

The Capitals have quelled some respectable opponents during their current seven-game run, defeating the Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators (twice), the Blue Jackets, and the surprising Toronto Maple Leafs in addition to their victory over the struggling New Jersey Devils.

Getting an eighth consecutive win won't be easy for No. 8 and company. Washington hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, owners of the highest point total in the Western Conference, on Friday.