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NHL Game Summary - Washington at Columbus

Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Alex Ovechkin scored twice and the Washington Capitals held off the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 5-3 win on Tuesday.

Eric Fehr, Tom Wilson and Marcus Johansson also lit the lamp, Nicklas Backstrom and Jason Chimera each tallied two assists and Braden Holtby made 27 saves for the Capitals, who have won two straight games.

"I liked our start," Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. "We got some big saves from (Holtby)."

Scott Hartnell posted two goals and an assist and David Savard also scored in the Blue Jackets' seventh straight loss.

"It seemed like we were at each others' throats the whole game," said Hartnell. "It's nice to see that competitiveness."

Sergei Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 32 shots in his return to the ice after missing 17 games with a groin injury.

Columbus pulled within 4-3 midway through the third after Nick Foligno took a pass down low and backhanded it toward the slot, where Hartnell wristed it in for his second of the night.

Johansson was penalized for delay of game with 2:16 to play and Bobrovsky was pulled with over a minute, giving the Blue Jackets a two-man advantage. Holtby stood tall and Johansson scored on the vacated net to seal the outcome.

Ovechkin opened the scoring by redirecting Brooks Orpik's shot in front just 3:37 into the game.

Fehr made it 2-0 with 3:40 left in the middle stanza as he tapped home the rebound of Tim Gleason's point blast.

In the second, Savard cut the deficit in half with a snap shot just 1:51 into the frame, but Chimera crashed the net and Wilson was there to knock in the loose puck 48 seconds later for a 3-1 game.

Hartnell was rewarded with a penalty shot 8:37 into the middle stanza, but Holtby got enough of his rising wrister to keep it a two-goal game.

Despite failing to convert on the penalty shot, Hartnell still got Columbus within one by deflecting Jack Johnson's slap shot with 4:57 left in the second.

Less than five minutes into the third, Ovechkin one-timed Backstrom's feed from the top of the left circle for a power-play goal and a 4-2 lead.

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