Blue Jackets score seven in lopsided shutout vs. Caps

Jet Greaves made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout and the Columbus Blue Jackets kept their playoff hopes alive with a 7-0 win against the visiting Washington Capitals on Saturday.Adam Fantilli sc

Blue Jackets score seven in lopsided shutout vs. Caps

Jet Greaves made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout and the Columbus Blue Jackets kept their playoff hopes alive with a 7-0 win against the visiting Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Adam Fantilli scored two goals and James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets (37-33-9, 83 points), who are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot. Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson each had a goal and an assist.

Greaves, 24, was playing his 18th NHL game and eighth this season.

Hunter Shepard made 19 saves for the Capitals (50-20-9, 109 points), who played without captain Alex Ovechkin, who was a healthy scratch. Washington trails the Winnipeg Jets by three points for first place overall.

The two teams meet in Washington Sunday night following a penalty-filled contest on Saturday that featured several fights.

Zach Werenski gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead 1:00 into the first period when he scored on the first Columbus shot of the game, a wrister from the left circle off a pass from Monahan.

Johnson made it 2-0 at 4:53 by skating down the left side, eluding a falling defenseman in the left circle and beating Shepard from the low slot.

Fantilli increased the lead to 3-0, taking a cross-ice pass from Johnson and scoring from the left circle on the rush with six seconds left in the period.

Fantilli struck again at 2:01 of the second period, scoring on a wrist shot from the right point to make it 4-0.

Monahan pushed the lead to 5-0 at 4:37 when he scored at the left post, burying the rebound of Denton Mateychuk’s shot.

Cole Sillinger made it 6-0 at 5:14. Dmitri Voronkov stole the puck behind the Washington net and fed it in front to Sillinger, who one-timed it past Shepard.

Van Riemsdyk scored from the low slot at 17:39 of the third period for the 7-0 final.