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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ryan Johansen has become the young Columbus Blue Jackets most promising player. Johansen scored twice and Derek MacKenzie, Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson also had goals to lead the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, ending a three-game losing skid. "I felt like I had the puck on my stick the whole night," said the 21-year-old, whose goal total now matches his age. The Capitals looked sluggish and slow the whole night. Alex Ovechkin -- leading the NHL with 38 goals -- had a career low minus-5 rating, according to STATS. "I was today the worst player out there," he said after registering as many shots (2) as penalty minutes. "I cant play like that. I have to bounce back. ... I feel bad for my team because I have to lead. But today I was bad." Columbus rookie defenceman Ryan Murray said the defence keyed on Ovechkin. "We were really isolating him on that side of the power play and just kind of blocking all the seams so they couldnt get pucks to him," he said. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets were very good. Jack Johnson and Fedor Tyutin each had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who had totalled six goals in the losing streak. MacKenzie opened the scoring with a short-handed goal and seemed to light a fire under the Blue Jackets. Dubinsky had an assist to go with his goal. And Sergei Bobrovsky had 30 saves, 19 of them coming in the ragged, penalty-filled final period. "It was a huge win for the guys," coach Todd Richards said. "We challenged them this afternoon, (saying we were) needing more from individuals. We got that tonight." Each team was 0 for 7 on the power play in a chippy, physical game that saw Washington defenceman Mike Green pounded into the boards on a check by Boone Jenner in the first period. He did not return. The Capitals Tom Wilson also laid out Blue Jackets defenceman Nikita Nikitin, which seemed to add some edge to his teammates. The Blue Jackets tied a franchise mark by scoring at least three goals in each game of a team-record eight-game winning streak but had mustered just two per game in the three losses since. Meanwhile, the Capitals had scored 10 goals in winning their last two games. "We scored in different ways," Richards said. "We had a short-handed goal that gave our team some life. Then Joey (Johansen) stepped up. He had a big game." Yet Columbus roared to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. Joel Ward had a short-handed goal and Eric Fehr also scored for the Capitals, who had won two in a row after dropping seven straight. "We were terrible," Washington coach Adam Oates said after his team fell behind 2-0 after a period. "It was probably the worst period Ive seen the boys play in over a year. Why, I dont know. It was collectively all of us." The Capitals were playing their fourth of a season-long five-game road trip that ends in Detroit on Friday night. Moments after Bobrovsky gloved a power-play shot by Ovechkin, the Blue Jackets scored a short-handed goal. MacKenzie pounced on a loose puck at centre ice and skated in from the left wing unimpeded, deking to get Braden Holtby down on the ice and then sliding the puck inside the near post. Johansen then carried the puck up the ice on a break, pulled up to look for a teammate, and passed to Jack Johnson, who fired a slap shot from the right point. The puck caromed off Jenner and Johansen had a vacant net to tap in the rebound. On goals by Dubinsky and Johansens second, the Capitals were basically spectators, watching while they made moves and put the puck in the net. The final 28 minutes was a succession of penalties. The damage had already been done. "We lost some of our discipline and took too many penalties in the third period, got away from our game," Johansen said. "But we did a great job in the first and second periods." Notes: Columbus LW Blake Comeau, still hurting from a sprained ligament in his left knee, was scratched. ... The game was eerily similar to a lopsided 5-1 Blue Jackets victory over the Caps on Jan. 18, also in Nationwide Arena. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping . Doug Fister allowed two runs over seven innings and Washington hit three solo homers in a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. Nike Shoes Sale . “The shootout, theres nothing wrong with it, I think its an exciting part of the game but its just one small aspect,” said Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “Its a skill exhibition. If you can get it back closer to regular hockey and have it decided that way; that would be my preference.” “I dont think its a knock on the shootout, I think more of the managers would like to see it end in overtime,” added Washington Capitals GM George McPhee. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/.Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. Discount Nike Shoes . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency.CHICAGO -- Pedro Alvarez stepped to the plate ready to strike in a big spot. Once again, he delivered. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run seventh inning and Jason Grilli retired Emilio Bonifacio on a bases-loaded grounder to end the game, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Pirates trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh, but two big drives changed things. Pinch hitter Travis Snider cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer off Brian Schlitter. Alvarez put Pittsburgh ahead with his three-run shot on the first pitch from James Russell (0-1), his third homer in two games and fifth this season. "Just trying to be ready from pitch No. 1, ready to compete and sometimes that first pitch is the best one you see and just trying to be ready to hit as soon as I step in the box," Alvarez said. Chicago threatened in the bottom of the ninth before Grilli retired Bonifacio on a grounder to first. Pittsburgh took two of three at Wrigley Field. That gave the Pirates their third series win -- the most for them to start the season since the 1992 team took its first six. Gerrit Cole (2-0) struck out 10 in six innings. He also allowed four runs, three of them earned. Tony Watson worked a perfect seventh. Mark Melancon retired the side in the eighth before things got tense against Grilli in the ninth. Grilli gave up a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Ryan Sweeney and a single to Starlin Castro, putting runners on first and second. Grilli then struck out Luis Valbuena and Welington Castillo before Darwin Barney walked to load the bases. Bonifacio, who came into the game with a .500 average after going 19 for 38, ended it with that grounder to first baseman Travis Ishikawa, giving Grilli his third save in four chances. Chicagos Travis Wood sailed through six-plus innings, allowing four hits, striking out nine and walking three. He left to cheers with a four-run lead after Neil Walker led off the seventh with a double. Snider, batting for Clint Barnes, then drove a two-run homer to the shrubs in centre off Schlitter, cutting it to 4-2.dddddddddddd Schlitter also gave up a single to Starling Marte and walked Andrew McCutchen with two out before Alvarez drove the first pitch from Russell off the roof of a party suite beyond the bushes in centre. "Its tough, especially as well as Woody pitched," Russell said. "You never want to mess up (an outing) that he had. Its one of those deals. Its why we play the game. It happens. We live to see another day." With a 1-0 lead going into the fourth, the Cubs took advantage of a wild pitch while scoring three more runs. Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz singled leading off. Castro drove an RBI single through the left side with one out, and Schierholtz came home on a wild pitch to Mike Olt. The lead grew to 4-0 when Castro scored on Castillos two-out single. The throw from Marte in left beat the runner by several strides, but plate umpire Mark Carlson called him safe. Carlson told a pool reporter that Castros foot touched the plate before catcher Tony Sanchez had control of the ball. He also said, "If he has the ball securely, he would have been able to block the plate." Manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout to discuss the play, but obstruction "never came up." He also chose not to challenge but would not say why. "If I give you any other answer, we got 10 more questions," Hurdle said. NOTES: The Pirates said top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday. He is expected to miss 12 to 18 months. ... The Cubs open a three-game series at St. Louis on Friday, and manager Rick Renteria was asked if he sees the Cardinals as a model for what Chicagos trying to do. "Its hard to argue with a club, an organization, thats had success over the years," he said. "Youve got to see what it is that they do and dont do. You take things from every organization in baseball, but certainly, theyve had a tremendous amount of success over the last few years -- and over their existence." ' ' '