Takeaways: Chychrun, Capitals Surge Past Jackets

The Washington Capitals wanted a better result after their loss on Saturday. They delivered against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and a lot of thanks goes to Jakob Chychrun.

Chychrun led a scoring surge that saw the defense score four of fives en route to a 5-1 win over the Jackets.

Here are the takeaways:

The Capitals continue to get scoring from the blue line, and leading the charge is Jakob Chychrun.

Chychrun got on the board early, jumping on a loose puck in front and closing in before sniping a quick shot over the shoulder of Elvis Merzlikins. It extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, and he now has points in eight straight outings.

He wasn't done there, though. Running  the point on the power play, Chychrun's unit was the first over the boards, and as he excelled in keeping it in the zone, he got a hold of the puck and rocketed a snap shot from the high slot past Merzlikins for his second goal of the game and eighth of the season, which ranks second among all NHL defensemen.

It was just what the power play, which got a major shakeup after going 0-for-6 on Saturday, needed.

Washington, who was excelling at 5-on-5 but unable to finish earlier in the season, has put those woes in the rearview mirror.

D.C. dominated all night long, and busted out in the second with three goals in a span of 3:28, including two in 12 seconds.

Tom Wilson pushed things to 2-0 later in the second with his team-leading 12th goal of the season, finishing off a picture-perfect passing play from Aliaksei Protas and Justin Sourdif. After Chychrun's goal and with just seconds left in the third, Sourdif won an offensive draw right back to Alex Ovechkin, who set up John Carlson for a rocket from the point that made it 4-0.

It marked Sourdif's first career multi-point outing, and he now has points in back-to-back games.

In the third, Martin Fehervary's point shot snuck through traffic and made it past Elvis Merzlikins to push the game to 5-0.

The Capitals got four total goals from the blue line on Monday, and now have 19 in total from defensemen this season, which lead the league.

Logan Thompson returned to the crease on Monday looking for a better result, as he was pulled in last appearance on Saturday after giving up four goals on six shots in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Thompson shined, stopping 20 of 21 en route to the win and continuing to build on his save percentage.