WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals dropped five in a row

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WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals dropped five in a row before putting together a winning streak that now stands at three. .One of these days, perhaps the Columbus Blue Jackets will experience a similar reversal of fortune.Alex Ovechkin and Marcus Johansson each scored two goals, and the Capitals beat Columbus 4-2 on Tuesday night to extend the Blue Jackets skid to nine games.Braden Holtby stopped 24 shots, including all 11 in the third period, to help the Capitals reach a season high in consecutive victories.The game is all about momentum, Washington coach Barry Trotz said.The Blue Jackets know this too well. Unfortunately, theyre stumbling in the wrong direction.Columbus has been outscored 39-18 during an 0-8-1 stretch that began Oct. 24. The winless drought equals the longest in franchise history, set in December 2009 when the club went 0-7-2.Weve been doing good things every single game, but we have to find a way to win, centre Ryan Johansen said. We create opportunities for ourselves and hit a crossbar or miss the net or they make a good save. Well just look at the positives and try to build off that.Even though the Capitals took the lead for good on a goal by Johansson with 66 seconds elapsed, they never could pull away — even after Ovechkin scored twice during a nine-minute span of the first period to make it 3-1.It was a one-goal game before Johansson scored on a wraparound at 14:39 of the third period to clinch it.We showed a lot of character tonight, defenceman Mike Green said.Cam Atkinson and David Savard scored for the injury-plagued Blue Jackets, who cant help but wonder if every game during this stretch is a replay of the one that preceded it.Youve got to get that winning feeling back, defenceman James Wisniewski said. You get that here we go again attitude, but you cant think like that. The mind is powerful, and if you think bad things are going to happen, they will.The Blue Jackets played a seventh straight game without top goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a broken finger. Curtis McElhinney started in his place and was pelted with 31 shots in falling to 0-5-1.Columbus was without injured forwards Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu. In addition, defenceman Jack Johnson completed a three-game suspension for an illegal check.Those remaining are trying their best to make up the difference.I dont think its a lack of effort, Wisniewski said. Its some kind of weird funk. I really dont have any answers.After being outscored 4-0 in the first period of their last game, a 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay, the Blue Jackets again struggled during the opening 20 minutes.Soon after Johansson scored his seventh goal of the season from the left side of the net, the Capitals went to a 5-on-3 power play. Ovechkin connected from the left circle with a shot that soared over McElhinneys right shoulder at 7:49.Columbus closed to 2-1 at 9:52 on a wrist shot by Atkinson off a faceoff in the Washington zone.But Ovechkin struck again at 16:04, taking a drop pass from Jay Beagle and beating McElhinney with a blast between the circles for his eighth goal.The Blue Jackets have been outscored 18-10 in the first period this season.Savard registered the lone goal of the second period with a shot that Holtby kicked into the net with the back of his skate during a collision with a teammate and Columbus centre Boone Jenner.But the goalie made up for it with a flawless third period.Braden had to give us a period, and he did, Trotz said. He bailed us out in the third. Hopefully, thats something that gets him rolling forward, something he can build his game on.Notes: Washington has won four straight at home against Columbus. ... The Blue Jackets are 1-7-1 when the opposition scores first. ... Nicklas Backstrom and Andre Burakovsky each had two assists for Washington. ... The Capitals have seven power-play goals in their last seven games. .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No. . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin.DETROIT -- Michael Bourn was ready to return to the majors. Nasty weather delayed his plans. Bourn, who missed Clevelands first 13 games with a strained left hamstring, was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday before the Indians series opener with the Tigers was postponed by cold weather. Bourn had expected to make his season debut only to have it pushed back by temperatures in the low 30s and snow sitting on the outfield grass in Comerica Park. "He was ready to go," Indians manager Terry Francona said of his speedy centre fielder. "He wanted to play, but you cant control the weather." Its the third postponement for the Indians, who already have been forced to play two doubleheaders this season because of rainouts. No makeup date was announced, but Francona believes the AL Central teams, who are scheduled to play 19 times, are eyeing a date in July. The Indians return to Detroit for a three-game series from July 18-20 and Sept. 12-14. Francona said right-hander Zach McAllisters start will be pushed back to Wednesday. Danny Salazar will start Thursday, followed by Justin Masterson, Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco at home against the Toronto Blue Jays. Bourn strained his hamstring while running the bases on March 16 during training camp in Arizona. Because he had surgery on the hamstrinng soon after last season ended, the Indians were cautious about bringing him back. . Bourn had been eligible to be activated two weeks ago, but the Indians had him play in five minor league games to make sure he was 100 per cent. Francona said Bourn likely will play in consecutive games but may not appear in "three, four of five in a row" for a while. The chilly weather doesnt help, but Francona said it probably wouldnt have kept Bourn out against the Tigers. "I dont think anyone feels good in the cold weather," Francona said. "But hes healthy." To make room for Bourn, the Indians optioned outfielder Nyjer Morgan to Triple-A Columbus. Morgan, who signed a minor league deal with Cleveland in January, did a nice job filling in for Bourn. He batted .348 (8 of 23), scored four runs and had four RBIs in nine games. Francona said the team decided to send down Morgan to keep an extra reliever in the bullpen. "It wasnt really a tough decision," Francona said. "It was difficult in the fact that he (Morgan) had done so well. I dont think anybody thought he deserved to go to Triple-A, but when you look at the way our team is constituted, we needed to stay with the extra pitcher in the bullpen. With Bourn being a left-handed centre fielder, its hard to keep both of them." ' ' '

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