Theodore’s 34 saves help Capitals hold on for 3-2 victory over Blue Jackets

Caps hold on to beat Blue Jackets 3-2

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann and Mike Green scored first-period goals and that was enough for Jose Theodore as the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Saturday night.

Theodore had 34 saves and improved to 18-0-3 with a goals-against average under 2.70 since Jan. 13, extending his own Capitals record for decisions without a regulation loss.

Washington set a franchise record with its 51st win of the season. The victory also drew the Capitals nearer to clinching the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the NHL. They need only another win or a San Jose loss to grab that trophy for the first time — and home ice throughout the playoffs.

Antoine Vermette had two goals and Rick Nash two assists for the Blue Jackets.

The Caps added to their franchise record for points in a season (114) and also set a new mark for road wins (23).

The Caps led 3-1 for almost 40 minutes until Vermette picked up his second goal of the night off Nash’s feed from the back wall to Vermette, alone in the slot.

Theodore made several strong saves in the waning moments, the Caps preserving the lead when R.J. Umberger’s shot slid just wide of the far post with 3 minutes left.

The vaunted Washington offense, the most prolific in the league at 3.80 goals per game, flexed its muscles three times in the opening period.

After Theodore turned aside a couple of quality Columbus chances in the opening minutes, Semin took a short bump pass from Brooks Laich, settled the puck and rocketed a shot past goalie Mathieu Garon for his 38th of the year.

Garon was knocked to the ice by former teammate Jason Chimera — traded by Columbus to the Capitals in a December deal — with the Blue Jackets’ Anton Stralman picking up a penalty on the play. Garon was on the ice for several minutes before play resumed.

Just seconds after that power play ended, the Capitals struck again when Eric Fehr dug the puck off the back wall with a blind behind-the-back pass to Mike Knuble, who then saucered a setup pass for Fleischmann.

That was it for Garon, who had two saves on four shots. He was replaced by Steve Mason, held out of the lineup while recovering from a slight shoulder injury sustained in a 3-2 loss at Detroit on Thursday night. Mason finished with 22 saves on 23 chances.

The Capitals made it 3-0 on a 5-on-3 advantage, Green scoring unassisted on a hard slap shot from the top of the right circle. The goal gave him a career-best 74 points.

But the Blue Jackets got on the board at the end of that two-man disadvantage. Nash chipped the puck away from defenseman Joe Corvo between the penalty boxes, then swooped up the right wing. He waited for a sliding Corvo to clear out of the way before feeding Vermette for a jam shot for his 26th goal.

The Capitals, unlike the Blue Jackets, were able to kill a lengthy 5-on-3. Columbus had almost 1½ minutes with two extra men in the second period, but never really threatened.

NOTES: With just one goal in his last six games, Alexander Ovechkin remains stuck on 133 career goals at home and 133 on the road. He didn’t have a shot in the first two periods and finished with two. … Umberger’s six-game points streak came to an end. … Columbus RW Derek Dorsett played in his 100th NHL game.