Protas lifts Capitals past Blue Jackets in OT

COLUMBUS -- Aliaksei Protas scored his second goal of the game at 2:23 of overtime, and the Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday to extend their road winning streak to 10 games.

Protas won it when he took a drop pass from Dylan Strome near the blue line and shot from above the right face-off circle to the stick side.

“Just a good flash screen by ‘Stromer,’ I think,” Protas said. “I got some time in there, and I decided I’ve got to shoot it. Even if I miss it, there's [Jakob Chychrun] coming down the ice so he could grab it and I thought it's a pretty safe play. And it worked out pretty well.”

Washington’s road winning streak is a franchise record and tied for the seventh longest in NHL history. The Capitals have outscored the opposition 48-21 during the streak. This was the first of the 10 wins that did not come in regulation.

“It’s been fun so far,” Protas said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who compete for each other, fight for each other. We don't give up, even when we’re down by two or by one. We just continue to play our game and we know in the end of the day, we’ve got to be patient and we'll find a way to win the game, so that's what we're doing so far, and we’ve got to keep it rolling.”

Chychrun assisted on both goals, and Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves for the Capitals (20-6-2), who are 7-0-1 in their past eight games.

Zach Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets (12-13-4), who have lost five of six. Jet Greaves made 35 saves in his season debut after being recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

“I think there are a lot of positives I'll take going forward and also some things I'll look at try to learn from and get better at moving forward,” Greaves said. “I felt comfortable. The guys did a good job in front of me and that made the game a little bit simpler.”

Werenski put Columbus up 1-0 on the power play at 14:12 of the second period with a snap shot from the high slot. He scored his 10th goal, most among NHL defensemen this season, and became the first Blue Jackets defenseman with 100 career goals.

“It's nice to get point in this league,” he said. “It's hard, obviously against that team that won its 10th straight on the road. It would have been nice to play that third period 1-0 for a little while longer.”

Protas tied it 1-1 at 31 seconds of the third period. Former Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois fed him from the left wing, and Protas scored with a one-timer from between the circles.

“The message in the second intermission was stick with it,” Lindgren said. “Protas makes a huge play there, the first one, great shot, and then take it to extras, and he finds another one there. So, excellent team win tonight.”

Despite the loss, Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said Greaves, 23, has earned more starts.

“Fantastic. Obviously, it’s a team game but I’d argue he won a point for us,” Evason said. “For us to get a point in that game is fortunate.”

The Capitals tied their franchise record for fewest games to 20 wins in a season. They reached that number in 28 games in 2015-16 and 1991-92.

“We just didn't have a lot of finish and a lot of polish tonight, but we didn't deviate,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “We just stuck with it. Stuck with it in that third period, the first shift, massive shift coming out of the intermission, and us trying to set the tone.”

NOTES: Protas has five points (three goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak. … Dubois has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak. … The Blue Jackets were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. This was the first time in 15 games that they did not allow a power-play goal. … Werenski is the eighth Columbus player with 100 goals. He became the seventh-fastest United States-born player to reach that total (515 games). Phil Housley was the fastest (377 games). … Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson had an assist to give him five points (three goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak.