Capitals 5, Jets 1: Nicklas Backstrom scored two power-play goals, captain Alex Ovechkin netted his league-leading 38th tally and each added an assist as host Washington throttled Winnipeg.

Troy Brouwer matched Ovechkin with a goal and an assist while defenseman John Carlson scored with the man advantage for the Capitals, who remained five points behind the New York Islanders for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Braden Holtby turned aside 19 shots to preserve the win for Washington.

Defenseman Tobias Enstrom recorded the lone goal for the Jets, who have lost seven straight meetings with Washington. Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves in defeat.

Carlson opened the scoring with 5:50 left in the opening period as his slap shot from the point deflected off a stick in front and eluded Pavelec. Ovechkin doubled the advantage with 1:25 remaining in the session, beating Jets blue-liner Jacob Trouba to the puck just outside the Winnipeg blue line before skating down the wing unimpeded and firing a wrist shot past Pavelec from in close.

Backstrom converted at 13:07 of the middle period - less than two minutes after Enstrom beat Holtby with a shot that glanced off Washington defenseman Karl Alzner - and then made it 4-1 at 15:47 by finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play on a 4-on-1 rush with a low shot that beat Pavelec. Brouwer added an empty-netter while short-handed with 6:27 remaining in the third as Winnipeg pulled Pavelec for a 6-on-4 advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Backstrom moved into a tie with Chicago's Patrick Kane atop the NHL scoring race with 63 points, while Ovechkin is two behind. ... LW Marcus Johansson added two assists for the Capitals, marking his first multi-point performance since Jan. 7. ... Washington went 3-for-6 on the power play and is 6-for-16 over its last three games.