Umberger lifts Blue Jackets past Capitals in OT WASHINGTON (wesm) - (AP) R.J. Umberger scored his second goal of the game on a power play 1:45 into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 5-4 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

The Capitals played much of the game without Alex Ovechkin, who left early in the second period and did not return.

Blue Jackets left wing Raffi Torres scored twice in the final 6 1/2 minutes of regulation, including the tying goal with 23 seconds left to send the game into overtime. Rick Nash had a goal and two assists for Columbus (6-5-1).

Brooks Laich had goals 2:08 apart in the third period, Quintin Laing had his first goal of the season and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals (8-2-3).

Ovechkin was tangled up with Torres about 6 minutes into the second period and fell to the ice. After he got up, he grimaced and gingerly skated off the ice, heading straight to the locker room.

A few minutes before leaving, Ovechkin was involved in an altercation in front of the Blue Jackets' bench. During a break in play barely a minute into the second period, Ovechkin was bumped by Columbus left wing Jason Chimera and Ovechkin responded with a shove and players from both teams skated over to the scrum. Ovechkin, Chimera and Blue Jacket right wing Jared Boll all received minors for roughing, and Boll was also issued a misconduct.

Ovechkin entered Sunday's game with a league-leading 14 goals and 23 points.

Washington took a first-period lead with a nifty passing display. Backstrom started the sequence with a behind-the-back pass to Alexander Semin at the top of the right circle. Semin passed across the ice to Tomas Fleischmann, who sent it back to Backstrom skating down the center of the ice. Backstrom finished by putting the puck into the top of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Columbus tied it at 5:03 of the second period, when Nash took the puck down the left side, sped past defenseman Mike Green and then put a move on goalie Jose Theodore for his seventh goal in seven career games against Washington.

Nash also had a hand in the Blue Jackets' fluke goal with a minute left in the second period. On a power play, Nash dumped the puck into the Capitals zone down the right side. As Theodore went behind the net to play the puck, it appeared to bounce off a seam in the boards back in front of the goal and Umberger put it into the empty net.

Torres tied the game at 3 on a wrap-around goal at 13:36 in the third period.

NOTES: Laing returned after missing three games with swine flue. RW Eric Fehr (sore ribs) sat out for the fourth straight game. ... Columbus shut out Washington in the team's two meetings last season. ... Washington D Mike Green extended his point streak to a career-best nine games with an assist on Laich's second goal.

© Copyright 2010, wesm