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WASHINGTON -- With Washington off to a 2-5 start, coach Adam Oates made some changes before the Capitals game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Marian Gaborik Kings Jersey . Martin Erat wasted little time in making the adjustments pay off. The right wing, moved from the fourth line to the second, assisted on three Washington goals and Braden Holtby made 37 saves in the Capitals 4-1 win. Erat helped out on goals by new linemates Troy Brouwer and Brooks Laich, as well as on a power-play tally by Alex Ovechkin. "He was flying tonight," Ovechkin said of Erat. "He was the best player on the ice for us tonight. He shows who he is." Joel Ward opened the scoring with a power-play goal for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game skid and finished their five-game homestand 2-3. Coming off a 2-0 shutout Thursday against the Rangers, Oates dropped Mikhail Grabovski from the second line to the third and Eric Fehr from the third line to a part-time role on the fourth. Laich centred the second line, with Erat moving onto that group. "You know what, Martys a good hockey player, has been in this league," Oates said of Erat, a veteran who was acquired last year from Nashville but began the season on the fourth line and was scoreless coming in. "We lost a couple in a row, we had to make some changes, and he stepped in there and played great for us." Erat began play with 53 points in 57 regular-season games against Columbus, his highest point total against any team, and continued to punish the Blue Jackets. Afterward, he preferred to discuss the win rather than his increased ice time and performance. "Its nice to have a good game, but in the end its all about the wins, and we got the win and that is the bottom line," he said. Artem Anisimov spoiled Holtbys shutout at 15:05 of the third. "You can see how we play when he is on fire," Ovechkin said of Holtby. "We have a lot of confidence, especially when he makes a big save and we can see he feels the puck." Sergei Bobrovsky had 35 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four straight. "We unraveled," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "I think even after those first two goals, we started to go after them, but we werent good enough. We got what we deserved. I think the chances were there." Washington went up 1-0 early in the second period thanks to its top-ranked power play. With the Blue Jackets Brandon Dubinsky off for tripping, Marcus Johansson made a nice pass in front to Ward, who one-timed it past Bobrovsky for his second goal of the year. Columbus peppered Holtby for several minutes to no avail. Then Washingtons Steve Olesky came down the right side and made a nice delaying move to get his shot off. Bobrovsky made the stop, but Laich shovelled the rebound home to make it 2-0 at the 7:43. Washington added some insurance in the third when Erat stole a pass in the Columbus zone and fed Brouwer in front. Bobrovsky made a point-blank save, but Brouwer got the rebound, moved to his right and put the puck past the fallen goaltender at 4:20. "They got that third (goal) and it just cracked us, I guess," Blue Jackets RJ Umberger said. "We turned the puck over. They capitalized on their chances tonight and we didnt." Just over two minutes later, with Washington on a power play, Ovechkin beat Bobrovsky with a one-timer from his familiar spot in the left circle for his seventh goal of the season. "As far as the third period, were letting each other down as far as our play in front of our goalie," Richards said. "Disappointing the way the game ended." The Capitals controlled play for much of a scoreless first period, when Bobrovsky made 14 saves. Columbus had an excellent chance when Ryan Johansen picked up a loose puck in the Washington zone midway through the period. He skated in alone on Holtby, but his shot hit the right post. NOTES: The Blue Jackets recalled F Jack Skille from the AHLs Springfield Falcons and assigned F Sean Collins to their AHL affiliate. ... Washington D John Erskine missed his fourth game (upper body injury) and C Jay Beagle was a healthy scratch. ... LW Nick Foligno, C Ryan Craig, and D Dalton Prout were the Columbus scratches. ... It was the teams first meeting since Dec. 31, 2011. Theyll play each other three more times this season as members of the Metropolitan Division. Rogie Vachon Kings Jersey . Its the fourth meeting of the season between these teams with each game being decided by a single goal. Anze Kopitar Kings Jersey . They didnt sit back and put the New York Rangers into an early hole they never got out of. Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to stay perfect in four NHL games, and Corey Perry and Kyle Palmieri scored first-period goals to lead the Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday night.More than half the Canadians who took part in a recent online survey agreed the Grey Cup is an important national symbol but less than half that number plan on watching the big game and younger Canadians are even less inclined.Overall, 47 per cent agreed the Grey Cup is an important part of Canadian culture and identity and another six per cent went even further, agreeing that it defines Canadian culture and identity.The response to the poll, which was conducted by the Angus Reid Institute and distributed to The Canadian Press, was fairly evenly split between men and women with men holding a slight edge but only 39 per cent of those between 18 and 34 were sold on the significance of the event. The number climbs with age, reaching 52 per cent of those 55 and older.But when it comes to actually watching the CFL championship, only 24 per cent overall said they will definitely watch Sunday. Another 36 per cent werent sure, with some waiting to see who was playing, while 40 per cent wont be watching.Men outnumbered women among the watchers (33 per cent to 16 per cent) and the disparity was also great based on age, with only 19 per cent of the 18-34 group planning to tune in and 31 per cent of those 55 and older. The middle age group came in at 23 per cent.Support in general for the Grey Cup and CFL was stronger in Western Canada and strongest of all in Saskatchewan, where tthe CFL tops even the NHL in popularity more than 2-to-1. Milan Lucic Kings Jersey. .In the rest of Canada, the NHL is the most closely followed league, according to the survey, with the CFL a distant second (40 per cent to 21 per cent). Major League Baseball is third at 18 per cent and at the bottom of the list the NBA edges out Major League Soccer at eight per cent and seven per cent.Among those surveyed, the CFL is still more popular than the NFL, which came in fourth at just 17 per cent. But when it comes to marquee football games, the Super Bowl edges out the Grey Cup.Asked to pick which game theyd watch if they could only watch one, 52 per cent nationally picked the Super Bowl and 48 per cent picked the Grey Cup. Again, in Western Canada the Grey Cup was an easy winner, maxing out in Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 77 per cent each.And, once again, age told the tale with 61 per cent of those 55 and over picking the Grey Cup and 65 per cent of those aged 18-34 picking the Super Bowl.The numbers come from an Angus Reid Institute online survey involving 1,504 Angus Reid Forum panellists conducted between Nov. 18-21. 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