COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Rick Nash is the Columbus Blue Jackets' best player, captain - and apparently the top marketing guy for the club.

Nash scored twice and rookie goaltender Steve Mason stopped 26 shots to lead Columbus to a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, ending the Blue Jackets' three-game home losing skid.

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``Considering the fact that we're at home, and the last couple of home games haven't been too impressive - especially with a lot of tickets sold - it was big to give this night to our fans and show them a good product on the ice,' Nash said.

Raffi Torres added a goal, his first of the season.

Mason was sensational, making several sterling saves to pick up his second career shutout - and second in the past week. He stopped 15 shots in a 2-0 victory at Atlanta a week earlier.

``The guys made it really easy,' he said. ``They were making sure that the lanes were open so I could see the shot from the point.'

The 20-year-old Mason has yet to put down roots in Columbus because, despite a 5-2-0-1 record, there are no guarantees he will stick with the big club. He was supposed to spend this year - his first as a professional - learning the ropes in the minors.

Instead, he's making it almost impossible for coach Ken Hitchcock to send him down.

``He played great. If Mason continues to play like this, the way the standings are and how valuable points are, we've got to play him,' Hitchcock said. ``We've got to play him quite a bit.'

Mason cooled off the hottest player in the NHL, Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin's 10-game points streak, which saw him pick up 11 goals and 11 assists, came to an end.

``We score goals - that's the big difference when we play at home,' Ovechkin said. ``The goalie played well tonight. Still, we had lots of chances to score goals, especially in the second period. I had a couple of chances. We just didn't score.'

Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said the Capitals didn't do the work to shake Mason.

``When goalies are playing really good, they have that feel at this level that they're not going to get scored on,' Boudreau said. ``You've got to score a little grunge goal, we call them - get in front of him so he can't see it and get a rebound. But we weren't able to pay the price tonight.'

The Blue Jackets picked up the only goal of the opening period, seconds after coming out of a power play. Defenseman Marc Methot took a shot from the left point that struck Fredrik Modin's skate and ricocheted to Torres, who pumped the puck past goaltender Brent Johnson.

Torres, acquired in a July trade with Edmonton for Gilbert Brule, had been pressing because he had yet to score for Columbus.

``If I keep on moving, I'll keep getting my chances like that,' he said.

Johnson had long been tough on the Blue Jackets. He came into the game with a 9-1-2-0 career mark against Columbus with one shutout and a 1.95 goals-against average.

Nash made it 2-0, taking a drop pass from R.J. Umberger and hitting a hard wrister that clanged off the far post and into the net.

Mason was solid late in the period, stopping Ovechkin twice and Nicklas Backstrom once in a 20-second span.

Washington stepped up the pressure in the third and was on its fifth power play of the night when Nash added a short-handed goal. He came up with a loose puck at mid-ice, skated away from defenseman Sami Lepisto and then faked the forehand before chipping a backhand past Johnson for his 12th of the season.

Notes: Washington's seven-game unbeaten streak against Columbus (6-0-1) was the Capitals' longest against any team. ... Umberger has points in his past four games (1-3-4). ... The Capitals went 8-5-2 for their first winning November since 1999 and with their most wins in the month since getting nine in 1996. ... The Blue Jackets had lost their past two games - both on tiebreaking goals with less than 3 minutes remaining.