Jets 3, Capitals 0: Ondrej Pavelec registered his first shutout since Nov. 1 to lift host Winnipeg to its fourth consecutive victory.

Mark Scheifele scored one goal and set up defenseman Mark Stuart's second tally of the season as the Jets snapped their seven-game losing streak against Washington to move four points ahead of Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference. Adam Lowry scored into an empty net while short-handed and Drew Stafford collected a pair of assists as the Jets remained one point behind wild card-leading Minnesota.

Pavelec made 28 saves to win his season-high fourth straight start and register his 13th career shutout. Counterpart Braden Holtby turned aside 21 shots as the Capitals had their three-game winning streak halted and fell two points behind Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Stafford set up the opening tally with a stop-and-go move down the left side before tossing the puck into the crease - where it squirted off Scheifele to Stuart, who swept it home with 8:14 left in the first period for his first goal since the season opener. Stafford also set up the second tally midway through the middle session, forcing a turnover by Washington defenseman John Carlson in the offensive zone.

Blake Wheeler accepted a drop pass from Stafford and - from behind the net - fed an onrushing Scheifele, who buried a shot from between the hash marks that caromed off the crossbar and in for a 2-0 advantage. Pavelec preserved the lead with a series of spectacular saves in the third period before Lowry put it out of reach.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stafford has collected three goals and four assists during his five-game point streak. ... Capitals D Tim Gleason (upper body) missed his second game in a row. ... Jets D Dustin Byfuglien and C Bryan Little each sat out their seventh consecutive game. ... Scheifele has registered 13 points in his last 12 contests.