WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals didn't want to set expectations for Pierre-Luc Dubois as he made his return from injury, and as Spencer Carbery put it, he didn't have to "put a cape on and save the world."

But in a way, that's what Dubois, back from adduction surgery and a 47-game absence, did for Washington. He was the spark the team had been looking for, and ultimately, it was his multi-point outing, two goals from Jakob Chychrun and a a standout game from Logan Thompson helped Washington recapture its identity and pull off a critical two points in a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

Here are the takeaways as the Capitals move within four points of a playoff spot.

It took some time for Pierre-Luc Dubois to get back into the rhythm and adjust, but once he did, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Skating on a second line with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, Dubois had a jump in his step, as he was able to play at full strength for the first time this season after having started the year banged up.

It showed as he got to the front and helped set up Wilson's game-opening goal in the first, which also marked Dubois' first point of the season. Carbery gradually upped his minutes after that, and he got out on the second power play, where he sniped home a PPG to put D.C. up 2-0 later in the frame.

The Quebec native not only provided offense, but matched up against and helped shut down the Predators' top line of Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Evangelista.

It was the spark that Washington had been looking for over this stretch, and having stability back in the top-6 gave the team a boost and some much-needed consistency as it recaptured the identity and style of play it'd been looking for.

Up 2-0 in the second, the Capitals by no means sat back, keeping the pressure up and doing what they could to generate chances. And, needing an insurance goal, Jakob Chychrun stepped up.

After a flurry of chances, the Predators cleared the zone, and Chychrun caught the puck back in the neutral zone as Washington regrouped. He then took matters into his own hands, pulling off a spin move around the defense before carrying the puck into the offensive zone and sniping a heavy shot past Justus Annunen to make it a 3-0 contest.

The goal marked Chychrun's 20th of the season, marking his second consecutive season with 20 goals, and he made franchise history by becoming the second defenseman and first since Larry Murphy to register back-to-back 20-goal campaigns.

He wasn't done there; after the Predators had pulled within one in the third, Chychrun added another goal on a late power-play to make it 4-2. His 21 goals this season lead all NHL defensemen.

Ultimately, it was Chychrun's two tallies that would lead to the win.

The Capitals honored Team Canada's Logan Thompson and Tom Wilson and Team Slovakia's Martin Fehervary before Thursday's contest, sending off the Olympians to Milan Cortina with the help of the fanbase.

Still, they knew there was still unfinished business before flying out to compete for their countries, and they stepped up to help Washington secure a crucial two points.

Logan Thompson in particular had himself a night in his return from an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old was moving well, tracking pucks and cool and collected in net, shutting down multiple high-danger chances, including a 2-on-0 where he robbed Jonathan Marchessault with the glove for the save of the season. He stopped 27 of 29 shots (.931 save percentage) for the victory.

Meanwhile, Wilson opened the scoring early, played physical and helped generate a number of high-quality chances. He also had a big hit on Ozzy Wiesblatt in the third that helped D.C. regain some momentum.

On defense, Fehervary stepped up to shut things down, and took on more minutes after John Carlson left with a lower-body injury after the first period.

To open the third, things were going the Captitals' way, as they held a 3-1 lead and appeared to go up 4-1 on a goal from Nic Dowd.

However, Dowd's goal, which would've been his third over the last five games, was overturned after a coach's challenge for offside; Brandon Duhaime was just ahead of the play.

Shortly after that, the Predators pulled within one, as Michael McCarron got to the net front and got multiple whacks at a rebound before putting it past Thompson.

While Nashville was able to take some life back, D.C. shut things down, and ultimately, the team hung on for the win.