With their most productive first period in more than 16 years, the Caps quickly put aside the tension surrounding whether they would extend their home win streak to six on Saturday against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. Washington scored five goals in the first period and cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Jackets.

Playing their 10th game of the young season, the Capitals posted their eighth three-goal period of the season before halftime of the first frame – they had 16 such periods all of last season – with all four Washington lines lined up beforehand the scoreboard's second television timeout of the first third.

Facing a Jackets team that had played at home the night before, Caps coach Spencer Carbery had a bad day Friday. He stressed the importance of a strong start, and the Caps more than obliged.

“That’s exactly what we talked about before the game, for a number of reasons,” Carbery said. “They're a really good team in the first half, they play (Friday) night, we performed the same as we did in the third half of the Montreal game, and then even with the rest day (on Friday).

“It was a bit strange; A lot of guys didn't skate this morning, so it's been a day and a half (since they've been on the ice). So we really wanted to pay attention to our start – as you do most nights – but I think it was particularly emphasized today. And man, we started on time and our performance was as good as ever. And of course it is crucial for the outcome of the game.

As Carbery notes, the Caps started on time and the offensive pyrotechnics began almost as quickly. The Caps were on the board before the game was a minute old. Washington's leader struck on the first shift, Aliaksei Protas finishing at the 56-second mark; The short, sharp passes he and Dylan Strome exchanged from deep before the goal twisted Columbus goalkeeper Daniil Tarasov and signaled the start of a difficult evening.

Less than a minute later, Connor McMichael converted a shot from Rasmus Sandin into a 2-on-1, giving the Caps two goals on as many shots and a 2-0 lead at 1:42 of the first period.

Shortly before halftime of the period, the Caps struck for the third time and scored on the rush. Hendrix Lapierre fed Jakub Vrana on the right wing and Vrana made a clever pass-off move that Andrew Mangiapane finished off against the beleaguered Tarasov.

Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 859 at 14:34, and Nic Dowd made it 5-0 just 24 seconds later, finishing a Trevor van Riemsdyk shot at the front of the net.

The five-goal outburst in the first period was the Caps' largest since they opened a six-pack in the first frame of a 10-2 win over the Bruins here on March 3, 2008.

The difficult thing about a game like this – for both teams – is that the last 40 minutes have to be played. The Jackets played for pride, and the Caps were just trying to get through the final two periods without cheating to get more offense while maintaining their structure.

As expected, Columbus struck back in the second period, scoring two goals alongside McMichael's second goal of the night.

Before the middle period was a minute old, Jackets defenseman Damon Severson blocked a shot that went through Caps goaltender Logan Thompson, a few seconds after Columbus had won a tie in the offensive zone.

McMichael scored that goal for Washington at 4:51 of the second minute, deflecting a shot from below the goal line by Columbus blueliner David Jiricek.

Late in the frame, Columbus winger Kevin Labanc scored his first goal as a member of the Blue Jackets on a scoring drive, although it took a video review to confirm its legitimacy. The Caps considered a challenge but wisely put it off, not wanting to face a Columbus power play if the call didn't go their way.

In the third period, Thompson and the Capitals kept the Jackets quiet, and Strome scored his fourth goal of the season with less than two minutes left to make the final score 7-2.

With a strong 34-save performance, Thompson recorded his fifth win in as many starts as a member of the Capitals.

“It was obviously a difficult start,” said Jackets coach Dean Evason. “We had a few bad breaks early on, and when things go wrong or don't go well – of course – a few bad breaks make it a lot harder for the group to come back.”