WASHINGTON _ By the time the Blackhawks showed up in Washington on Wednesday night, the Capitals were already in full strut.
The game was not quite eight minutes old and the Stanley Cup champions had all eight shots on net, both goals and the cockiness of a team absolutely certain it was walking away _ sorry, running away _ with two points.
The rest of the game was competitive and the Hawks were able to keep within striking distance. But the Capitals ran past, around and over the Hawks in those early minutes to secure a 4-2 victory at Capital One Arena in Washington.
The Hawks went 0-for-3 on the power play, with one opportunity coming during those initial eight minutes. Not only didn't they get a shot on goal, but they never established control in the Capitals' zone until the final seconds of the power play.
The Hawks actually outshot the Capitals 14-12 in the first period. But the part of the game that kind of matters _ the scoring goals part _ favored the Capitals. Tom Wilson scored 54 seconds into the game and Andre Burakovsky put home a power-play goal with 13:24 left in the first period to make it 2-0.
Wilson's momentum while scoring caused him to run over Corey Crawford, who appeared to be stunned by the contact, but he finished the game.
Former Hawks defenseman Michal Kempny blasted home the sixth goal of his NHL career midway through the second period to make it 3-0.
Brandon Saad continued his resurgence, scoring for the third straight game as he powered down the right side and zipped a wrist shot past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby at 8:23 of the second period.
Erik Gustafsson's second goal of the season pulled the Hawks within 3-2 with 14:37 left in the game. But Devante Smith-Pelly restored the Capitals' two-goal lead a few minutes later with his fourth goal of the season.
