Things got out of hand pretty quickly for Buffalo. Washington scored four times in the game's opening 10:44.
First, Jakub Vrana opened the scoring 6:17 in on a breakaway. Then on Chandler Stephenson put a deke on Ullmark to finish a 4-on-1 rush to make it 2-0 just 42 seconds later.
Vrana scored his second at the 9:29 mark and then Brendan Leipsic tallied to put the Capitals ahead by four. Washington's first four goals came within a span of 4:27.
Jokiharju put Buffalo on the board with an odd shot that found its way beyond the goal line with 9:20 remaining in the second period. However, the Capitals regained their four-goal lead when Tom Wilson scored with 3:20 left in the period.
Just as a Sabres power play ended, the Capitals made it 6-1 with 6:17 to go in regulation when T.J. Oshie scored his eighth of the season.