WASHINGTON — The Edmonton Oilers are a good hockey team. Led by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton pushed the Florida Panthers to a seventh game in last year’s Stanley Cup finals and entered Sunday afternoon’s matchup at Capital One Arena in fifth place in the NHL.

But for most of this day, the NHL-best Washington Capitals led by captain Alex Ovechkin had their way with the Oilers. What began as an evenly matched game turned into a blowout late in the second period as Washington rolled to a 7-3 victory. The Capitals’ surge was powered by Ovechkin’s hat trick, his second of the season, for the 880th, 881st and 882nd goals of his career. He is 13 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.

“Whenever he gets a goal or two — I’ve never seen a guy so hungry,” winger Tom Wilson said. “Some guys score and they [think], ‘Okay, I had a good night.’ He comes back to the bench [and] he’s asking if he can go out again like right away. … It’s been an amazing journey watching him do what he can do.”

Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for Washington (38-11-8); Edmonton’s last two goals came in the third period, after the Capitals had built a commanding lead. Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots for the Oilers (34-19-4) and became the 181st netminder Ovechkin has scored on.

“Today I have pretty good chances to score more,” a smiling Ovechkin said after the 32nd regular-season hat trick of his career. “But I’ll take three.”

Edmonton struck first on a power-play goal by Draisaitl just 1:42 in. The Capitals, who routed rival Pittsburgh on the road Saturday, were prepared for the Oilers to come out hot after Edmonton fell in Philadelphia the day before. So they were unfazed by Draisaitl’s early tally.

Washington outshot the Oilers 13-6 in the opening period and scored twice in the final three minutes to take the lead.

Wilson had the first, which briefly brought him into a tie with Ovechkin for the team lead with 26 goals. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored his third goal in two games on the power play with 24 seconds left, giving the Capitals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We played really well, played connected, making plays, skating well,” Wilson said. “Just looked like a really good group effort for a full game out there. I think it’s probably the best three periods we’ve put together this year, and we knew we were going to have to bring that tonight.”

Ovechkin scored his first of the afternoon at 8:53 of the second period with a wrist shot from the slot off the rush. He added his second on the power play at 18:39 — a trademark one-timer from his office in the left faceoff circle.

“The one goal and then to get the power-play goal right after that, you could feel it — and the guys get fired up on the bench, I can tell you that,” coach Spencer Carbery said.

While Ovechkin’s second goal was being announced, forward Connor McMichael finished off a Harlem Globetrotters-esque sequence into a wide-open net as the Capitals’ creative passing pulled the Oilers’ defense apart. The goal, McMichael’s 20th at 19:45, turned an already-celebratory atmosphere into bedlam.

“We just took it to them and took it to them and took it to them, and then you’re going to get stretches of momentum where you can make it count,” Wilson said. “I thought the whole night we were good, and that can be frustrating for an opponent, especially after they come out and they score. They get a power play early and they score a goal. We just got right back to work and got it done.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins cut into Washington’s lead at 6:35 of the third period, but center Dylan Strome responded 4:03 later to push the Capitals’ lead back to four. Winger Aliaksei Protas had the primary assist on Strome’s goal for his third assist of the game and his 50th point of the season.

Edmonton’s Jeff Skinner scored with 4:55 remaining, capitalizing on a turnover behind the net by defenseman Matt Roy, but the Capitals’ victory was well in hand. After an icing call with 2:56 left, Oilers Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Pickard for an extra attacker — with Ovechkin on the ice and fans chanting his name.

Carbery said he wasn’t surprised that Pickard was pulled, and no one in the building was surprised when Ovechkin completed his hat trick 18 seconds later. The Oilers won the faceoff, but defenseman Ty Emberson’s stick broke on a shot attempt from the top of the zone — and Ovechkin was ready. He lined up the empty net and scored from 139 feet, pushing him even closer to Gretzky’s record.

“The goals he’s scoring, he could’ve had six tonight — like, realistically,” Carbery said. “So, on a back-to-back, 39 [years old], we flew [back from Pittsburgh last night]. Massive goals against the Stanley Cup finalists from last year, as good a team as there is in the league. It’s just incredible.”

Beyond his obvious delight with Ovechkin’s performance, Carbery heaped praise on his team as a whole. With their win, the Capitals moved a point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL lead.

“As good as we’ve played all season, from start to finish,” Carbery said. “I know there’s a couple plays that they get, but I don’t even factor those in. We were so dialed in from puck drop to the end of that game.”