WASHINGTON — The Dallas Stars have put together a convincing argument in an effort to prove their surprising start is not a fluke.

Michael Ryder scored twice, Adam Burish had the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Stars beat Washington 5-2 Tuesday night to snap the Capitals’ six-game home winning streak.

Dallas finished in the Pacific Division cellar last season and didn’t make the playoffs. Now, after the Stars’ fourth straight victory, they’re 11-3-0 — the best record in the NHL.

“This was an especially nice win,” said goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who stopped 30 shots. “I’m sure a lot of people were watching this game to see how we do against an elite team like Washington.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Stars, who travel to Pittsburgh on Friday before concluding their road trip Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

“It’s a good measuring stick for us,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We’re trying to gauge ourselves against the league, coming into Washington and then heading to Pittsburgh and Detroit. Tonight we liked our game. It just gives us confidence moving forward.”

Burish put Dallas ahead to stay at 24 seconds of the third period, and Jamie Benn and Eric Nystrom scored in a 32-second span to make it 5-2 with 11:55 left.

“That goal by Burish got us in the lead, and we just kept rolling from there,” said Benn, who had assists on both Ryder goals.

Washington managed only seven shots in the third period and failed to score.

“It was really nice to see how we outworked them in the third,” Lehtonen said. “It was fairly easy for me. I think I had two saves at the halfway point and we scored three goals already.”

Alexander Semin and John Carlson scored for the Capitals, whose 6-0 start at home was the best in franchise history. Washington has dropped two in a row overall following a 9-2 start.

In other games on Tuesday:

Blues 3

Blackhawks 0

ST. LOUIS — Jaroslav Halak shrugged off his shaky start to the season, making 29 saves as St. Louis won coach Ken Hitchcock’s debut with a victory over Chicago.

Red Wings 5

Avalanche 2

DETROIT — Johan Franzen scored three goals, and Detroit rolled over Colorado. Detroit has won two straight with a combined 10 goals after scoring a total of six in a six-game skid following a 5-0 start.

Devils 3

Hurricanes 2

NEWARK, N.J. — Rookie center Adam Henrique scored with 3:19 left to lift New Jersey over Carolina. The Devils earned their third straight win, and the Hurricanes dropped their third straight.

Sabres 6

Jets 5

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thomas Vanek scored a power-play goal 4:35 into overtime, tipping in Jason Pominville’s shot, in Buffalo’s victory over Winnipeg.

Panthers 5

Maple Leafs 1

TORONTO — Florida took advantage of shaky Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson and routed the Maple Leafs. Jack Skille, Marco Sturm, Tomas Kopecky, Sean Bergenheim and Shawn Matthias had the goals for Florida (7-4-3), off to its best start since the 1999-2000 season.

Oilers 3

Canadiens 1

MONTREAL — Nikolai Khabibulin made 28 saves, and Ryan Jones scored a short-handed goal in the second period to send Edmonton past Montreal.

Wild 3

Flames 0

CALGARY, Alberta — Niklas Backstrom stopped 41 shots and Minnesota beat Calgary for its fifth straight victory. Dany Heatley had a goal and an assist for the Wild. Darroll Powe and Guillaume Latendresse also scored.

Kings 4

Predators 3

LOS ANGELES — Mike Richards scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and Los Angeles snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Nashville.