Washington Capitals History: The 1997-1998 Season

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals are beginning their 41^st season as a franchise in 2015. To honor the Washington Capitals of the past, we’re taking a look back and reviewing each season that the Capitals have had here in our nation’s capital. Today, we take a look back at the most successful season in Capitals’ history, the 1997-98 Washington Capitals.

Washington Capitals Regular Season

The 1997-98 Washington Capitals posted a modest record of 40-30-12 under bench boss Ron Wilson. A mark of 92 points was good enough for third in the Atlantic Division behind the New Jersey Devils (107) and the Philadelphia Flyers (95). Capitals’ legend Peter Bondra led the team with 52 goals, and Adam Oates finished the season with 58 assists and 76 points. Olaf Kolzig had a great season, posting a 33-18-10 record with a 2.20 GAA and .920 Sv%.

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Behind Bondra and Oates, the Capitals iced a very tough, grind-it-out type of lineup. Dale Hunter, Craig Berube, and Brendan Witt all unsurprisingly eclipsed 100 PIMs. Calle Johansson, one of the best defensemen in Capitals’ history, finished third on the team in points with 35.

The Capitals won seven of their first eight games to form a very strong start to the season. The rest of the season was very streaky and inconsistent, however. The team did not emerge victorious once in the entire month of February, though only 5 games were played due to the 1998 Olympic Break. This made up a part of a seven-game losing streak to bring the record to 26-24-11, before going on four separate winning streaks of at least three games to close out the season, including four straight wins to close out the season.

Washington Capitals Post-Season

The fourth-seeded Washington Capitals faced off with the fifth-seeded Boston Bruins in the first round of the 1997-98 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Washington jumped out to a 3-1 series lead after splitting a pair of double-overtime contests in games three and four. Following up on that, the Capitals took game six in overtime to win the series. Adam Oates led the team with seven points in the six-game series, followed by defenseman Sergei Gonchar and forward Joe Juneau, with five and four points respectively. Kolzig posted 47 saves on 49 shots in the deciding game seven.

Next up, the Capitals faced the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Eastern Conference’s best team in the regular season, the New Jersey Devils, in six games. The Capitals once against wasted no time jumping out to a 3-1 series lead. Joe Juneau was the best player for the Capitals in this series, posting six points, including a goal and an assist in the deciding game five to push the Capitals to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres.

The miracle run for the Washington Capitals would continue in the ECF, The Caps and Sabres traded victories in the first two games of the series, but the Capitals took games three and four to once again take a 3-1 series lead. The team was on the brink of their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in team history, but it would not happen on home ice in game five. Buffalo hosted game six with a chance to even the series at three, and put all of the pressure on Washington. Peter Bondra and Esa Tikkanen scored regulation goals for the Capitals, but those were matched by goals scored by Paul Kruse and Michael Peca. The Capitals would once again head to overtime. It was here where Joe Juneau would forever cement himself in the hearts of Capitals fans with 13:56 remaining in the first overtime period, scoring one of the most memorable goals in Capitals history. His goal, stuffing the puck into the net right in the face of Dominik Hasek at the netmouth, symbolized the playoff run that the Capitals had, grinding their way to their first Prince of Wales trophy, and thus their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

The Capitals would end their terrific run at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. Though the Capitals were swept in their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, the first three games of the series were Detroit victories by just one goal, including game two which went to overtime. Though a 4-0 series loss looks lopsided on paper, the Capitals went down fighting, and the series was much closer than it would appear. It was a disappointing end to the season, but it was a run that will not soon be forgotten. To this day, the Capitals have not returned to the Stanley Cup Finals, and it remains the most memorable season in Capitals history.

Washington Capitals Roster

What we learned from the 1997-98 team:

Jumping out to a big series lead is important. Today’s Capitals have gained a reputation for choking away big series’, but the 1997-98 team gave themselves a great chance in each series except for the Stanley Cup Finals by jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the series. Despite the current team’s reputation, the luck will turn back on their side if they help themselves out with strong starts in future series.

Momentum is key. The Capitals had two players that posted over 75 points in the regular season, and the next closest scorer only reached 35. That is a huge gap in point scoring, and the Capitals’ run is due largely in part to players such as Juneau, and the team in general, really getting on a roll as the playoffs neared. Eight Capitals posted over ten points in 21 or less playoff games, which over the course of a full season would have shattered the point totals for several players.

The 1997-98 Washington Capitals went on the most successful run in franchise history. It is a run that is still looked fondly upon by Washington Capitals fans today, and will continue to be for a very long time.

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