Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
#10: Washington Capitals Beat Chicago 4-3 For First Franchise Victory
They say that you always remember your first love. In this case, the Capitals will always remember their first win in franchise history. It occurred on October 17th, 1974 at home. It was also their first home win. With a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks, the Capitals announced their arrival to the NHL.
The Capitals were coming off a 1-1 tie to the Los Angeles Kings in their first ever home game. The Blackhawks came into town cocky and thought that they could handle the expansion Caps. Chicago’s head coach didn’t even bother to let future Hall of Famer Tony Esposito start in goal against the Washington Capitals. The Capitals took offense to that and came out with a win.
Denis Dupere got the game started with an early goal to give the Caps a 1-0 lead and tied the game at two for his first two goals of the season. Ron Anderson and Jack Egers also scored for the Capitals with Egers getting the first official game winning goal in Caps history.
This game meant far more to the Washington Capitals than just points in the standing. It set the tone for all Caps teams that followed. The Caps would win just eight games in 1974-1975. None of them were as big as this one.
Next: Number Nine: Caps Get Revenge Against Islanders