Washington Capitals: Top 10 rivalry games of all-time
As Washington Capitals fans, we’ve been spoiled with some memorable rivalry games over the last four decades. Whether it’s contests against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers or another opponent I’m missing (sorry Carolina Hurricanes, you’re not quite there yet), the Caps have been there to provide some memorable moments and some not so memorable moments in these encounters.
There were so many great choices and unfortunately some moments didn’t make it to this list. But here are the 10 that did. Which one of these rivalry games was your favorite?
#10 May 5, 2021 at New York Rangers
We start with the most recent memorable rivalry game. Just two days after the Caps won 6-3, Tom Wilson was involved. He was involved in a scrum behind the net where he punched Pavel Buchnevich and then later beat up Artemi Panarin. Wilson received 14 penalty minutes and a $5,000 fine but wasn’t tossed from the game nor suspended.
The result of the punishments or should I say lack thereof caused the Rangers to release a statement criticizing both the league and the department of player safety while calling Wilson’s actions a “horrifying act of violence”.
The rematch on this fateful night had six fights in the first period including a forward brawl right off the opening draw. This was a contest that saw the Caps come out on top on both the scoreboard 4-2 and in the fight department. T.J. Oshie had a hat trick in the win while Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves.
The Rangers added some enforcers over the offseason to try to address their “Tom Wilson problem”. The two rivals will meet on opening night this Oct. 13 at Capital One Arena. If the last game was any indication, expect more bouts in this epic rematch.
#9 Game 7 vs. New York Islanders in 2015
Game 7’s aren’t the kindest to the Washington Capitals. This is one of the few nights where this wasn’t the case. Entering this game I was nervous. Pretty sure I even tweeted “ugh I hate Game 7’s” before the game. I just had a bad feeling. Game 7, at home, what could go wrong right?
To make things even more worrisome, Jaroslav Halak was starting in goal on the other side. A familiar villain that shattered Washington’s Stanley Cup dreams just five years prior.
The first period was scoreless. Late in the second period, the Caps got a huge deflection goal from Joel Ward. Just over three minutes into the third period, the Islanders tied it on a goal from Frans Nielsen.
At 12:42 it would be Evgeny Kuznetsov that would save the night and send Caps fans home happy. Kuznetsov glided toward the net with the game on his stick and confidently beat Halak.
The Caps and Islanders have had a playoff history that wasn’t kind to the Caps but on this night it would be Washington who would prevail. This was a memorable series in what was the first playoff series of the Barry Trotz era.
#8 Game 1 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins 2016 aka the game we found out T.J. Oshie is a Penguin killer
On April 28, the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins finally met again in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was sure to be an emotional series. The Caps had just beaten the Philadelphia Flyers in six games and the fans were supercharged for Game 1.
The Caps took an early 1-0 lead when they forced a turnover. Andre Burakovsky fed Jason Chimera a cross ice pass. Chimera shot it but Matt Murray stopped it with his pads. Burakovsky, however, got the rebound and scored.
The Penguins answered with two straight goals in the second period. The first came from Ben Lovejoy and the second came from Evgeni Malkin. The Caps would tie it with T.J. Oshie picking the pocket of Olli Maatta and racing down the ice to score.
The Caps took the lead early in the third period thanks to a backhanded shot by Oshie for his second goal of the game. The Penguins would tie it just over five minutes later on a goal from Nick Bonino.
In overtime, it would be Oshie coming through to complete the hat trick and give the Caps an early 1-0 series lead. Oshie went with a wraparound as the puck went right under Murray’s legs.
#7 Miracle at The Garden
The date was April 20, 2011. The Washington Capitals were in the middle of a big first round series against the New York Rangers. One year after blowing a 3-1 series lead in the first round, the Caps were looking for redemption and in order to get that redemption they had to steal at least one game at Madison Square Garden.
The Caps won both games in D.C. to go up 2-0 before dropping Game 3. That set up a pivotal Game 4 that the Caps would need to win to go back to D.C. up 3-1 with a chance to actually finish the job.
The first period was scoreless but in the second the Rangers turned it on scoring three straight goals. First it was Artemi Anisimov then Marian Gaborik and finally Brandon Dubinsky to put them up 3-0.
A little storyline about this game. Then Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau wasn’t afraid to criticize the atmosphere at The Garden, claiming the building was “not that loud”. As you can imagine, the New Yorkers didn’t respond well to that comment. As their team was up 3-0 the crowd began to chant, “Can you hear us?”.
The Caps would answer in the third period to quiet the crowd. First it was Alexander Semin to get them on the board then Marcus Johansson scored back to back goals to tie the game and force overtime.
Nobody would score in the first overtime so the game would require a second overtime. In that second overtime, Jason Chimera scored a gritty goal to give the Caps the win and stun the crowd.
“Can you hear us?”…. Um, nope.
The Caps fans responded the next game by chanting “We are louder” and the Caps went on to finish off the Rangers before getting swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning the next round.
#6 We told you Oshie is a Penguin killer
This game was one of the most memorable regular season games I’ve ever watched. The date was Nov. 7, 2018. I happened to be at that game celebrating my birthday and boy was it quite the present.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from Sidney Crosby. Also in the first period, Oshie was hit badly and came out of the game before coming back in.
In the second period the Caps tied it on a power play goal from Alex Ovechkin on a shot that came right from his office in the left face off circle. 1-1 would be the score entering the final period.
Evgeni Malkin would later hit T.J. Oshie early in the third period, sending him to the training room. To our amazement, Oshie would come back in the game and deliver the game-winning goal at 18:46 to stun the Penguins.
Malkin did not have a hearing for that hit on Oshie but it didn’t matter. This game showed that the tides have turned in favor of the Caps fresh after they beat them in the second round earlier that year. It also showed the type of player Oshie is. You can’t mess with him.
#5 Joel Ward’s heroics in Boston
In an intense first round battle between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins it would be a series that would stretch seven games. It would also be the fourth game that series that would be decided in overtime and every game was decided by one goal. It was one of those classic first round matchups that would be talked about for years to come.
The Caps would take an early 1-0 lead as Jason Chimera stripped the puck away from Milan Lucic and fed it to John Carlson. Carlson’s shot from way downtown was deflected in by Matt Hendricks.
The Bruins would tie the game on a goal from Tyler Sequin in the second period. Nobody scored in the third and the game would require overtime.
In the overtime, the Caps took advantage of a Bruins turnover and took the puck down the ice. Mike Knuble backhanded the puck in but he missed but Joel Ward was there to rebound it in.
In a #7 vs. #2 matchup with the two seed defending Stanley Cup champions, it would be the seventh seeded Capitals who would prevail and pull off the rare upset. Although Washington didn’t win the Cup that year, that game was talked about all summer long.
#4 Game 7 at Tampa Bay Lightning 2018
One of the Washington Capitals most underrated rivals is the Tampa Bay Lightning. The teams used to be division rivals in the Southeast Division and had plenty of playoff battles over the years. Unfortunately for the Caps prior to 2018, the Lightning would come out on top in each of them. But 2018 everything changed.
After taking down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, the Caps were matched up with the Lightning in the third round. The Caps took the first two games on the road before dropping the next three including two at home. With the Caps down 3-2 in the series, they won Game 6 in dominating fashion on home ice to force a Game 7 back in Tampa.
62 seconds into the game, Alex Ovechkin let loose a slapshot from way downtown to give the Caps an early 1-0 lead and help set the tone for the rest of the game. After serving as a healthy scratch earlier in the series, Andre Burakovsky scored twice in the second period. In the third, Nicklas Backstrom put the game away with an empty net goal.
This was a dominating performance that helped the Caps punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals and we all know what happened after that.
#3 Dueling Hat Tricks
On May 4, 2009 the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins took the ice for Game 2. The two teams were always rivals but when the teams drafted top overall picks Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, the rivalry took to new heights. This game would be talked about among the hockey world as both players got hat tricks and the Caps would ultimately come out on top in this contest.
Crosby and the Penguins would take a 1-0 lead on the power play in the first period. Early in the second period, Sergei Fedorov found Viktor Kozlov who fed a cross ice pass to Alex Ovechkin who shot it from his office in the left face off circle to tie the game.
Crosby gave the Penguins the lead right back before David Steckel tied it. It set things up for an entertaining third period. On the power play, Mike Green fed Ovechkin a one time pass to his office. The goal gave the Caps the lead for good.
Just over two minutes later, Ovechkin sniped in another one to unleash the hats onto the ice. Crosby complained to the ref and tried to get the hats to stop getting thrown on the ice but he would get his hat trick late in the game.
#2 Dale Hunter’s heroics
The Caps have struggled in the playoffs ever since the 1980s but this was a rare time where the team would ultimately prevail. Back at the old Capital Centre this game would go down as a classic. The date was April 16, 1988 and the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers were in the middle of a first round series that would go to a Game 7.
The Flyers would jump out to an early 3-0 lead. They got a power play goal in the first period from Tim Kerr. In the second they added two more goals from Brian Propp and Mark Howe. The Caps would come all the way back.
They got on the board with a goal from Garry Galley. Kelly Miller would pull them to within one. Kevin Hatcher would tie it late in the second period.
Dale Hunter would give the Caps the lead with a power play goal before the Flyers tied it on a goal from Bard Marsh. Hunter would then come through in overtime to give the Caps the win.
It was a breakaway and it was a beauty and it would live on in Caps lore as one of the best playoff goals of all time.
#1 Exorcising the demons
The Pittsburgh Penguins have given the Washington Capitals fits in the playoffs for the longest time. But this time things were different. For just the second time in their franchise history, the Capitals took down the Penguins in the playoffs and boy was it glorious. This win helped pave the way to their first Stanley Cup.
After a scoreless first period the Caps would set the tone early in the second period. Nathan Walker fed Alex Chiasson for a goal to put the Caps up 1-0. The Penguins would tie it on a strike from Kris Letang but the Caps weren’t phased. A scoreless third would ensure the game would go to overtime.
In the extra period, Alex Ovechkin stole the puck from Sidney Crosby. He found Evgeny Kuznetsov up the ice and fed him the pass. Kuznetsov finished it and there it was. The Caps defeated the Penguins and advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years.
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This rivalry game was the best one of all. The Caps had finally taken down the Penguins and we knew this was going to catapult them to their first Stanley Cup. Sure enough, it did.