Washington Capitals: Top 10 most iconic moments in team history
Washington Capitals hockey is just around the corner! September is here and later this month the Caps will take the ice to officially begin training camp. At the tail end of September, the Caps will play their first preseason game. Next month it all counts.
Before we turn the page and look at the 2021-22 season extensively, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the most iconic moments in Caps history. These moments helped put the Caps on the map and made them the talk of the hockey world. We looked at regular season games and playoff moments over the years.
#10 Winter Classic win in Pittsburgh
The Capitals are undefeated in outdoor games but this marked the first time they took their rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors. The Penguins had the home ice advantage as the game was played in Heinz Field but that didn’t stop over 30,000 Caps fans from making the trip.
After Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead, the Caps answered with three unanswered goals. First it was a power play strike from Mike Knuble then Eric Fehr added two goals to seal Washington’s 3-1 win. Up until that point, Pittsburgh dominated the rivalry but this time things were different.
#9 Peter Bondra’s five goal game
On Feb. 5, 1994 the Capitals hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning at the old Capital Centre. Up until that point, Peter Bondra was struggling but he turned it all around with a five goal game in the Caps 6-3 win.
After the Lightning took an early 1-0 lead, it was all Bondra as he scored four straight goals and helped contribute to Washington’s six unanswered goals. Bondra’s first goal came 27 seconds after the Lightning goal to tie it. 15 seconds later, Dmitri Kristich found Bondra all alone for a breakaway.
The Caps would later get a power play and Bondra completed the hat trick. Bondra would later add another breakaway goal for his fourth of the game. This all came during the first period.
The Caps added to their lead in the second on a goal from Steve Konowalchuk. Bondra capped off his night with his fifth goal with 30 seconds to go in the second period. The Lightning scored twice in the third but it wasn’t enough as the Caps hung on for a 6-3 win.
Bondra had a legendary career and this game was easily the top game of his playing days. Not even Alex Ovechkin has had a five goal game but he’s had his share of hat tricks and four goal games.
#8 Alex Ovechkin’s NHL debut
In 2004, the Washington Capitals won the NHL Draft lottery with a chance to select number one. They used that first overall pick on a once in a generation type player in Alex Ovechkin. Unfortunately with the NHL lockout that fall, we had to wait over a year to see the debut of Ovechkin but once hockey finally returned we got a front row seat to greatness before our eyes.
The date was Oct. 5, 2005 and the Capitals were hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. All the scoring took place in the second period. After the Blue Jackets took an early 1-0 lead, it was Alex Ovechkin with a long slapshot to tie the game.
The Blue Jackets retook the lead, Ovechkin scored again, this time on the power play to tie it. The Caps would get the go ahead power play tally from Dainius Zubrus and the Caps would hang on for the 3-2 win.
Alex Ovechkin told the Associated Press at the time:
“I feel like my dreams come true. I play in the NHL. First game, we win.”
Ovechkin would score 52 goals that season to win the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. The rest as they say, is history.
#7 Winning the Southeast Division in 2008
After three consecutive last place finishes in the Southeast Division, the Capitals turned a corner in the 2007-08 season. But it didn’t happen right away. The Caps got off to a slow start with a 6-14-1 record before Thanksgiving which led to the dismissal of head coach Glen Hanlon. The Caps went with Bruce Boudreau to coach the rest of the way, who had previous success with the Hershey Bears.
The Caps used the next four and a half months to go from worst to first. Down the homestretch the team encouraged fans to wear red to the home games and “Rock the Red” was born. The Caps closed out the regular season by winning 11 of their last 12 games and 14 of their final 18 games to claim the Southeast Division.
Alex Ovechkin led the Caps with a career high 65 goals to go along with 47 assists and 112 points. Nicklas Backstrom finished a solid rookie season with 14 goals and 55 assists for a nice 69 points. Defenseman Mike Green would add 18 goals and 38 assists for 56 points.
Although the Caps would get eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers, this run to the Southeast Division title helped rejuvenate the excitement around the sport of hockey in our Nation’s Capital.
#6 3-1 comeback over the Rangers
2008 marked the dawn of a new era in Caps hockey. The Caps picked up where they left off and once again won the Southeast Division but they had bigger goals in mind. They would draw the New York Rangers as their first round opponent in the spring of 2009 and it would be an entertaining matchup.
The Rangers would win the first two games in D.C. including a 1-0 shutout in Game 2. The Caps would steal Game 3 but drop Game 4 as the series shifted back to Washington with the Caps in a 3-1 series hole.
The Caps would win Game 5 with a 4-0 shutout. Matt Bradley got things started with a shorthanded goal then added another one later in the first period. Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin scored in the second period.
The Caps would then take Game 6 at Madison Square Garden by a final of 5-3. Milan Jurcina, Mike Green, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov, and Alex Ovechkin provided the scoring. That set the stage for an epic Game 7.
In that seventh and deciding game, the Caps were down 1-0 in the first before Semin tied it. In the third period with 4:59 to go, Sergei Fedorov scored to bring the house down. This marked the first playoff series win in the Alex Ovechkin era.
#5 Dale Hunter’s Game 7 goal in 1988
The Caps had always come up short in the playoffs but this was the first time where they actually tasted a little bit of playoff success. In Game 7 at the Capital Centre against the Philadelphia Flyers, it would be Dale Hunter‘s overtime heroics that would be talked about for years to come.
The date was April 16, 1988 and the Caps found themselves in an early 3-0 deficit against the Flyers. That 3-0 deficit was the score in the second period before Garry Galley put the Caps on the board. Kelly Miller pulled the Caps to within one before Kevin Hatcher tied it.
Hunter gave the Caps the lead in the third period before the Flyers tied it right back up. Hunter would save the night in overtime with a breakaway goal. The goal came at 5:57 and it was easily the best playoff moment at the old Capital Centre.
A year earlier, the Caps had suffered one of the most heartbreaking playoff loses to the New York Islanders in a game that was dubbed the “Easter Epic”. We won’t go too much into detail over that but long story short the Caps lost in four overtimes. One year later, another Game 7, but better result.
#4 Game 7 win in Tampa
In a conference final battle between two Eastern Conference heavyweights, the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning had a highly anticipated Game 7. However it would be the Caps that would steal the show and they would take complete control of the game right from the opening face off.
Just 62 seconds into the game an Alex Ovechkin blast would set the tone and the Caps would never look back. Back in Chinatown the Caps held a watch party for fans at Capital One Arena and that early strike made everyone believe the night would be special.
Then Tom Wilson absolutely annihilated Braydon Coburn in a fight that the two planned when they were eyeing each other in the penalty box. As soon as their time in the sin bin was up they were ready to go at it and boy did they do just that.
In the second period Andre Burakovsky scored twice. He was a healthy scratch just two games prior so this was a big night for him. His second goal was a breakaway beauty and at that point fans were just counting down the minutes. Nicklas Backstrom put it away with an empty netter in the third.
Once the horn sounded fans took to the steps of the National Portrait Gallery and it would be the scene in the weeks to come as we all know what would happen next.
#3 The demons were exorcised
I could’ve easily made this moment number one or even number two. But I ultimately made it number three on this list but it will always be number one in our hearts after what the Pittsburgh Penguins had done to us in springs prior. Not this time. For just the second time in their franchise history, the Washington Capitals slayed the Penguins.
Alex Chiasson put the Caps up 1-0 in the second period off a fed from Nathan Walker. The Penguins would tie it on a goal from Evgeni Malkin. The third period was scoreless and the game would require overtime. With the Caps up 3-2 in the series, they wanted to wrap this up in Game 6 to avoid another dreadful Game 7.
Just over five minutes into overtime, Sidney Crosby turned the puck over entering the zone and the puck found the stick of Alex Ovechkin. He fed a long pass to Evgeny Kuznetsov and…
“Just (expletive) please score” – Ovechkin was thinking as he fed that puck down ice.
Kuzy did that and oh man I will never forget the moment. Never thought I’d see the day a Washington team broke through. Something about second round jinxes, no conference finals appearances… it’s all a thing of the past.
#2 Making it to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals
In 1998 the Washington Capitals finally made a deep postseason run. Although that run ended at the hands of a Detroit Red Wings team in the midst of a dynasty, it was an unprecedented spring in D.C. In a thrilling series with the Buffalo Sabres (yes believe it or not they were actually pretty decent back then), Joe Juneau would come through in overtime of Game 6 to send the Caps to the Finals.
The first period was scoreless. The Sabres went up in the second period on a goal from Michael Peca before Esa Tikkanen tied it 22 seconds later. The Sabres retook the lead in the third period with a goal from Paul Kruse. Peter Bondra tied it on the power play.
In overtime Adam Oates forced a turnover. Juneau would get the puck and pass it to Brian Bellows. After Bellows missed, Juneau was there to bang in the rebound and quiet the crowd in Buffalo.
There was a lot to be excited about surrounding the Capitals back then. They had not only opened a new arena that season but helped inspire a future generation to win like we’re seeing now. We just need another Cup.
#1 Winning the Stanley Cup
June 7, 2018 is a day that will forever be remembered by Washington Capitals fans. For it was the day Alex Ovechkin and the Caps finally won the Stanley Cup. The Caps dropped the first game but went on to win the next three to take a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5 in Las Vegas.
The Vegas Golden Knights were a Cinderella story in themselves too. An expansion team in the Finals their first year is unheard of in any sport. But the Caps made sure to break the glass slipper.
Jakub Vrana put the Caps up early in the second with a breakaway goal. The Golden Knights would tie it on a goal from Nate Schmidt. The Caps would later go on the power play and Nicklas Backstrom and Ovechkin would connect right from the Ovi office to give the Caps the lead right back.
The Golden Knights answered with two goals to go in front heading into the third period but the Caps were ready to take over the final 20 minutes. They tied it with an iconic goal from Devante Smith-Pelly. Brooks Orpik kept the puck in play and shot it towards the net. DSP was there for the rebound and put it in as he fell down.
Finally there was Lars Eller, putting in the puck after it was sitting behind Marc-Andre Fleury on a shot from Brett Connolly. It was that goal that would lead to the ultimate prize.
More. Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin’s clutch playoff debut. light
Those are our top 10 most iconic moments in Caps history. Which moment was your favorite? What did we miss?