Washington Capitals: Top 10 best seasons in team history
The Washington Capitals have had a lot of fun seasons and after looking at their worst seasons ever it’s time to look at their best. The Caps have existed for 47 seasons so far with 32 of those seasons resulting in playoff appearances. Not too shabby.
We all know what season was the best one but what about the other nine?
#10 2014-15
The 2014-15 Capitals was the first season of the Barry Trotz era. They finished second in the Metropolitan Division with a 45-26-11 record for 101 points. The Caps finished sixth in goals with 242 while ranking sixth in goals against allowing just 203.
Alex Ovechkin led the way with 53 goals and 28 assists for 81 points. Nicklas Backstrom had 18 goals and 60 assists for 78 points. John Carlson added 12 goals and 43 assists for 55 points while Marcus Johansson had 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points.
That season featured the Winter Classic at Nationals Park where the Caps won over the Chicago Blackhawks in thrilling fashion by a game winning goal from Troy Brouwer. It also included an epic seven game first round playoff series against the New York Islanders with the game winning goal in Game 7 coming from Evgeny Kuznetsov.
The season came to a heartbreaking end when the Caps blew a 3-1 series lead to the New York Rangers in the second round including a Game 5 setback where they were 101 seconds away from getting past them.
#9 2015-16
Coming into the 2015-16 season, General Manager Brian MacLellan made a blockbuster trade. He sent Troy Brouwer and Pheonix Copley to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for T.J. Oshie.
The possibilities were endless and even though the Caps didn’t win the Cup that year they had a good squad and would develop chemistry that would help them win the Cup a few years later.
Evgeny Kuznetsov led the team with 77 points that season with 20 goals and 57 assists. Alex Ovechkin had 50 goals along with 21 assists for 71 points. Oshie had 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points.
Also acquired that offseason was Justin Williams, aka Mr. Game 7 who many thought was the missing piece for the Caps to go on a deep playoff run. They never had a Game 7 that spring but they did beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
Although the Caps lost in six games in the next round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Oshie had a game for the ages in Game 1 with a hat trick, completing the feat with the game winning goal in overtime to put Verizon Center into pure bedlam.
The Caps won not only the Metropolitan Division but the Presidents’ Trophy that year too with a 56-18-8 record for 120 points. Ovechkin also scored his 500th career goal that season while Braden Holtby won the Vezina Trophy leading the league with 48 wins and tying Martin Brodeur’s record.
#8 2009-10
In 2009-10, the Capitals won the Presidents’ Trophy by going 54-15-13 with 121 points. They led the league in goals that year with 318 but their defense was below average at best as they were ranked 16th out of 30 with 233 goals against.
Unfortunately the Montreal Canadiens figured them out despite being the eighth seed and being down three games to one. They basically got Halak’d.
But up until that low point this team was very fun. Alex Ovechkin had 50 goals and 59 assists for 109 points. Nicklas Backstrom had 33 goals and 68 assists for 101 points. Alexander Semin had 40 goals and 44 assists for 84 points. Mike Green added 19 goals and 57 assists for 76 points.
The Caps had three goalies play that season with Jose Theodore leading the way with a 30-7-7 record with a 2.81 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. Semyon Varlamov went 15-4-6 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth went 9-4-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
Their best stretch that season came from Jan. 15 through Feb. 7, 2010 where they won 13 games in a row capped off by the Snowvechkin game against the Penguins where Ovi had a hat trick in the middle of one of the biggest snowstorms in D.C. Ah fun times.
#7 2010-11
This was a fun season. HBO was around in December to see them prepare for their first ever Winter Classic. They took on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field and I refuse to call that stadium the new name.
In the beginning things were rough. They were coming off a first round exit to the Habs and there was drama as the team was in the middle of an eight game losing streak. That was even in the beginning of that Road to the Winter Classic documentary which included some NSFW footage of Bruce Boudreau in the locker room. Nothing bad except his words.
The Caps would win that game against the Penguins 3-1 thanks to two goals from Eric Fehr. Alex Ovechkin led the team with 85 points despite just scoring 32 goals and 53 assists. Nicklas Backstrom had 18 goals and 47 assists for 65 points. Alexander Semin added 28 goals and 26 assists for 54 points.
That season Michal Neuvirth seized the starting job in goal while Semyon Verlamov was a backup. We also saw the debut of Braden Holtby. And no first round exits either.
The Caps eliminated the New York Rangers in five games and it was epic. Trailing 3-0 in Game 4 in a hostile Madison Square Garden, the Caps scored four unanswered including the winner from Jason Chimera in overtime. The Caps dominated at home in Game 5 to complete the series. And it was way louder at the phone booth.
#6 2008-09
The 2008-09 Capitals truly embraced the beginning of the Rock the Red era and with the Redskins/Football Team/Commanders on the decline the Caps began to become the toast of the town.
Games began to sell out and season tickets were high demand. The Caps went 50-24-8 that season to win the Southeast Division. They would also rally from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against the New York Rangers and win Game 7 behind a game winning goal from Sergei Fedorov.
It was the first playoff series win in the Alex Ovechkin era. It set up the first ever playoff series between Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Game 2 the stars had dueling hat tricks with Ovechkin’s hat trick turning out to give the Capitals the win. Sadly they lost in seven games.
Ovechkin would win his second Hart Trophy that season behind 56 goals and 54 assists for 110 points. Nicklas Backstrom had 22 goals and 66 assists for 88 points. Alexander Semin added 34 goals and 45 assists for 79 points. Mike Green had 31 goals and 42 assists for 73 points.
That was a fun team and I’ll remember that season the most as it was the first time my dad took me to a Capitals game. It became my favorite thing to do in D.C. ever since.
#5 1987-88
The 1987-88 Capitals finished second in the Patrick Division with a 38-33-9 record. They had the most shutouts in the league with six and were the least penalized team as they were only shorthanded 394 times.
In the playoffs they were in an intense battle with the Philadelphia Flyers that took seven games. In that deciding Game 7 it was Dale Hunter on a breakaway goal to give the Capitals the win.
Mike Gartner led the way with 48 goals and 33 assists for 81 points. Scott Stevens added 12 goals and 60 assists for 72 points. Larry Murphy had eight goals and 53 assists for 61 points. Mike Ridley had 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points. Hunter had 22 goals and 37 assists for 59 points. Dave Christian added 37 goals and 21 assists for 58 points.
Clint Malarchuk went 24-20-4 with a 3.16 goals against average and a .885 save percentage. Pete Peeters went 14-12-5 with a 2.78 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
In the playoffs Bengt Ake Gustafsson and Michal Pivonka each had four goals and nine assists for 13 points. Dale Hunter led the way with seven goals and five assists for 12 points. Kevin Hatcher had five goals and seven assists for 12 points while Scott Stevens added one goal and 11 assists for 12 points.
The Caps got bounced in seven games the next round by the New Jersey Devils.
#4 1989-90
The 1989-90 Capitals reached the Prince of Whales Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Though they would lose in the third round to the Boston Bruins 4-0. They did this despite finishing third in the Patrick Division and seventh in the Wales Conference with a 36-38-6 record.
In the regular season Dino Ciccarelli led the team with 41 goals and 38 assists for 79 points. Geoff Courtnall added 35 goals and 39 assists for 74 points. Mike Ridley had 30 goals and 43 assists for 43 points.
In the playoffs it was John Druce who led the way with 14 goals and three assists for 17 points. The Caps would defeat the Devils in six games in the first round and then the Rangers in the second round in five games.
Druce was a second round pick chosen at 40th overall in the 1985 NHL Entry 1 Draft. He played in 45 regular season games that year before making a name for himself in those Stanley Cup playoffs. He would then get a regular spot in the lineup the next season.
Sadly that playoff magic wasn’t replicated the next year but he did have 22 regular season goals. He spent one more season with the Caps before moving on to the Los Angels Kings the next year.
#3 2007-08
The 2007-08 Capitals were the first team to make the playoffs in the Alex Ovechkin era and it was the great eight’s best season statistically as he took home his first Hart Trophy.
The season didn’t start out so good as the Caps opened up with a 6-14-1 record which was their worst start since the 1981-82 season. It resulted in the firing of head coach Glen Hanlon with Bruce Boudreau taking over around Thanksgiving.
Ovechkin finished the season with 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points. He scored his 60th of the season on March 21 against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first player to score 60 goals which tied Dennis Maruk’s single season franchise record which he broke the next game.
Ovechkin remains the only player to eclipse 60 goals in a season during the salary cap era.
April 5, the Caps completed their remarkable run to clinch the playoffs. That was a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers to clinch the Southeast Division. The Caps were the first team in the NHL history to make the playoffs after being ranked 14 or lower in the standings at the midpoint of the season.
Although the Caps lost the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games, Ovechkin was lighting it up and made a big impact in his first playoff game by potting the game winning goal. It was the beginning of the Rock the Red era and the possibilities back then were endless.
#2 1997-98
The 1997-98 Capitals saw the franchise making the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time. They ran into a powerful buzzsaw in the Detroit Red Wings, who were in the midst of their dynasty but the journey to get to the NHL’s biggest stage was memorable.
Peter Bondra led the team with 52 goals and Olaf Kolzig had a solid .920 save percentage. In the playoffs the Caps powered through the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Buffalo Sabres. The Caps beat the Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals behind a Game 6 overtime goal from Joe Juneau.
The Caps won five overtime playoff games that spring, two against the Bruins and three against the Bruins. I don’t even want to know how many overtime games they played in the playoffs that year. What I want to know is how a lot of those fans back then are still alive now. My heart couldn’t take all those playoff OTs.
The Caps also moved from the Capital Centre to the MCI Center which of course is now called Capital One Arena. They made it to the Finals despite finishing third in the Atlantic Division which shows that this run was very magical until the Cinderella carousel broke down in the finals.
#1 2017-18
This one obviously was a slam dunk and what made this season even sweeter was that all the haters and naysayers were saying that the Cup window had closed and that the team should trade Alex Ovechkin.
What we saw from the great eight was a resurgence and complete domination and he took it all the way to June 7, 2018 as the Caps finally won their first Stanley Cup.
Ovechkin led the Capitals with 50 goal sand 40 assists for 90 points. In the playoffs Ovechkin led the Caps with 15 goals along with 12 assists for 27 points to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
If Ovechkin didn’t win the Conn Smythe, Evgeny Kuznetsov probably would’ve as he led the team with 32 points and 20 assists along with 12 goals including the biggest goal in Capitals history.
Had that goal not happened, there’d be no Cup. The Caps had to first get past their second round demons and they did just that in poetic justice style taking down the hated Penguins.
Related Story. T.J. Oshie One Of The Most Important Capitals Trades Ever. light
Sidney Crosby turned the puck over and Ovechkin stripped the puck. He found a streaking Evgeny Kuznetsov and he finished the breakaway. It felt like a weight was lifted off everybody’s back. Was there really any doubt they would win the Cup after that?