As the Washington Capitals continue to celebrate 50 years of Caps hockey, let's look back at some of the best moments in franchise history. Today we throw it back to Feb. 19, 1980, a season that saw the team finish in fifth pace in the Patrick Division with a 27-40-13 record which was good for 67 points.
The Caps went through two head coaches that season in Danny Blisle and Gary Green. Their team captain was Ryan Walter. This contest took place at the old Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.
Nobody scored in the first period. At 10:53 in the second period Robert Picard notched his eighth goal of the season off a set up from Rolf Edberg. At 12:43 Pierre Mondou tied it with his 26th of the year off an assist from Gilles Lupien.
In the third it was ALL CAPS before that term existed. Bengt-Ake Gustafsson gave the Caps the lead for good with his 14th goal of the season off a feed from Bob Sirois. That came at 12:53. Then Mike Gartner put it away with an empty net goal at 19:10 for his 19th goal of the season. Wayne Stephenson would get the win in goal with 31 saves off 32 shots for a .969 save percentage.
What made this win significant was prior to this contest the Caps had lost 34 straight to the Canadiens.
"I remember the Montreal Canadiens were the best team in hockey for decades since it's inception"Alan May/Monumental Sports Network
"They were a dynasty. They won and they won big. Like we'd usually lose 9-1, 8-1."Don Fishman/Assistant General Manager
Craig Laughlin added in the YouTube video above looking back on that moment, "When you think of the Montreal Canadiens, you think of Dallas in football, you think of the Los Angeles Dodgers, you think of these marquee and vintage franchises that have had tremendous success."
Rod Langway, who played for Montreal at the time, noted in the video that it was the best the Capitals had played that year all year long. Fans inside Capital Centre were in for one heck of a night.
"We were one of the top teams in the league and getting beat by the last place team was an eye opener. "Rod Langway
"We remember walking up the old ramp at Capital Centre up the back side where the busses were and we were hearing a ruckus and were like 'what's going on here' we've never seen such a thing.... the fans were on the ice! And they were giving the shirts off their back and signing autographs. The Caps were totally out of the playoffs that year and we're like 'this would never happen in Montreal'"Craig Laughlin
Laughlin played for Montreal at the time but he would become beloved over here quickly in a trade that would later vault the team to playoff runs. It was one of those early wins for the franchise that fans at the old barn would never forget.