The History of the Washington Capitals(Est. 1973)
2006-2017 OVI, BACKIE AND A FEW PRESIDENT CUPS
The next era of Capitals hockey, which began in 2004, was/is the Alexander Ovechkin era. The books aren’t closed on this era yet; an era that has produced some of the greatest teams and milestones in Caps history but also an era that has yet to produce the Capitals first Stanley Cup championship. The crowning achievement that would highlight the career of the greatest player ever to don a Caps sweater and lift him up along with Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux as one of the greatest in NHL history.
The Ovechkin era was set to begin, but the 2004–05 Washington Capitals season never happened as the 2004–05 NHL lockout could not be resolved in time. As a result, Ovechkin would not make his NHL debut until the start of 2005–06 season. Following the lockout, Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a shootout against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal in a 5–4 win. Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005-06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring (106) and tied for third in goals (52); and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. He had 21 power play goals and a plus-minus rating of plus 2. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
by Rick Benson
The Capitals finished the 2005–06 season in fifth and last place of the Southeast Division with a 29–41–12 campaign, having 12 more points than the 2003–04 season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing two-thirds of those games. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of the hometown Capitals. Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. The team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal.
Prior to the 2006-07 season, the Capitals home ice MCI Center was renamed the Verizon Center. Ovechkin had another outstanding season with 46 goals and 46 assists while newcomer Alexander Semin tallied 38 goals and 73 points. Unfortunately, that was the about all that went well for Washington as they once again finished last in the Southeast Division. A slow start to the 2007-08 season cost coach Glenn Hanlon his job, but then the blend of young talent that the Caps had been accumulating over the last few years began to jell and resulted in a worst-to-first finish as Washington finished 43-31-8 to take the division. On March 21, Ovechkin scored his 60th goal of the season in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first NHL player to accomplish the feat in 12 years, and tying Dennis Maruk's single-season franchise record. He would go on to break the record in the Capitals' next game, a 3–2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes, on March 25. On April 3, Ovechkin scored twice to break Luc Robitaille's single-season left-winger goal-scoring record of 63 goals. Ovechkin finished the regular season with 65 goals and 112 points and won the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's Most Valuable Player. Center Nicklas Backstrom, who would become another Caps mainstay, led the team with 55 assists. The Caps took the Philadelphia Flyers to game seven in the opening round of the playoffs before falling 3-2 in overtime.
With Bruce Boudreau established as the head coach, the Capitals had another memorable season in 2008-09. The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50–24–8 and a team-record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–3, overcoming a 3–1 series deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in seven games (the continuation of a historical trend that needs to die). League MVP Ovechkin cracked the 50-goal mark again (56, 54a, 110 points) while Backstrom (22g, 66a, 88pts), Alexander Semin (34g, 45a, 79pts, +25) and Mike Green (31g, 42a, 73pts) began the formation of the Young Guns who would ignite the team’s firepower. In with the new sometimes means out with the old and long-time fixture Olaf “Olie the Goalie” Kolzig departed for Tampa Bay.
The Young Guns again led the way in 2009-10 as the Caps not only took their third straight division title, but finished with a league-best 54-15-13 mark to win their first President’s Trophy. On December 28, the Capitals traded away captain Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jason Chimera. On January 5, Ovechkin was named the new team captain, the unanimous choice of his teammates and his captaincy helped spark a 14-game winning streak. By finishing the regular season with 121 points in the standings, the Capitals became the first non-Original Six team to ever reach the 120-point plateau. The Caps finished the regular season in first place in scoring, with 313 goals (excluding five shootout-winning goals). This was the highest total by an NHL team since the 1995–96 season. Seven Washington players (Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Books Laich, Mike Knuble, Tom Fleischmann and Eric Fehr) reached the 20-goal mark. The Capitals also scored the most power-play goals in the League, with 79, and had the best power-play percentage, at 25.24% (79 for 313). The Montreal Canadiens gave the Caps all they could handle in the opening round of the playoffs; forcing a game seven where Washington outshot Montreal 42-16 but could only get one goal past Jaroslav Halák and lost 2-1
2010-11 saw the Capitals take their fourth straight Southeast Division championship; despite only scoring 224 goals for the season. The drop-off was team wide as Ovechkin finished with 32 goals (his lowest ever) and only Semin and Knuble cracked the 20-goal mark. Their second-round playoff woes surfaced yet again as the Tamps Bay Lightning swept the Capitals after they knocked off the Rangers in five. Several newcomers who would become fixtures in Washington included defenseman John Carlson, center Marcus Johansson and goalie Braden Holtby. The Capitals rewarded their top center Backstrom with a 10-year, $67 million contract.
Despite the lack of playoff success, Washington had become a hockey hotspot. The Verizon Center was sold-out every night as the Capitals remained among the NHL’s best. That said, the 2011-12 season was anything but smooth sailing. Washington won their first seven games, setting a franchise record for consecutive victories to start a season. Shortly after, however, an early season slump prompted the benching of Ovechkin and Semin in separate games. The moves failed to produce results, and Head Coach Boudreau was eventually replaced by former Capitals star Dale Hunter. Boudreau's firing came seven days after he won his 200th game as an NHL head coach, achieving the feat faster anyone in NHL history. Under Hunter, the Capitals battled the Florida Panthers for the Southeast Division title, ultimately losing out on their fifth-straight division title on the final day of the season. Forced to start rookie Holtby due to injuries, the Caps upset the Boston Bruins in seven games in round one of the playoffs; a series that saw every game decided by one goal. Holtby’s strong showing in the net helped the Capitals push conference champion Rangers to seven games before falling. Two days after Washington's playoff elimination, Hunter stepped down as head coach; replaced by another former Capitals star Adam Oates.
Labor strife once again impacted the NHL as the 2012-13 season was reduced to 48 games. Washington regained the Southeast Division title with a 27–18–3 as Ovechkin captured his third Hart Trophy as league MVP. The Capitals once again scored the most power-play goals in the League during the regular season with 47 and had the best power-play percentage at 27.65% (47 for 170). Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, the Rangers bounced the Caps in the playoffs in seven; this time in the opening round. The 2013-14 season marked the Capitals 40th anniversary as they were moved into the newly formed Metropolitan Division along with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, both New York teams, Columbus and Carolina. The Caps six year playoff run was snapped with a 5th place finish despite a 38-30-14 mark.
Less than two weeks after the end of the Capitals' 2013–14 season, where the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007, the Washington Capitals announced that Head Coach Oates was fired and General Manager George McPhee would not have his contract with the team renewed.[3] On May 26, 2014, the Capitals promoted Brian MacLellan to be senior vice president and general manager and named Barry Trotz their new head coach. Prior to the start of the 2014-15 season, the Caps inked free agents Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik to long-term deals. Combined with Ovechkin, Backstrom, Holtby, Carlson, Johansson and previous year’s rookies Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov, the nucleus was built to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup. Washington improved to 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division before falling to the Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.
2015-16 saw the Caps add veteran Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie to their already solid corps and were odds-on favorites to finally win their first Stanley Cup. Washington won their second President’s Cup trophy with a league best 120 points and a franchise high 56 wins. Holtby became the third Capitals goalie to win the Vezina Trophy with a 2.20 GAA and a team record 48 wins. Ovechkin topped the 50-goal mark for the 7th time in his career and Backstrom and Kuznetsov each exceeded 50 assists. Washington jumped out to a 3-0 game advantage in the opening round of the playoffs against Philadelphia before the Flyers rallied to take the next two and force a game six in Philly. There Holtby proved why he was the NHL’s best goalie as the Caps blanked the Flyers 1-0 to advance to round two against their new arch-rival Pittsburgh.
After taking game 1, the Capitals lost the next three to force a must win game 5 at the Verizon Center. Then the veterans took over as Ovechkin, Oshie and Williams lit the lamp to take a 3-1 win and force the series back to Pittsburgh. In game 6, the Penguins surrendered a three-goal lead to the Capitals, helped in part by three consecutive delay of game penalties, including one on center Nick Bonino. But it was Bonino's goal 6:32 into overtime that gave the Penguins a 4-3 win and eliminated the Capitals in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Consol Energy Center. The 2016-17 season was Deja-vu all over again as Washington took their second straight President’s trophy and their second straight second round playoff loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Penguins. Ovechkin’s goal total dropped to 33 for the season and rumblings about the Capitals window of opportunity to win the title closing. But with a 7-year megadeal to keep Oshie in Washington, the Capitals appear ready to keep as much of their corps together to make at least one more run at their first ever Stanley Cup win.
