2017–18 Washington Capitals season
The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[1] They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in organization history, defeating the inaugural-season Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals.
2017–18 Washington Capitals | |
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Stanley Cup champions | |
Eastern Conference champions | |
Metropolitan Division champions | |
Division | 1st Metropolitan |
Conference | 3rd Eastern |
2017–18 record | 49–26–7 |
Home record | 28–11–2 |
Road record | 21–15–5 |
Goals for | 259 |
Goals against | 239 |
Team information | |
General manager | Brian MacLellan |
Coach | Barry Trotz |
Captain | Alexander Ovechkin |
Alternate captains | Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik |
Arena | Capital One Arena |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Alexander Ovechkin (49) |
Assists | Evgeny Kuznetsov (56) |
Points | Alexander Ovechkin (87) |
Penalty minutes | Tom Wilson (187) |
Plus/minus | Matt Niskanen (+24) |
Wins | Braden Holtby (34) |
Goals against average | Philipp Grubauer (2.35) |
The team finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semifinals against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs each of the previous two years.[2][3] The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998.[4] The Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit following a Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.[5][6] The Capitals faced the first-year Vegas Golden Knights and defeated them in five games to earn the organization's first ever Stanley Cup,[7][8] while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.[9]
Standings
Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | y – Washington Capitals | 82 | 49 | 26 | 7 | 46 | 259 | 239 | +20 | 105 |
2 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 45 | 272 | 250 | +22 | 100 |
3 | x – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 42 | 26 | 14 | 40 | 251 | 243 | +8 | 98 |
4 | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 39 | 242 | 230 | +12 | 97 |
5 | x – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 44 | 29 | 9 | 39 | 248 | 244 | +4 | 97 |
6 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 33 | 228 | 256 | −28 | 83 |
7 | New York Islanders | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 32 | 264 | 296 | −32 | 80 |
8 | New York Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 31 | 231 | 268 | −37 | 77 |
Schedule and results
Preseason
The Capitals' preseason schedule was released on June 7, 2017.[10]
2017 preseason game log: 2–5–0 (Home: 0–3–0; Road: 2–2–0)
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Regular season
The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017.[11]
2017–18 game log | ||
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October: 5–6–1, 11 points (Home: 1–3–0; Road: 4–3–1)
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November: 9–5–0, 18 points (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 2–3–0)
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December: 10–2–2, 22 points (Home: 8–0–0; Road: 2–2–2)
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January: 6–2–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–0–1)
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February: 6–6–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–4–1)
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March: 10–4–0, 20 points (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 5–3–0)
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April: 3–1–0, 6 points (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 2–0–0)
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Win (2 Points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) |
Playoffs
The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds (1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins) and the fourth to drop the first two games of the first series at home (2001–02 Detroit Red Wings, 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes, and 2010–11 Boston Bruins). This also makes such run the third-longest Stanley Cup run, tied with four other runs.[12]
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs | ||
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Eastern Conference First Round vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets: Washington won 4–2
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Eastern Conference Second Round vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: Washington won 4–2
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Eastern Conference Finals vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Washington won 4–3
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Stanley Cup Finals vs. (P1) Vegas Golden Knights: Washington won 4–1
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Win Loss |
Player statistics
Final Stats[13]
- Skaters
- Goaltenders
Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Braden Holtby | 54 | 54 | 3,067:48 | 34 | 16 | 4 | 153 | 2.99 | 1,648 | .907 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Philipp Grubauer | 35 | 28 | 1,864:48 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 73 | 2.35 | 953 | .923 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Braden Holtby | 23 | 22 | 1385:45 | 16 | 7 | 50 | 2.16 | 639 | .922 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Philipp Grubauer | 2 | 2 | 105:23 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4.55 | 49 | .837 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
Transactions
The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.
Trades
Date | Details | Ref | |
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July 3, 2017 | To New Jersey Devils Marcus Johansson |
To Washington Capitals FLA's 2nd-round pick in 2018 TOR's 3rd-round pick in 2018 |
[14] |
February 9, 2018 | To New York Rangers John Albert Hubert Labrie |
To Washington Capitals Adam Chapie Joe Whitney |
[15] |
February 19, 2018 | To Chicago Blackhawks Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2018 |
To Washington Capitals Michal Kempny |
[16] |
February 21, 2018 | To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round draft pick in 2019 |
To Washington Capitals Jakub Jerabek |
[17] |
Free agents acquired
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Free agents lost
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Claimed via waivers
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Lost via waivers
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Players released
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Lost via retirement
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Player signings
Draft picksBelow are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.
References
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