- Awards And Honors:
- Stanley Cup (2018)
- Date:
- 1974 - present
- Headquarters:
- Washington, D.C.
- Areas Of Involvement:
- ice hockey
- Related People:
- Alex Ovechkin
- Joel Quenneville
- Jaromir Jagr
Washington Capitals
News •
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Who are the Washington Capitals?
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C., competing in the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Eastern Conference. Founded in 1974, the Capitals endured a rough start but improved over the years, achieving their first winning record and playoff appearance in the 1982–83 season.
Led by players like Mike Gartner, Larry Murphy, and Rod Langway, the team consistently finished near the top of their division in the 1980s. In 1998, with Peter Bondra and Olaf Kolzig, they reached the Stanley Cup finals but lost to the Detroit Red Wings. The Alex Ovechkin era brought multiple division titles but initial postseason disappointments. Finally, in 2018, the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, with Ovechkin named the most valuable player of the postseason.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
In which league do the Washington Capitals play?
The Washington Capitals are an American professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C., that plays in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals were founded in 1974. In 2018, the team won their first Stanley Cup, as well as their second Eastern Conference championship.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
When were the Washington Capitals founded?
The Washington Capitals, an American professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C., were founded in 1974. They play in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Capitals had a rough start, with a dismal 8–67–5 record in their inaugural 1974–75 season. However, the team improved, achieving their first winning record and playoff appearance in the 1982–83 season. The Ovechkin-era Capitals finally broke through in 2017–18, winning their first Stanley Cup.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What major achievements have the Washington Capitals accomplished in their history?
The Washington Capitals, founded in 1974, have achieved the following major accomplishments:
* Conference Championships The Capitals have two Eastern Conference championships, which they won in 1998 and 2018.
* Stanley Cup In 2018, the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. That victory was also Washington, D.C.’s first major professional sports title in over a quarter-century.
* Individual Awards Alex Ovechkin, who debuted with the Capitals in 2005, has frequently led the league in scoring, earning him multiple Maurice Richard Trophies. Ovechkin is a three-time recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2018 postseason.
* Division Titles The team won their first division title in 1988–89. From 2007 to 2011, Ovechkin led the team to four straight division titles, and another in 2012–13.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Washington Capitals, American professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C., that plays in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals have won two Eastern Conference championships (1998, 2018) and one Stanley Cup (2018).
Founded in 1974, the Capitals experienced a disastrous inaugural campaign, posting a record of 8–67–5 during the 1974–75 season. The team’s .131 winning percentage that season remains the worst in NHL history. The Capitals improved slightly over the following years, but the team nevertheless finished in either last or second-to-last place in its division in each of the following seven seasons. The “Caps” had their first winning record and playoff berth in the 1982–83 season. Right wing Mike Gartner and defensemen Larry Murphy and Rod Langway led the team to five consecutive second-place divisional finishes between 1983–84 and 1987–88. Washington won its first division title in 1988–89 and appeared in the conference finals in 1989–90, but the Capitals failed to advance any further in the postseason through the mid-1990s.
In 1997–98 the Capitals, led by right wing Peter Bondra and goaltender Olaf Kolzig, won their first conference title and earned a spot in the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. The team posted winning records in four of the five seasons following their finals berth but failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs during that period.
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In 2004 the Capitals drafted wing Alex Ovechkin. He led the team to four straight division titles between 2007–08 and 2010–11—including a league-best record in 2009–10—and another division championship in 2012–13, but his Capitals teams were marked by postseason disappointment and failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs in six consecutive appearances. The team’s streak of postseason appearances ended in the 2013–14 season, but the Capitals rebounded the following season with a second-place divisional finish. However, Washington continued its recent history of snakebitten postseason runs by losing—after having held a three-games-to-one advantage—a thrilling second-round series to the New York Rangers that saw all seven games decided by one goal.
It appeared that the Capitals might finally break through in 2015–16 when the team set a franchise record with 56 wins and posted the best record in the NHL. However, Washington was eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the playoffs in six games, once again suffering one-goal losses throughout the series. The franchise’s prolonged postseason misery continued in 2016–17, as the Capitals were again the most successful regular-season team in the NHL with 55 wins but were once again eliminated by the Penguins in the second round of the playoffs.
The Ovechkin-era Capitals finally broke through in 2017–18. During those playoffs, Washington overcame many of its past postseason demons, coming back from a 2–0 series deficit in the first round, finally defeating the Penguins in the second, and then capturing its first conference title in 20 years (via a tense seven-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning) to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup finals. The Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, a franchise in its first year of operation, in five games to win the Stanley Cup. The victory was not only the first championship in the Capitals’ 44-year history but also Washington’s first major professional sports title in more than a quarter-century. Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the postseason. The Stanley Cup victory did not spell an end to the franchise’s recent history of early postseason flameouts, however: the Capitals won a fourth consecutive division title in 2018–19 but were upset in the first-round playoff series.