The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals played at the Capital Centre from their inaugural season in 1974 to 1997, when they moved to the MCI Center, now known as the Capital One Arena. In 49 completed seasons, the Capitals have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs 33 times, making two Stanley Cup Finals appearances during the 1997–98 and 2017–18 seasons, winning the latter.
The Capitals were founded in 1974 as an expansion team in the Prince of Wales Conference. The team had an 8–67–5 record and lost 37 straight road games in their inaugural season.[1] The Capitals made their first playoffs in the 1982–83 season and qualified for the playoffs for the following 13 seasons in a row. The Capitals won the Eastern Conference during their 1997–98 season but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.[2]
After reaching the Finals, the Capitals were assigned to the Southeast Division, in which they remained in for 15 years, until an NHL division realignment brought them into the newly-formed Metropolitan Division in 2013. Through these times, the Capitals won three Presidents' Trophies in the 2009–10, 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons,[3] before finally winning their first Stanley Cup in the 2017–18 season after 42 seasons (not counting the cancelled 2004–05 season).
- ^ Page 2 Staff. "Worst Pro Teams of All-time". ESPN. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Montgomery, David (June 17, 1998). "No Shame in Shutout, Fans Say". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
- ^ "Capitals clinch NHL's best record". ESPN. April 5, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010.