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 Final 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. 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 Final.

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, before finally winning their first Stanley Cup in the 2017–18 season after 42 seasons (not counting the cancelled 2004–05 season).

Table key

+Key of colors and symbolsColor/symbolExplanation Stanley Cup champions Conference champions Division champions Led league in points

+Key of terms and abbreviationsTerm or abbreviationDefinitionFinishFinal position in division or league standingsGPNumber of games playedWNumber of winsLNumber of lossesTNumber of tiesOTNumber of losses in overtime (since the 1999–2000 season)PtsNumber of pointsGFGoals for (goals scored by the Capitals)GAGoals against (goals scored by the Capitals' opponents)—Does not apply

Year by year +Year by year listing of all seasons played by the Washington CapitalsNHL seasonCapitals seasonConferenceDivisionRegular seasonPostseasonFinishGPWLTOTPtsGFGAGPWLOTGFGAResult1974–75WalesNorris5th808675—21181446——————Did not qualify1975–76WalesNorris5th80115910—32224394——————Did not qualify1976–77WalesNorris4th80244214—62221307——————Did not qualify1977–78WalesNorris5th80174914—48195321——————Did not qualify1978–79WalesNorris4th80244115—63273338——————Did not qualify1979–80CampbellPatrick5th80274013—67261293——————Did not qualify1980–81CampbellPatrick5th80263618—70286317——————Did not qualify1981–82WalesPatrick5th80264113—65319338——————Did not qualify1982–83WalesPatrick3rd80392516—94306283413—1119Lost division semifinals to New York Islanders, 1–31983–84WalesPatrick2nd8048275—101308226844—2825Won division semifinals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 3–0Lost division finals to New York Islanders, 1–41984–85WalesPatrick2nd8046259—101322240523—1214Lost division semifinals to New York Islanders, 2–31985–86WalesPatrick2nd8050237—107315272954—3624Won division semifinals vs. New York Islanders, 3–0Lost division finals to New York Rangers, 2–41986–87WalesPatrick2nd80383210—86285278734—1919Lost division semifinals to New York Islanders, 3–41987–88WalesPatrick2nd8038339—852812491477—5450Won division semifinals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 4–3Lost division finals to New Jersey Devils, 3–41988–89WalesPatrick1st80412910—92305259624—1825Lost division semifinals to Philadelphia Flyers, 2–41989–90WalesPatrick3rd8036386—782842751587—4948Won division semifinals vs. New Jersey Devils, 4–2Won division finals vs. New York Rangers, 4–1Lost conference finals to Boston Bruins, 0–41990–91WalesPatrick3rd8037367—812582581156—2935Won division semifinals vs. New York Rangers, 4–2Lost division finals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 1–41991–92WalesPatrick2nd8045278—98330275734—2725Lost division semifinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–41992–93WalesPatrick2nd8443347—93325286624—1523Lost division semifinals to New York Islanders, 2–41993–94EasternAtlantic3rd84393510—882772631156—3232Won conference quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 4–2Lost conference semifinals to New York Rangers, 1–41994–95EasternAtlantic2nd4822188—52136120734—1017Lost conference quarterfinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–41995–96EasternAtlantic4th82393211—89234204624—1721Lost conference quarterfinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 2–41996–97EasternAtlantic5th8233409—75214231——————Did not qualify1997–98EasternAtlantic3rd82403012—9221920221129—5344Won conference quarterfinals vs. Boston Bruins, 4–2Won conference semifinals vs. Ottawa Senators, 4–1Won conference finals vs. Buffalo Sabres, 4–2Lost Stanley Cup Final to Detroit Red Wings, 0–41998–99EasternSoutheast3rd8231456—68200218——————Did not qualify1999–2000EasternSoutheast1st824424122102227194514—615Lost conference quarterfinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 1–42000–01EasternSoutheast1st82412710496233211624—1014Lost conference quarterfinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 2–42001–02EasternSoutheast2nd82363311285228240——————Did not qualify2002–03EasternSoutheast2nd8239298692224220624—1514Lost conference quarterfinals to Tampa Bay Lightning, 2–42003–04EasternSoutheast5th82234610359186253——————Did not qualify2004–05EasternSoutheast Season cancelled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout2005–06EasternSoutheast5th822941—1270237306——————Did not qualify2006–07EasternSoutheast5th822840—1470235286——————Did not qualify2007–08EasternSoutheast1st824331—894242231734—2023Lost conference quarterfinals to Philadelphia Flyers, 3–42008–09EasternSoutheast1st825024—81082722451477—4138Won conference quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers, 4–3Lost conference semifinals to Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–42009–10EasternSoutheast1st825415—13121318233734—2220Lost conference quarterfinals to Montreal Canadiens, 3–42010–11EasternSoutheast1st824823—11107224197945—2324Won conference quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers, 4–1Lost conference semifinals to Tampa Bay Lightning, 0–42011–12EasternSoutheast2nd824232—8922222301477—2830Won conference quarterfinals vs. Boston Bruins, 4–3Lost conference semifinals to New York Rangers, 3–42012–13EasternSoutheast1st482718—357149130734—1315Lost conference quarterfinals to New York Rangers, 3–42013–14EasternMetropolitan5th823830—1490235240——————Did not qualify2014–15EasternMetropolitan2nd824526—111012422031477—2828Won first round vs. New York Islanders, 4–3 Lost second round to New York Rangers, 3–42015–16EasternMetropolitan1st825618—81202521931266—2922Won first round vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 4–2Lost second round to Pittsburgh Penguins, 2–42016–17EasternMetropolitan1st825519—81182631821376—3634Won first round vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4–2Lost second round to Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–42017–18EasternMetropolitan1st824926—710525923924168—8661Won first round vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 4–2Won second round vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 4–2Won conference finals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4–3Won Stanley Cup Final vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 4–12018–19EasternMetropolitan1st824826—8104278249734—2021Lost first round to Carolina Hurricanes, 3–42019–20EasternMetropolitan1st694120—89024021582511324Finished third in seeding round-robin (1–1–1)Lost first round to New York Islanders, 1–42020–21—East2nd563615—577191163514—1016Lost first round to Boston Bruins, 1–42021–22EasternMetropolitan4th824426—12100275245624—1920Lost first round to Florida Panthers, 2–42022–23EasternMetropolitan6th823537—1080255265——————Did not qualify2023–24EasternMetropolitan4th824031—1191220257404—715Lost first round to New York Rangers, 0–42024–25EasternMetropolitan1st825122—91112882321055—2527Won first round vs. Montreal Canadiens, 4–1Lost second round to Carolina Hurricanes, 1–42025–26EasternMetropolitan4th824330—995263244——————Did not qualifyTotalsTotal statistics of Washington Capitals in regular season 1974/75 - 2022/23 | NHL.comTotal statistics of Washington Capitals in Playoff 1974/75 - 2021/22 | NHL.com4,0431,9131,6133032144,34312,81712,796315145169188789934 playoff appearances

Notes In 1992, the NHL expanded the season to 84 games, and each team played two games at a neutral site. After the 1995 lockout, the neutral site games were eliminated, and the season was reduced to 82 games. The NHL realigned into Eastern and Western conferences prior to the 1993–94 season. Washington was placed in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The season was shortened to 48 games because of the 1994–95 NHL lockout. Beginning with the 1999–00 season, teams received one point for losing a regular season game in overtime. The season was canceled because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Before the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a penalty shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties. The NHL added 4 expansion teams prior to the 1998–99 season and split the Eastern Conference into three divisions: Northeast, Atlantic, and Southeast. Washington was moved into the new Southeast division. The season was shortened to 48 games because of the 2012–13 NHL lockout. The NHL realigned prior to the 2013–14 season. Washington was placed in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The 2019-20 NHL season was suspended on March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The top 24 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. The 2020–21 NHL season was shortened to 56 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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