1996–97 Washington Capitals season

The 1996–97 Washington Capitals season was the team's 23rd season of play. The Capitals finished fifth in the division, and ninth in the conference, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1981–82 season. It was their last full season playing at USAir Arena.

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

|1||October 5, 1996||2–5 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) ||0–1–0 ||

|2||October 8, 1996||3–5 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) ||0–2–0 ||

|3||October 11, 1996||6–2 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||1–2–0 ||

|4||October 12, 1996||3–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) ||1–3–0 ||

|5||October 18, 1996||1–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||1–4–0 ||

|6||October 19, 1996||1–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||1–5–0 ||

|7||October 23, 1996||3–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1996–97) ||2–5–0 ||

|8||October 26, 1996||6–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) ||3–5–0 ||

|9||October 28, 1996||0–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) ||3–6–0 ||

|10||October 30, 1996||4–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||4–6–0 ||

|11||November 1, 1996||4–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||5–6–0 ||

|12||November 2, 1996||1–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1996–97) ||5–7–0 ||

|13||November 6, 1996||2–1 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||6–7–0 ||

|14||November 7, 1996||2–4 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||6–8–0 ||

|15||November 9, 1996||3–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1996–97) ||7–8–0 ||

|16||November 12, 1996||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||7–9–0 ||

|17||November 14, 1996||5–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||8–9–0 ||

|18||November 15, 1996||3–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||9–9–0 ||

|19||November 18, 1996||4–2 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||10–9–0 ||

|20||November 19, 1996||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (1996–97) ||10–9–1 ||

|21||November 22, 1996||5–1 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||11–9–1 ||

|22||November 23, 1996||4–3 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||12–9–1 ||

|23||November 27, 1996||1–2 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||12–10–1 ||

|24||November 29, 1996||0–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1996–97) ||12–11–1 ||

|25||November 30, 1996||2–0 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||13–11–1 ||

|26||December 4, 1996||0–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) ||13–12–1 ||

|27||December 6, 1996||3–5 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||13–13–1 ||

|28||December 7, 1996||0–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1996–97) ||13–14–1 ||

|29||December 11, 1996||2–3 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) ||13–15–1 ||

|30||December 13, 1996||4–5 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) ||13–16–1 ||

|31||December 14, 1996||4–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) ||13–16–2 ||

|32||December 17, 1996||3–4 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) ||13–17–2 ||

|33||December 20, 1996||3–2 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (1996–97) ||14–17–2 ||

|34||December 21, 1996||3–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) ||14–18–2 ||

|35||December 23, 1996||3–1 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||15–18–2 ||

|36||December 26, 1996||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) ||15–19–2 ||

|37||December 28, 1996||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||15–19–3 ||

|38||December 30, 1996||3–5 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) ||15–20–3 ||

|39||January 1, 1997||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||16–20–3 ||

|40||January 3, 1997||3–0 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) ||17–20–3 ||

|41||January 4, 1997||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||17–20–4 ||

|42||January 9, 1997||2–0 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1996–97) ||18–20–4 ||

|43||January 11, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||18–20–5 ||

|44||January 13, 1997||6–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) ||19–20–5 ||

|45||January 15, 1997||1–5 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||19–21–5 ||

|46||January 20, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) ||20–21–5 ||

|47||January 22, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1996–97) ||20–22–5 ||

|48||January 24, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (1996–97) ||20–23–5 ||

|49||January 26, 1997||1–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) ||20–24–5 ||

|50||January 29, 1997||1–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||20–25–5 ||

|51||February 1, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||21–25–5 ||

|52||February 2, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||21–25–6 ||

|53||February 7, 1997||2–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) ||21–26–6 ||

|54||February 9, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) ||21–27–6 ||

|55||February 11, 1997||5–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) ||22–27–6 ||

|56||February 14, 1997||5–4 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||23–27–6 ||

|57||February 15, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) ||23–28–6 ||

|58||February 18, 1997||1–6 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||23–29–6 ||

|59||February 22, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||23–30–6 ||

|60||February 24, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (1996–97) ||23–30–7 ||

|61||February 26, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) ||24–30–7 ||

|62||February 28, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) ||24–31–7 ||

|63||March 2, 1997||0–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1996–97) ||24–32–7 ||

|64||March 4, 1997||2–1 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1996–97) ||25–32–7 ||

|65||March 6, 1997||6–3 || align="left"| Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) ||26–32–7 ||

|66||March 9, 1997||0–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||26–33–7 ||

|67||March 11, 1997||4–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) ||27–33–7 ||

|68||March 12, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1996–97) ||27–34–7 ||

|69||March 15, 1997||2–3 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||27–35–7 ||

|70||March 16, 1997||5–3 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1996–97) ||28–35–7 ||

|71||March 19, 1997||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||28–35–8 ||

|72||March 21, 1997||1–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||28–36–8 ||

|73||March 22, 1997||3–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||29–36–8 ||

|74||March 25, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1996–97) ||30–36–8 ||

|75||March 26, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) ||30–37–8 ||

|76||March 29, 1997||3–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) ||30–38–8 ||

|77||April 1, 1997||0–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1996–97) ||30–39–8 ||

|78||April 3, 1997||0–4 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) ||30–40–8 ||

|79||April 6, 1997||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Florida Panthers (1996–97) ||30–40–9 ||

|80||April 10, 1997||3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) ||31–40–9 ||

|81||April 12, 1997||6–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1996–97) ||32–40–9 ||

|82||April 13, 1997||8–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) ||33–40–9 ||

Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. Player Regular season 12 RW 77 46 31 77 7 72 32 C 82 14 32 46 −2 125 22 LW 78 17 25 42 −3 67 90 C 58 15 27 42 −11 8 96 D 77 11 29 40 −10 24 55 D 57 13 17 30 −11 36 10 LW 77 10 14 24 4 33 3 D 57 6 18 24 11 28 20 C 54 7 16 23 −15 22 17 LW 42 9 13 22 −1 165 41 C 53 5 17 22 −3 25 13 C 59 7 14 21 5 30 6 D 65 6 11 17 −2 16 21 LW 47 5 11 16 −10 37 77 C 17 4 8 12 −2 4 18 LW 23 4 7 11 −3 12 2 D 80 3 8 11 −5 115 34 RW 19 7 3 10 −1 4 92 RW 13 5 5 10 0 31 29 D 65 1 8 9 8 107 24 D 56 2 6 8 3 118 36 C/LW 70 1 7 8 −4 42 27 LW 80 4 3 7 −11 218 33 RW 19 3 2 5 0 7 19 D 44 3 2 5 −20 88 26 RW 11 2 3 5 −2 13 44 RW 11 2 1 3 −5 4 23 C 38 1 2 3 0 130 28 D 25 1 1 2 1 20 30 G 18 0 1 1 7 45 D 1 0 0 0 0 0 30 G 40 0 0 0 2 37 G 29 0 0 0 4 9 D 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 D 6 0 0 0 2 2 14 C 4 0 0 0 1 4 16 C 6 0 0 0 −3 2

Goaltending = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. Player Regular season 30 Jim Carey 40 17 18 3 984 105 2.75 .893 1 2293 37 Olaf Kolzig 29 8 15 4 758 71 2.59 .906 2 1645 30 Bill Ranford 18 8 7 2 412 46 2.74 .888 0 1009

Awards and records

Awards TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(in-season) NHL All-Star Game selection Peter Bondra Dale Hunter

Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Anson Carter October 5, 1996 Jaroslav Svejkovsky December 7, 1996 Patrick Boileau January 15, 1997 1,000th game played Phil Housley October 30, 1996

Draft picks Washington's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)14Alexander VolchkovBarrie Colts (OHL)117Jaroslav SvejkovskyTri-City Americans (WHL)243Jan BulisBarrie Colts (OHL)358Sergei ZimakovKrylya Sovetov (Russia)374David WeningerMichigan Technological University (WCHA)378Shawn McNeilKamloops Blazers (WHL)485Justin DavisKingston Frontenacs (OHL)5126Matt LaheyPeterborough Petes (OHL)6153A. J. Van BruggenNorthern Michigan University (WCHA)7180Michael AndersonUniversity of Minnesota (WCHA)8206Oleg OrekhovskyDynamo Moscow (Russia)9232Chad CavanaghLondon Knights (OHL)

See also 1996–97 NHL season

Notes

References