2008–09 Washington Capitals season

The 2008–09 Washington Capitals season was the team's 35th in the National Hockey League. The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50–24–8 and a team-record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–3, overcoming a 3–1 series deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games.

2008–09 Washington Capitals
Southeast Division champions
Division1st Southeast
Conference2nd Eastern
2008–09 record50–24–8
Home record29–9–3
Road record21–15–5
Goals for272
Goals against245
Team information
General managerGeorge McPhee
CoachBruce Boudreau
CaptainChris Clark
Alternate captainsSergei Fedorov
Alexander Ovechkin
ArenaVerizon Center
Average attendance17,943 (98%)
Team leaders
GoalsAlexander Ovechkin (56)
AssistsNicklas Backstrom (66)
PointsAlexander Ovechkin (110)
Penalty minutesDonald Brashear (121)
Plus/minusAlexander Semin (+25)
WinsJose Theodore (32)
Goals against averageSemyon Varlamov (2.37)

Pre-season

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Schedule/Results from capitals.nhl.com

Opponent Result Score
@ Carolina Hurricanes W 4-1
vs Carolina Hurricanes W 5-2
@ Boston Bruins W 4-3
@ New Jersey Devils W 3-2
@ Philadelphia Flyers L 1-2
vs Philadelphia Flyers W 5-1
vs Boston Bruins OTL 4-5

Regular season

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Division standings

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Southeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – Washington Capitals 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
2 Carolina Hurricanes 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
3 Florida Panthers 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
4 Atlanta Thrashers 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
5 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 24 40 18 210 279 66

Conference standings

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Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Boston Bruins NE 82 53 19 10 274 196 116
2 y – Washington Capitals SE 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
3 y – New Jersey Devils AT 82 51 27 4 244 209 106
4 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 45 28 9 264 239 99
5 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 44 27 11 264 238 99
6 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
7 New York Rangers AT 82 43 30 9 210 218 95
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 41 30 11 249 247 93
8.5
9 Florida Panthers SE 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
10 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 41 32 9 250 234 91
11 Ottawa Senators NE 82 36 35 11 217 237 83
12 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 34 35 13 250 293 81
13 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
14 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 24 40 18 210 279 66
15 New York Islanders AT 82 26 47 9 201 279 61

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


Schedule and results

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Full schedule, results, and recaps at capitals.nhl.com

  • Green background indicates win. (2 points)
  • Red indicates loss. (0 points)
  • White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game log
Schedule

Playoffs

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The Washington Capitals won the Southeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Capitals would eventually win the first round against the New York Rangers, in seven games, after trailing the series 3–1 for their first playoff series victory since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998. However, the Capitals would not get past the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost the series in seven games.

Key:   Win   Loss   Clinch Playoff Series   Eliminated from playoffs

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 

Goaltenders

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Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;
Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Jose Theodore 57 3286 32 17 5 157 2.87 1572 1415 .900 2
Brent Johnson 21 1131 12 6 2 53 2.81 579 526 .908 0
Semyon Varlamov 6 328 4 0 1 13 2.37 159 146 .918 0
Michal Neuvirth 5 219 2 1 0 11 3.00 102 91 .892 0
Playoffs
Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Semyon Varlamov 13 758 7 6 32 2.53 389 357 .918 2
Jose Theodore 2 96 0 1 6 3.72 33 27 .818 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

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Trophies and awards

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Stars

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  • Alexander Semin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (October 2008)
  • Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (November 2008)
  • Nicklas Backstrom – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending November 28, 2008)
  • Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending December 28, 2008)
  • Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 1, 2009)
  • Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 8, 2009)

Records

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  • Mike Green – NHL-record 8-game goal-scoring streak by a defenseman

Milestones

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Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Brent Johnson 100th NHL win October 13, 2008
Sergei Fedorov 1200th NHL game October 16, 2008
Milan Jurcina 200th NHL game October 16, 2008
Tyler Sloan 1st NHL game October 21, 2008
Sergei Fedorov 474th NHL goal (most by a Russian-born player) October 25, 2008
Alexander Semin 200th NHL game October 25, 2008
Tyler Sloan 1st NHL goal October 25, 2008
Viktor Kozlov 500th NHL point November 14, 2008
Nicklas Backstrom 100th NHL game November 19, 2008
Karl Alzner 1st NHL game November 26, 2008
Alexander Ovechkin 200th NHL goal February 5, 2009
Mike Green 8-game goal-scoring streak by defenseman (NHL record) February 14, 2009

Transactions

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Trades

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June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals
1st-round pick (21st overall) in 2008 – Anton Gustafsson
To New Jersey Devils
1st-round pick (23rd overall) in 2008 – Tyler Cuma
2nd-round pick in 2008Patrice Cormier
June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals
1st-round pick in 2008 – John Carlson
To Philadelphia Flyers
Steve Eminger
3rd-round pick in 2008 – Jacob DeSerres

Free agents

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Player Former team Contract terms
Jose Theodore, G Colorado Avalanche $9 million, 2 years[2]
Player New team
Cristobal Huet,[3] G Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Cooke,[4] LW Pittsburgh Penguins
Olaf Kolzig, G Tampa Bay Lightning

Claimed from waivers

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Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Staffan Kronwall, D Toronto Maple Leafs February 6, 2009

Draft picks

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Washington 's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft[5] in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 21 (from New Jersey) Anton Gustafsson (C)   Sweden Frölunda HC (Sweden Jr.)
1 27 (from Philadelphia) John Carlson (D)   United States Indiana Ice (USHL)
2 57 (from San Jose) Eric Mestery (D)   Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
2 58 (from Philadelphia) Dmitri Kugryshev (RW)   Russia CSKA Moscow (RSL)
4 93 (from Los Angeles) Braden Holtby (G)   Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5 144 Joel Broda (C)   Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
6 174 Greg Burke (LW)   United States New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL)
7 204 Stefan Della Rovere (LW)   Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)

See also

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Farm teams

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Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

References

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  1. ^ "NHL.com - Recap: Penguins @ Capitals - 13 May 2009". Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Capitals sign Theodore, Raycroft joins Avs
  3. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Chicago - Blackhawks and Cristobal Huet agree to four-year deal[usurped]
  4. ^ Penguins sign Cooke to two-year deal
  5. ^ "NHL.com - Stats". June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2008. [dead link]