1988–89 Washington Capitals season
The 1988-89 Washington Capitals season saw the team became the first team other than the Philadelphia Flyers or the New York Islanders to finish in first place in the Patrick Division with a 41-29-10 record for 92 points. However, they lost their first-round playoff match-up to the Philadelphia Flyers, four games to two. This was the first time the Capitals won their division in the regular season and did not do so again until 2000.
Regular season
The Capitals tied the St. Louis Blues for most shutouts in the league, with 6.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Round 1: (P1) Washington Capitals vs. (P4) Philadelphia Flyers
Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 80 | 41 | 48 | 89 | 49 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 9 | |
| LW | 79 | 42 | 38 | 80 | 112 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 6 | |
| RW | 72 | 18 | 51 | 69 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 6 | |
| D | 80 | 7 | 61 | 68 | 225 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 80 | 34 | 31 | 65 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 1 | |
| C | 80 | 20 | 37 | 57 | 219 | -3 | 9 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 56 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 71 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 78 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 45 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| D | 62 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 101 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| D | 65 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 70 | -5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 74 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 94 | -4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 52 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 76 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 65 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 75 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 65 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| RW | 63 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 123 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 11 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 48 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 61 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | -4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 21 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 72 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 179 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 35 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 33 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 1854 | 33 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 88 | 2.85 | 4 | 790 | 702 | .889 | |
| 2428 | 42 | 16 | 18 | 7 | 141 | 3.48 | 1 | 1145 | 1004 | .877 | |
| 578 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 2.91 | 1 | 269 | 241 | .896 | |
| Team: | 4860 | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 257 | 3.17 | 6 | 2204 | 1947 | .883 |
Playoffs
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| LW | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 359 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 4.01 | 0 | 164 | 140 | .854 | |
| Team: | 359 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 4.01 | 0 | 164 | 140 | .854 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;
Awards and records
Transactions
Roster
Draft picks
Washington's draft picks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 15 | Reggie Savage | Victoriaville Tigres | |
| 2 | 36 | Tim Taylor | London Knights | |
| 2 | 41 | Wade Bartley | Dauphin Kings | |
| 3 | 57 | Duane Derksen | Winkler Flyers | |
| 4 | 78 | Rob Krauss | Lethbridge Hurricanes | |
| 6 | 120 | Dmitri Khristich | Sokil Kyiv | |
| 7 | 141 | Keith Jones | Niagara Falls Canucks | |
| 7 | 144 | Brad Schlegel | London Knights | |
| 8 | 162 | Todd Hilditch | Penticton Knights | |
| 9 | 183 | Petr Pavlas | Dukla Trencin | |
| 10 | 192 | Mark Sorensen | University of Michigan | |
| 10 | 204 | Claudio Scremin | University of Maine | |
| 11 | 225 | Chris Venkus | Western Michigan University | |
| 12 | 246 | Ron Pascucci | Belmont Hill School | |
| S | 20 | Harry Mews | Northeastern University |