The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in organization history, defeating the inaugural-season Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals. The team finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semifinals against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs each of the previous two years. The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998. The Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit following a Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals faced the first-year Vegas Golden Knights and defeated them in five games to earn the organization's first ever Stanley Cup, while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.
Standings
Schedule and results
Preseason
The Capitals' preseason schedule was released on June 7, 2017.
The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017.
Playoffs
The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds and drop the first two games of the first series at home. This also makes such run the third-longest Stanley Cup run, tied with four other runs.
Player statistics
Final Stats ;Skaters
Player
82
49
38
87
3
32
79
27
56
83
3
48
81
21
50
71
5
46
82
15
53
68
0
32
74
18
29
47
2
31
81
18
20
38
−6
38
78
14
21
35
10
187
82
10
21
31
10
22
68
7
22
29
24
36
70
15
12
27
−6
30
73
13
14
27
2
12
56
12
13
25
3
27
79
7
15
22
3
16
61
9
9
18
1
26
67
6
12
18
13
8
75
7
9
16
−6
38
63
3
11
14
13
10
51
0
12
12
−3
24
81
0
10
10
−9
68
‡
24
1
3
4
8
8
†
11
1
3
4
−1
0
†
22
2
1
3
1
14
†
7
1
0
1
1
4
3
0
1
1
−1
0
8
0
1
1
2
2
8
0
1
1
2
8
3
0
0
0
0
5
2
0
0
0
0
4
5
0
0
0
−3
2
Player
24
12
20
32
12
16
24
15
12
27
8
8
20
5
18
23
−1
6
24
8
13
21
5
31
24
5
15
20
11
8
24
7
11
18
6
18
21
5
10
15
11
31
24
6
3
9
4
6
24
1
8
9
6
8
24
7
1
8
−2
12
23
3
5
8
5
2
24
2
6
8
5
4
23
2
6
8
7
8
24
2
5
7
3
8
13
2
4
6
2
4
24
2
3
5
1
10
24
1
4
5
17
15
16
1
1
2
0
4
22
0
1
1
5
4
2
0
1
1
−1
2
1
0
1
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
−1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
;Goaltenders
Player
54
54
3,067:48
34
16
4
153
2.99
1,648
.907
0
0
0
2
35
28
1,864:48
15
10
3
73
2.35
953
.923
3
0
1
0
Player
23
22
1385:45
16
7
50
2.16
639
.922
2
0
1
2
2
2
105:23
0
1
8
4.55
49
.837
0
0
0
0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
Transactions
The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.
Switzerland
Sweden
United States
Norway