History
Washington Capitals
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1974-1982
Early Years
Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season (although the city of Washington was awarded a franchise on July 8, 1972). The team was owned by Abe Pollin (also owner of the National Basketball Association's Washington Bullets/Wizards until his death on November 24, 2009). Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets (who formerly played in Baltimore) and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager.
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1983-1996
Fourteen-consecutive playoff appearances
The Capitals would make the playoffs for each of the next 14 years in a row. They became known for starting slow before catching fire in January and February. However, regular-season success did not carry into the playoffs. Despite a continuous march of stars like Gartner, Carpenter, Langway, Gustafsson, Mike Ridley, Dave Christian, Dino Ciccarelli, Larry Murphy and Kevin Hatcher, Washington was knocked out in either the first or second round eight years in a row. In 1985–86, for instance, the Caps finished with 107 points and won 50 games for the first time in franchise history, good enough for the third-best record in the NHL. They defeated the Islanders in the first round but were eliminated in the second round by the New York Rangers.
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2018
Stanley Cup
The Capitals advanced to the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals on May 23, after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games after a 4–0 rout at Amalie Arena in Tampa.[17] The Capitals then faced the expansion Vegas Golden Knights and overcame them in five games, including a 4–3 win in the decisive Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena after Lars Eller scored with about seven minutes to go. Not only was it the Capitals' first Stanley Cup win, but it was also the first championship for a Washington, D.C. team in one of the four major North American sports leagues (the NFL, the NHL, the NBA and MLB) since the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills 26 years beforehand in Super Bowl XXVI.