2017–18 Washington Capitals season
The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 43rd 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.
| 2017–18 Washington Capitals | |
|---|---|
Stanley Cup champions | |
Eastern Conference champions | |
Metropolitan Division champions | |
| Division | 1st Metropolitan |
| Conference | 3rd Eastern |
| 2017–18 record | 49–26–7 |
| Home record | 28–11–2 |
| Road record | 21–15–5 |
| Goals for | 259 |
| Goals against | 239 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Brian MacLellan |
| Coach | Barry Trotz |
| Captain | Alexander Ovechkin |
| Alternate captains | Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik |
| Arena | Capital One Arena |
| Average attendance | 18,774 |
| Minor league affiliate(s) | Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Alexander Ovechkin (49) |
| Assists | Evgeny Kuznetsov (56) |
| Points | Alexander Ovechkin (87) |
| Penalty minutes | Tom Wilson (187) |
| Plus/minus | Matt Niskanen (+24) |
| Wins | Braden Holtby (34) |
| Goals against average | Philipp Grubauer (2.35) |
The Capitals finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. Left winger and team captain Alexander Ovechkin secured his seventh Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, by leading the league with 49 regular-season goals. Fellow Capitals teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov led the team in assists with 56.
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 Semi-finals 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, with goaltender Braden Holtby posting shutouts in both Games 6 and 7 in the process, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals went up against the Vegas Golden Knights, a first-year expansion team, and emerged victorious in five games to claim the franchise's inaugural Stanley Cup championship, while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Team captain Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs for the first time in his career.