Washington Capitals History.

Washington Capitals, professional ice hockey team and one of five teams in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals play at the MCI Center, and wear uniforms of bronze and blue. The team's name was chosen because it plays in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.

Founded by businessman Abe Pollin, the Capitals joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1974. Washington’s first season was one of the worst in league history. The club won just 8 of 80 games and went through three head coaches. The Capitals continued to struggle until the early 1980s. Center Guy Charron and defenseman Robert Picard were among the team’s early standouts.

In 1983, after eight losing seasons and several more coaching changes, Washington made its first trip to the playoffs, guided by second-year head coach Bryan Murray. In the 1982-83 season, center Dennis Maruk led the Capitals in scoring for the third straight year, and Rod Langway, who had come to the Capitals in 1982 from the Montréal Canadiens, captured the first of his two consecutive James Norris Memorial Trophies as the NHL’s leading defenseman.

Murray won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year in 1984 after Washington recorded its first second-place division finish and its first postseason series victory. Under Murray the Capitals remained strong in their division, and in 1989 they earned their first division crown. Along with Langway and Maruk, other prominent players during the 1980s included right wing Mike Gartner, defenseman Scott Stevens, and goalies Pete Peeters and Pat Riggin.

In 1990, after defeating the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers in the playoffs, the Capitals made their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost to the Boston Bruins 4 games to 0. From 1991 to 1996 Washington posted six consecutive winning records under head coaches Terry Murray (the brother of former Capitals coach Bryan Murray) and Jim Schoenfeld. The Capitals relied on a tough defense featuring Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate, and goaltender Jim Carey, who earned the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie in 1996—his second year in the league. During that six-year span, however, the Capitals reached the second round of the playoffs just once, in 1991.

After failing to qualify for postseason play in 1997, the Capitals returned the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1998 behind the play of center Dale Hunter, right wing Peter Bondra, and goalie Olaf Kolzig. Washington bested the Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators, and the Buffalo Sabres in the playoffs and reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the finals the Capitals were swept by the Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 0.