# 1994–95 Washington Capitals season

The 1994–95 Washington Capitals season was the team's 21st season of play. After stumbling to a 3–10–5 record by February 28, the Capitals caught a break in bringing up 20-year-old rookie goaltender Jim Carey from the Portland Pirates for their March 2 game against the New York Islanders. The Capitals edged the Islanders 4–3 and Carey made 21 saves. Carey would finish his rookie season with an impressive 18–6–3 record, a 2.13 goals against average (GAA) and four shutouts. With the help of Carey's superb goaltending, Washington would go on to win 19 of their final 30 games and finish in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with a 22–18–8 record for 52 points. Peter Bondra had an excellent season, leading all NHL skaters in goals (34) and shorthanded goals (6).

## Regular season

The Capitals tied the Buffalo Sabres for the most short-handed goals scored (13) and tied the St. Louis Blues for the fewest short-handed goals allowed (2) during the regular season.

### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 2 | 5 | New Jersey Devils | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 3 | 6 | Washington Capitals | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 4 | 8 | New York Rangers | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 5 | 9 | Florida Panthers | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 6 | 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 7 | 13 | New York Islanders | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Quebec Nordiques | NE | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | NE | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | AT | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | AT | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
| 14 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals faced their old rivals from 1991, 1992 and 1994, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington had defeated Pittsburgh in the first round one year earlier and were hoping to do the same in 1995. The series started out well for the Capitals, as they defeated the Penguins 5–4 in the opening game. In Game 2, Washington held a 3–1 lead after two periods, but Pittsburgh scored four times in the third period to win 5–3 and tie the series at 1–1. Washington won Games 3 and 4 at home by identical scores of 6–2. The two teams skated to a 5–5 tie in Game 5, and with just 4:30 into the first overtime period, Luc Robitaille scored his fourth of the playoffs to keep the Penguins alive in the series. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens each scored twice in the game. Leading three games to two, the Capitals had a chance to eliminate the Penguins on home ice in Game 6, but goaltender Jim Carey struggled, allowing six goals on just 13 shots. Washington got only one shot (by Keith Jones) past Pittsburgh goaltender Ken Wregget, who made 30 saves. The Penguins went on to win the game 7–1 and tied the series at three games apiece. Jaromir Jagr, Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom each scored twice. In Game 7, Carey played better than he had in Game 6, stopping 15 of 17 shots, but Ken Wregget was solid again and stopped all 33 Washington shots to get the shutout. Troy Murray would add an empty-net goal to give Pittsburgh a 3–0 win and the series victory, four games to three. It was the second time in four years that the Penguins had defeated the Capitals after trailing 3–1 in a playoff series.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1994–95 regular season :
January: 1–3–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TJanuary 21, 19951–1 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)0–0–1Recap
2LJanuary 24, 19951–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)0–1–1Recap
3LJanuary 25, 19950–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)0–2–1Recap
4WJanuary 27, 19955–2New York Islanders (1994–95)1–2–1Recap
5LJanuary 29, 19951–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)1–3–1Recap :
February: 2–7–4 (home: 2–2–1; road: 0–5–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
6LFebruary 2, 19950–1Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)1–4–1Recap
7WFebruary 4, 19953–2Florida Panthers (1994–95)2–4–1Recap
8LFebruary 7, 19951–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)2–5–1Recap
9LFebruary 8, 19954–5@ New York Rangers (1994–95)2–6–1Recap
10TFebruary 11, 19951–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)2–6–2Recap
11LFebruary 13, 19953–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)2–7–2Recap
12LFebruary 15, 19952–4@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)2–8–2Recap
13WFebruary 18, 19954–2Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)3–8–2Recap
14LFebruary 20, 19950–2New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–9–2Recap
15TFebruary 23, 19955–5 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)3–9–3Recap
16TFebruary 25, 19953–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–9–4Recap
17TFebruary 26, 19951–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)3–9–5Recap
18LFebruary 28, 19952–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)3–10–5Recap :
March: 11–2–2 (home: 6–1–2; road: 5–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
19WMarch 2, 19954–3@ New York Islanders (1994–95)4–10–5Recap
20WMarch 4, 19955–1Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)5–10–5Recap
21WMarch 5, 19954–2New York Rangers (1994–95)6–10–5Recap
22WMarch 7, 19953–1@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)7–10–5Recap
23TMarch 10, 19952–2 OTOttawa Senators (1994–95)7–10–6Recap
24WMarch 12, 19953–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)8–10–6Recap
25WMarch 13, 19953–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)9–10–6Recap
26LMarch 16, 19951–5@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)9–11–6Recap
27WMarch 18, 19954–1New York Rangers (1994–95)10–11–6Recap
28WMarch 20, 19955–0@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)11–11–6Recap
29WMarch 21, 19951–0Ottawa Senators (1994–95)12–11–6Recap
30TMarch 25, 19952–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1994–95)12–11–7Recap
31LMarch 26, 19953–4 OTHartford Whalers (1994–95)12–12–7Recap
32WMarch 29, 19954–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)13–12–7Recap
33WMarch 31, 19956–4Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)14–12–7Recap :
April: 7–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
34WApril 2, 19952–1Boston Bruins (1994–95)15–12–7Recap
35WApril 4, 19955–4@ New York Islanders (1994–95)16–12–7Recap
36LApril 8, 19951–3Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)16–13–7Recap
37LApril 11, 19951–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)16–14–7Recap
38LApril 12, 19951–2New Jersey Devils (1994–95)16–15–7Recap
39WApril 14, 19953–0Florida Panthers (1994–95)17–15–7Recap
40LApril 16, 19952–4@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)17–16–7Recap
41LApril 17, 19952–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)17–17–7Recap
42WApril 21, 19956–3Hartford Whalers (1994–95)18–17–7Recap
43WApril 22, 19952–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)19–17–7Recap
44LApril 24, 19954–5@ New York Rangers (1994–95)19–18–7Recap
45WApril 26, 19956–5New York Islanders (1994–95)20–18–7Recap
46WApril 28, 19955–1Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)21–18–7Recap
47TApril 30, 19952–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)21–18–8Recap :
May: 1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
48WMay 2, 19957–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)22–18–8Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Pittsburgh Penguins – Penguins win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WMay 6, 19955–4@ Pittsburgh PenguinsCapitals lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 8, 19953–5@ Pittsburgh PenguinsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WMay 10, 19956–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCapitals lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 12, 19956–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCapitals lead 3–1Recap
5LMay 14, 19955–6 OT@ Pittsburgh PenguinsCapitals lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 16, 19951–7Pittsburgh PenguinsSeries tied 3–3Recap
7LMay 18, 19950–3@ Pittsburgh PenguinsPenguins win 4–3Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 12 | Peter Bondra | RW | 47 | 34 | 9 | 43 | 9 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| 90 | Joe Juneau | C | 44 | 5 | 38 | 43 | −1 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 2 |
| 20 | Michal Pivonka | C | 46 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 3 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 21 |
| 6 | Calle Johansson | D | 46 | 5 | 26 | 31 | −6 | 35 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Dmitri Khristich | LW | 48 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 0 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | Steve Konowalchuk | LW | 46 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 7 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 |
| 10 | Kelly Miller | LW | 48 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −2 | 4 |
| 32 | Dale Hunter | C | 45 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −4 | 101 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| 26 | Keith Jones | RW | 40 | 14 | 6 | 20 | −2 | 65 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −1 | 22 |
| 3 | Sylvain Cote | D | 47 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 53 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −9 | 2 |
| 4 | Jim Johnson | D | 47 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 24 | Mark Tinordi | D | 42 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −5 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 9 | Dave Poulin | C | 29 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 17 | Sergei Gonchar | D | 31 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 29 | Joe Reekie | D | 48 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 97 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 27 | Craig Berube | LW | 43 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −5 | 173 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 29 |
| 25 | Rob Pearson | RW | 32 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −6 | 96 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Ken Klee | D | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 36 | Mike Eagles† | C | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Pat Peake | C | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | Jason Allison | C | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Martin Gendron | RW | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | John Slaney | D | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Kevin Kaminski | C | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 102 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 36 |
| 15 | Jeff Nelson | C | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Rick Tabaracci‡ | G | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Igor Ulanov† | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Randy Burridge‡ | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Jim Carey | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 35 | Byron Dafoe | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Jim Carey | 28 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 654 | 57 | 2.13 | .913 | 4 | 1604 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 151 | 25 | 4.19 | .834 | 0 | 358 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | 14 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 305 | 30 | 2.49 | .902 | 0 | 724 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1.35 | .952 | 0 | 44 |
| 35 | Byron Dafoe | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 80 | 11 | 3.53 | .863 | 0 | 187 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.00 | .667 | 0 | 20 |
| 31 | Rick Tabaracci‡ | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 147 | 16 | 2.44 | .891 | 0 | 394 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Jim Carey (Goaltender) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Jim Carey (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Jim Carey (March) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Ken Klee | January 25, 1995 |
| First game | Sergei Gonchar | February 7, 1995 |
| First game | Jim Carey | March 2, 1995 |
| First game | Jeff Nelson | March 5, 1995 |
| First game | Martin Gendron | March 26, 1995 |
| 600th assist | Dale Hunter | January 27, 1995 |

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 10 | Nolan Baumgartner | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 1 | 15 | Alexander Kharlamov | Russia | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 2 | 41 | Scott Cherrey | Canada | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 4 | 93 | Matt Herr | United States | The Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT) |
| 5 | 119 | Yanick Jean | Canada | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 145 | Dmitri Mekeshkin | Russia | Avangard Omsk (Russia) |
| 7 | 171 | Dan Reja | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 8 | 197 | Chris Patrick | United States | Kent School (USHS-CT) |
| 9 | 223 | John Tuohy | United States | South Kent School (USHS-CT) |
| 10 | 249 | Richard Zednik | Slovakia | Banska Bystrica (Slovakia) |
| 11 | 275 | Sergei Tertyshny | Russia | Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia) |