# 1996–97 Washington Capitals season

The 1996–97 Washington Capitals season was the team's 23rd season of play. The Capitals finished fifth in the division, and ninth in the conference, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982. It was their last full season playing at USAir Arena.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 231 | 182 | 104 |
| 2 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 274 | 217 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 221 | 201 | 89 |
| 4 | 5 | New York Rangers | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 258 | 231 | 86 |
| 5 | 9 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 214 | 231 | 75 |
| 6 | 11 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 217 | 247 | 74 |
| 7 | 12 | New York Islanders | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 240 | 250 | 70 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 231 | 182 | 104 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 237 | 208 | 92 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 274 | 217 | 103 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 221 | 201 | 89 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 258 | 231 | 86 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 285 | 280 | 84 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 226 | 234 | 77 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 249 | 276 | 77 |
| 9 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 214 | 231 | 75 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 226 | 256 | 75 |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 217 | 247 | 74 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 240 | 250 | 70 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 234 | 300 | 61 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

1996–97 regular season :
October: 4–6–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 5, 19962–5Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 8, 19963–5@ Dallas Stars (1996–97)0–2–0Recap
3WOctober 11, 19966–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)1–2–0Recap
4LOctober 12, 19963–4Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)1–3–0Recap
5LOctober 18, 19961–4Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)1–4–0Recap
6LOctober 19, 19961–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)1–5–0Recap
7WOctober 23, 19963–2@ New York Rangers (1996–97)2–5–0Recap
8WOctober 26, 19966–4@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97)3–5–0Recap
9LOctober 28, 19960–1@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)3–6–0Recap
10WOctober 30, 19964–2Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)4–6–0Recap :
November: 9–5–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 5–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11WNovember 1, 19964–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)5–6–0Recap
12LNovember 2, 19961–6@ New York Islanders (1996–97)5–7–0Recap
13WNovember 6, 19962–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)6–7–0Recap
14LNovember 7, 19962–4@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)6–8–0Recap
15WNovember 9, 19963–2New York Rangers (1996–97)7–8–0Recap
16LNovember 12, 19962–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)7–9–0Recap
17WNovember 14, 19965–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)8–9–0Recap
18WNovember 15, 19963–1Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)9–9–0Recap
19WNovember 18, 19964–2@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)10–9–0Recap
20TNovember 19, 19962–2 OTBoston Bruins (1996–97)10–9–1Recap
21WNovember 22, 19965–1@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)11–9–1Recap
22WNovember 23, 19964–3New Jersey Devils (1996–97)12–9–1Recap
23LNovember 27, 19961–2Ottawa Senators (1996–97)12–10–1Recap
24LNovember 29, 19960–2New York Islanders (1996–97)12–11–1Recap
25WNovember 30, 19962–0@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)13–11–1Recap :
December: 2–9–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 1–7–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26LDecember 4, 19960–2Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)13–12–1Recap
27LDecember 6, 19963–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)13–13–1Recap
28LDecember 7, 19960–2@ New York Islanders (1996–97)13–14–1Recap
29LDecember 11, 19962–3@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97)13–15–1Recap
30LDecember 13, 19964–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)13–16–1Recap
31TDecember 14, 19964–4 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97)13–16–2Recap
32LDecember 17, 19963–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)13–17–2Recap
33WDecember 20, 19963–2San Jose Sharks (1996–97)14–17–2Recap
34LDecember 21, 19963–4@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)14–18–2Recap
35WDecember 23, 19963–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)15–18–2Recap
36LDecember 26, 19964–5 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97)15–19–2Recap
37TDecember 28, 19961–1 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)15–19–3Recap
38LDecember 30, 19963–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97)15–20–3Recap :
January: 5–5–2 (home: 4–4–0; road: 1–1–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39WJanuary 1, 19973–2 OTHartford Whalers (1996–97)16–20–3Recap
40WJanuary 3, 19973–0Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97)17–20–3Recap
41TJanuary 4, 19971–1 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)17–20–4Recap
42WJanuary 9, 19972–0New York Rangers (1996–97)18–20–4Recap
43TJanuary 11, 19973–3 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)18–20–5Recap
44WJanuary 13, 19976–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)19–20–5Recap
45LJanuary 15, 19971–5@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)19–21–5Recap
46WJanuary 20, 19973–2@ Boston Bruins (1996–97)20–21–5Recap
47LJanuary 22, 19973–5New York Rangers (1996–97)20–22–5Recap
48LJanuary 24, 19972–5Dallas Stars (1996–97)20–23–5Recap
49LJanuary 26, 19971–3Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)20–24–5Recap
50LJanuary 29, 19971–2Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)20–25–5Recap :
February: 4–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 3–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
51WFebruary 1, 19973–1@ Florida Panthers (1996–97)21–25–5Recap
52TFebruary 2, 19972–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)21–25–6Recap
53LFebruary 7, 19972–5@ Calgary Flames (1996–97)21–26–6Recap
54LFebruary 9, 19971–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97)21–27–6Recap
55WFebruary 11, 19975–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)22–27–6Recap
56WFebruary 14, 19975–4 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)23–27–6Recap
57LFebruary 15, 19971–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97)23–28–6Recap
58LFebruary 18, 19971–6Ottawa Senators (1996–97)23–29–6Recap
59LFebruary 22, 19970–2@ Hartford Whalers (1996–97)23–30–6Recap
60TFebruary 24, 19973–3 OTBoston Bruins (1996–97)23–30–7Recap
61WFebruary 26, 19973–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97)24–30–7Recap
62LFebruary 28, 19971–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)24–31–7Recap :
March: 6–7–1 (home: 5–3–1; road: 1–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63LMarch 2, 19970–2New York Islanders (1996–97)24–32–7Recap
64WMarch 4, 19972–1Calgary Flames (1996–97)25–32–7Recap
65WMarch 6, 19976–3Colorado Avalanche (1996–97)26–32–7Recap
66LMarch 9, 19970–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)26–33–7Recap
67WMarch 11, 19974–1Vancouver Canucks (1996–97)27–33–7Recap
68LMarch 12, 19972–3@ New York Rangers (1996–97)27–34–7Recap
69LMarch 15, 19972–3@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97)27–35–7Recap
70WMarch 16, 19975–3Hartford Whalers (1996–97)28–35–7Recap
71TMarch 19, 19972–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1996–97)28–35–8Recap
72LMarch 21, 19971–4Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)28–36–8Recap
73WMarch 22, 19973–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)29–36–8Recap
74WMarch 25, 19973–2St. Louis Blues (1996–97)30–36–8Recap
75LMarch 26, 19973–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97)30–37–8Recap
76LMarch 29, 19973–5Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97)30–38–8Recap :
April: 3–2–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 1–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
77LApril 1, 19970–1New Jersey Devils (1996–97)30–39–8Recap
78LApril 3, 19970–4@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97)30–40–8Recap
79TApril 6, 19973–3 OTFlorida Panthers (1996–97)30–40–9Recap
80WApril 10, 19973–2Montreal Canadiens (1996–97)31–40–9Recap
81WApril 12, 19976–2New York Islanders (1996–97)32–40–9Recap
82WApril 13, 19978–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97)33–40–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## 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 |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 12 | Peter Bondra | RW | 77 | 46 | 31 | 77 | 7 | 72 |
| 32 | Dale Hunter | C | 82 | 14 | 32 | 46 | −2 | 125 |
| 22 | Steve Konowalchuk | LW | 78 | 17 | 25 | 42 | −3 | 67 |
| 90 | Joe Juneau | C | 58 | 15 | 27 | 42 | −11 | 8 |
| 96 | Phil Housley | D | 77 | 11 | 29 | 40 | −10 | 24 |
| 55 | Sergei Gonchar | D | 57 | 13 | 17 | 30 | −11 | 36 |
| 10 | Kelly Miller | LW | 77 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 4 | 33 |
| 3 | Sylvain Cote | D | 57 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 28 |
| 20 | Michal Pivonka | C | 54 | 7 | 16 | 23 | −15 | 22 |
| 17 | Chris Simon† | LW | 42 | 9 | 13 | 22 | −1 | 165 |
| 41 | Jason Allison‡ | C | 53 | 5 | 17 | 22 | −3 | 25 |
| 13 | Andrei Nikolishin† | C | 59 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 30 |
| 6 | Calle Johansson | D | 65 | 6 | 11 | 17 | −2 | 16 |
| 21 | Todd Krygier | LW | 47 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −10 | 37 |
| 77 | Adam Oates† | C | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −2 | 4 |
| 18 | Andrew Brunette | LW | 23 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −3 | 12 |
| 2 | Ken Klee | D | 80 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −5 | 115 |
| 34 | Jaroslav Svejkovsky | RW | 19 | 7 | 3 | 10 | −1 | 4 |
| 92 | Rick Tocchet† | RW | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
| 29 | Joe Reekie | D | 65 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 107 |
| 24 | Mark Tinordi | D | 56 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 118 |
| 36 | Mike Eagles | C/LW | 70 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −4 | 42 |
| 27 | Craig Berube | LW | 80 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −11 | 218 |
| 33 | Anson Carter‡ | RW | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| 19 | Brendan Witt | D | 44 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −20 | 88 |
| 26 | Keith Jones‡ | RW | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 13 |
| 44 | Richard Zednik | RW | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −5 | 4 |
| 23 | Kevin Kaminski | C | 38 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 130 |
| 28 | Eric Charron | D | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| 30 | Bill Ranford† | G | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 7 |
| 45 | Patrick Boileau | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Jim Carey‡ | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 |
| 9 | Curtis Leschyshyn†‡ | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Stewart Malgunas | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 14 | Pat Peake | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 16 | Stefan Ustorf | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |

### Goaltending

* † = 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 | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Jim Carey‡ | 40 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 984 | 105 | 2.75 | .893 | 1 | 2293 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | 29 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 758 | 71 | 2.59 | .906 | 2 | 1645 |
| 30 | Bill Ranford† | 18 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 412 | 46 | 2.74 | .888 | 0 | 1009 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Peter Bondra | |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Dale Hunter | |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Anson Carter | October 5, 1996 |
| First game | Jaroslav Svejkovsky | December 7, 1996 |
| First game | Patrick Boileau | January 15, 1997 |
| 1,000th game played | Phil Housley | October 30, 1996 |

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Alexander Volchkov | Russia | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 1 | 17 | Jaroslav Svejkovsky | Czech Republic | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 2 | 43 | Jan Bulis | Czech Republic | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Sergei Zimakov | Russia | Krylya Sovetov (Russia) |
| 3 | 74 | David Weninger | Canada | Michigan Technological University (WCHA) |
| 3 | 78 | Shawn McNeil | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 4 | 85 | Justin Davis | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 5 | 126 | Matt Lahey | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 6 | 153 | A. J. Van Bruggen | United States | Northern Michigan University (WCHA) |
| 7 | 180 | Michael Anderson | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 8 | 206 | Oleg Orekhovsky | Russia | Dynamo Moscow (Russia) |
| 9 | 232 | Chad Cavanagh | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |