# 1978–79 Washington Capitals season

The 1978–79 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 337 | 204 | 115 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 281 | 279 | 85 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 292 | 286 | 80 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 273 | 338 | 63 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 41 | 16 | 252 | 295 | 62 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—1–5–22–4–23–53–2–39–16–7
Los Angeles
5–1–2—3–3–23–4–13–4–114–12–6
Montreal
4–2–23–3–2—5–2–17–0–119–7–6
Pittsburgh
5–34–3–12–5–1—4–3–115–14–3
Washington
2–3–34–3–10–7–13–4–1—9–17–6
Vs. Adams Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–31–31–2–12–25–10–1
Los Angeles
3–11–2–13–10–47–8–1
Montreal
2–0–24–03–13–0–112–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–12–0–23–11–38–5–3
Washington
0–3–10–3–12–21–1–23–9–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
0–3–10–3–11–1–20–2–21–9–6
Los Angeles
2–20–2–21–30–43–11–2
Montreal
3–11–31–33–0–18–7–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–10–1–32–21–33–9–4
Washington
1–2–11–31–1–20–3–13–9–4
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
3–0–13–0–11–31–38–6–2
Los Angeles
3–12–0–22–1–13–110–3–3
Montreal
2–24–04–03–0–113–2–1
Pittsburgh
2–0–23–12–1–13–110–3–3
Washington
1–2–13–12–23–19–6–1 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 13, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 14, 1978 | 3–6 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 18, 1978 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1978 | 4–6 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | L | October 21, 1978 | 1–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 1–4–1 |
| 7 | T | October 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 1–4–2 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1978 | 1–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 1–5–2 |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1978 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 2–5–2 |
| 10 | L | November 2, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 2–6–2 |
| 11 | L | November 4, 1978 | 1–4 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 2–7–2 |
| 12 | T | November 5, 1978 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 2–7–3 |
| 13 | L | November 8, 1978 | 0–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 2–8–3 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1978 | 2–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 2–9–3 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1978 | 0–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 2–10–3 |
| 16 | W | November 14, 1978 | 8–7 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 3–10–3 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 4–10–3 |
| 18 | L | November 17, 1978 | 2–4 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 4–11–3 |
| 19 | W | November 21, 1978 | 4–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 5–11–3 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1978 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 5–12–3 |
| 21 | T | November 25, 1978 | 5–5 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 5–12–4 |
| 22 | L | November 26, 1978 | 4–9 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 5–13–4 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 5–14–4 |
| 24 | L | December 1, 1978 | 4–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 5–15–4 |
| 25 | L | December 2, 1978 | 2–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 5–16–4 |
| 26 | L | December 4, 1978 | 2–10 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 5–17–4 |
| 27 | W | December 5, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 6–17–4 |
| 28 | W | December 9, 1978 | 7–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 7–17–4 |
| 29 | L | December 12, 1978 | 3–4 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 7–18–4 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1978 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 7–19–4 |
| 31 | L | December 15, 1978 | 1–6 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 7–20–4 |
| 32 | W | December 17, 1978 | 7–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 8–20–4 |
| 33 | T | December 19, 1978 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 8–20–5 |
| 34 | L | December 21, 1978 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 8–21–5 |
| 35 | T | December 23, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 8–21–6 |
| 36 | L | December 27, 1978 | 1–6 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 8–22–6 |
| 37 | T | December 30, 1978 | 5–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 8–22–7 |
| 38 | W | January 3, 1979 | 8–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 9–22–7 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1979 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 10–22–7 |
| 40 | L | January 7, 1979 | 3–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 10–23–7 |
| 41 | L | January 9, 1979 | 2–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 10–24–7 |
| 42 | L | January 11, 1979 | 2–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 10–25–7 |
| 43 | W | January 12, 1979 | 8–1 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 11–25–7 |
| 44 | W | January 14, 1979 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 12–25–7 |
| 45 | L | January 16, 1979 | 2–6 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 12–26–7 |
| 46 | W | January 19, 1979 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 13–26–7 |
| 47 | W | January 20, 1979 | 5–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 14–26–7 |
| 48 | W | January 24, 1979 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 15–26–7 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1979 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 16–26–7 |
| 50 | T | January 28, 1979 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 16–26–8 |
| 51 | L | January 30, 1979 | 4–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 16–27–8 |
| 52 | W | January 31, 1979 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 17–27–8 |
| 53 | L | February 3, 1979 | 1–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 17–28–8 |
| 54 | L | February 4, 1979 | 4–8 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 17–29–8 |
| 55 | W | February 15, 1979 | 9–3 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 18–29–8 |
| 56 | L | February 17, 1979 | 0–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 18–30–8 |
| 57 | T | February 18, 1979 | 6–6 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 18–30–9 |
| 58 | L | February 20, 1979 | 3–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 18–31–9 |
| 59 | L | February 21, 1979 | 3–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 18–32–9 |
| 60 | L | February 24, 1979 | 4–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 18–33–9 |
| 61 | L | February 25, 1979 | 5–8 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 18–34–9 |
| 62 | T | February 28, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 18–34–10 |
| 63 | W | March 2, 1979 | 6–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 19–34–10 |
| 64 | W | March 4, 1979 | 5–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 20–34–10 |
| 65 | T | March 5, 1979 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 20–34–11 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1979 | 7–5 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 21–34–11 |
| 67 | T | March 11, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 21–34–12 |
| 68 | L | March 14, 1979 | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 21–35–12 |
| 69 | L | March 17, 1979 | 2–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 21–36–12 |
| 70 | T | March 18, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 21–36–13 |
| 71 | T | March 20, 1979 | 2–2 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 21–36–14 |
| 72 | T | March 21, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 21–36–15 |
| 73 | L | March 24, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 21–37–15 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1979 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 21–38–15 |
| 75 | L | March 28, 1979 | 2–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 21–39–15 |
| 76 | L | March 31, 1979 | 1–4 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 21–40–15 |
| 77 | W | April 1, 1979 | 6–4 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 22–40–15 |
| 78 | W | April 3, 1979 | 6–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 23–40–15 |
| 79 | L | April 7, 1979 | 3–10 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 23–41–15 |
| 80 | W | April 8, 1979 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 24–41–15 |

## Playoffs

The Capitals once again failed to make the playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dennis Maruk | C | 76 | 31 | 59 | 90 | 71 | -14 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Guy Charron | C | 80 | 28 | 42 | 70 | 24 | -14 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Robert Picard | D | 77 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 85 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Rowe | RW | 69 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 137 | -6 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 69 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 70 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Sirois | RW | 73 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 6 | -6 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Rolf Edberg | C | 76 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Green | D | 71 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 62 | -45 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Leif Svensson | D | 74 | 2 | 29 | 31 | 28 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Girard | LW | 79 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 36 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Lofthouse | RW/C | 52 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 10 | -11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Blair Stewart | C | 45 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Polis | LW | 19 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Gord Lane | D | 64 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 147 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Labre | D | 51 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 80 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Bergeron | RW | 30 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 7 | -18 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Mulvey | LW | 55 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 81 | -18 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Carroll | C | 24 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 12 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 26 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 43 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Scamurra | D | 30 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | -13 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Lynch | D | 30 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Rissling | LW | 26 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 127 | -5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Gerry Meehan | C | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Riley | RW | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 64 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Lalonde | C | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Eddy Godin | RW | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Patrick | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Arnason | RW | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Inness | G | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Patey | RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Forbes | LW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Smith | D | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Bedard | G | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rollie Boutin | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Bragnalo | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nelson Burton | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Marson | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Tremblay | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gary Inness | 2107 | 37 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 130 | 3.70 | 0 |
| Jim Bedard | 1740 | 30 | 6 | 17 | 6 | 126 | 4.34 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | 863 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 68 | 4.73 | 0 |
| Rollie Boutin | 90 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6.67 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 334 | 4.17 | 0 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals  MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 2 | Ryan Walter | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WCHL) |
| 1 | 18 | Tim Coulis | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL) |
| 2 | 20 | Paul Mulvey | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WCHL) |
| 2 | 23 | Paul MacKinnon | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 38 | Glen Currie | Canada | Laval National (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 45 | Jay Johnston | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 55 | Bengt-Ake Gustafsson | Sweden | Färjestad BK Karlstad (SEL) |
| 5 | 71 | Lou Franceschetti | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 88 | Vince Magnan | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 7 | 105 | Mats Hallin | Sweden | Södertälje SK (Sweden) |
| 8 | 122 | Rich Sirois | Canada | Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) |
| 9 | 139 | Denis Pomerleau | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 156 | Barry Heard | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 11 | 172 | Mark Toffolo | United States | Port Huron Flags (IHL) |
| 12 | 187 | Paul Hogan | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 12 | 189 | Steve Barger | United States | Boston College (ECAC) |
| 13 | 202 | Rod Pacholzuk | Canada | University of Michigan (WCHA) |
| 14 | 213 | Wes Jarvis | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) |
| 14 | 215 | Ray Irwin | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OMJHL) |