# 1976–77 Washington Capitals season

The 1976–77 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals third season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
This season was much better than the past two seasons, with the Capitals winning 24 games.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 60 | 8 | 12 | 387 | 171 | 132 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 271 | 241 | 83 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 240 | 252 | 81 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 42 | 14 | 221 | 307 | 62 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 16 | 55 | 9 | 183 | 309 | 41 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: 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
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—0–5–10–5–12–40–3–32–17–5
Los Angeles
5–0–1—0–4–23–2–15–0–113–6–5
Montreal
5–0–14–0–2—4–0–26–019–0–5
Pittsburgh
4–22–3–10–4–2—1–4–17–13–4
Washington
3–0–30–5–10–64–1–1—7–12–5
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–41–43–21–3–16–13–1
Los Angeles
2–2–12–32–1–21–2–27–8–5
Montreal
2–32–2–15–02–1–111–6–2
Pittsburgh
1–3–14–0–13–0–22–1–210–4–6
Washington
0–4–11–40–53–24–15–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
1–2–12–21–31–35–10–1
Los Angeles
2–22–23–0–10–47–8–1
Montreal
3–0–14–03–14–014–1–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–12–22–1–11–35–9–2
Washington
1–30–1–32–20–2–23–8–5
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
0–40–40–3–10–3–13–13–15–2
Los Angeles
2–22–0–21–32–20–2–27–9–4
Montreal
3–0–13–0–13–0–13–14–016–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–22–23–13–12–1–112–7–1
Washington
1–2–13–11–1–23–12–210–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 5, 1976 | 6–5 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 7, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 9, 1976 | 3–6 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 13, 1976 | 1–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | L | October 16, 1976 | 1–7 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | L | October 19, 1976 | 0–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 1–4–1 |
| 7 | T | October 21, 1976 | 5–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 1–4–2 |
| 8 | L | October 24, 1976 | 1–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 1–5–2 |
| 9 | W | October 29, 1976 | 2–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 2–5–2 |
| 10 | L | October 31, 1976 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 2–6–2 |
| 11 | L | November 3, 1976 | 0–7 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 2–7–2 |
| 12 | L | November 5, 1976 | 2–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 2–8–2 |
| 13 | W | November 7, 1976 | 4–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 3–8–2 |
| 14 | W | November 9, 1976 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 4–8–2 |
| 15 | W | November 10, 1976 | 7–5 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 5–8–2 |
| 16 | L | November 12, 1976 | 4–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 5–9–2 |
| 17 | L | November 14, 1976 | 2–3 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 5–10–2 |
| 18 | L | November 18, 1976 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 5–11–2 |
| 19 | L | November 19, 1976 | 1–4 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 5–12–2 |
| 20 | W | November 21, 1976 | 3–1 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 6–12–2 |
| 21 | L | November 24, 1976 | 2–6 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 6–13–2 |
| 22 | L | November 27, 1976 | 1–6 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 6–14–2 |
| 23 | W | November 30, 1976 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 7–14–2 |
| 24 | L | December 1, 1976 | 1–4 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 7–15–2 |
| 25 | T | December 3, 1976 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 7–15–3 |
| 26 | T | December 5, 1976 | 5–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 7–15–4 |
| 27 | W | December 7, 1976 | 4–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 8–15–4 |
| 28 | L | December 10, 1976 | 1–7 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 8–16–4 |
| 29 | L | December 11, 1976 | 2–4 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 8–17–4 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1976 | 2–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 8–18–4 |
| 31 | W | December 17, 1976 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 9–18–4 |
| 32 | W | December 18, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 10–18–4 |
| 33 | L | December 23, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 10–19–4 |
| 34 | L | December 26, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 10–20–4 |
| 35 | L | December 28, 1976 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 10–21–4 |
| 36 | L | December 29, 1976 | 1–3 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 10–22–4 |
| 37 | L | January 1, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 10–23–4 |
| 38 | W | January 2, 1977 | 2–1 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 11–23–4 |
| 39 | T | January 4, 1977 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 11–23–5 |
| 40 | T | January 6, 1977 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 11–23–6 |
| 41 | L | January 8, 1977 | 2–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 11–24–6 |
| 42 | W | January 10, 1977 | 2–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 12–24–6 |
| 43 | L | January 11, 1977 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 12–25–6 |
| 44 | L | January 15, 1977 | 1–2 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 12–26–6 |
| 45 | T | January 16, 1977 | 2–2 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 12–26–7 |
| 46 | L | January 18, 1977 | 0–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 12–27–7 |
| 47 | W | January 19, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 13–27–7 |
| 48 | L | January 22, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 13–28–7 |
| 49 | W | January 23, 1977 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 14–28–7 |
| 50 | W | January 27, 1977 | 4–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 15–28–7 |
| 51 | W | January 29, 1977 | 5–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 16–28–7 |
| 52 | T | January 30, 1977 | 5–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 16–28–8 |
| 53 | L | February 2, 1977 | 2–7 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 16–29–8 |
| 54 | T | February 5, 1977 | 3–3 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 16–29–9 |
| 55 | L | February 6, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 16–30–9 |
| 56 | T | February 9, 1977 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 16–30–10 |
| 57 | L | February 10, 1977 | 2–9 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 16–31–10 |
| 58 | L | February 12, 1977 | 0–10 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 16–32–10 |
| 59 | T | February 15, 1977 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 16–32–11 |
| 60 | T | February 17, 1977 | 4–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 16–32–12 |
| 61 | L | February 19, 1977 | 1–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 16–33–12 |
| 62 | T | February 20, 1977 | 2–2 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 16–33–13 |
| 63 | W | February 22, 1977 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 17–33–13 |
| 64 | W | February 25, 1977 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 18–33–13 |
| 65 | L | February 26, 1977 | 1–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 18–34–13 |
| 66 | L | March 1, 1977 | 2–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 18–35–13 |
| 67 | W | March 3, 1977 | 7–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 19–35–13 |
| 68 | L | March 6, 1977 | 2–4 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 19–36–13 |
| 69 | L | March 9, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 19–37–13 |
| 70 | L | March 10, 1977 | 0–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 19–38–13 |
| 71 | T | March 13, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 19–38–14 |
| 72 | L | March 15, 1977 | 1–5 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 19–39–14 |
| 73 | W | March 18, 1977 | 5–0 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 20–39–14 |
| 74 | L | March 20, 1977 | 2–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 20–40–14 |
| 75 | W | March 25, 1977 | 7–2 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 21–40–14 |
| 76 | W | March 27, 1977 | 7–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 22–40–14 |
| 77 | W | March 29, 1977 | 6–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 23–40–14 |
| 78 | W | March 30, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 24–40–14 |
| 79 | L | April 2, 1977 | 0–11 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 24–41–14 |
| 80 | L | April 3, 1977 | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 24–42–14 |

## Playoffs

The Capitals missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Charron | C | 80 | 36 | 46 | 82 | 10 | -28 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Gerry Meehan | C | 80 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 13 | -11 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| Hartland Monahan | RW | 79 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 37 | -28 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 78 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 51 | -21 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Sirois | RW | 45 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Lynch | D | 75 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 90 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Lalonde | C | 76 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 24 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Riley | RW | 43 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 124 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Bill Collins | RW | 54 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 26 | -7 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Rick Bragnalo | C | 80 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 16 | -16 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Tony White | LW | 72 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 44 | -15 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Craig Patrick | RW | 28 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 | -10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 80 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 207 | -25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 45 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 16 | -20 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 56 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 91 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Labre | D | 62 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 169 | -5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Gord Smith | D | 79 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 92 | -27 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lampman | LW | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Lemieux | D | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | -9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Harvey Bennett | C | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 34 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blair Stewart | C | 34 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 85 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Paradise | D | 22 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Patey | RW | 37 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Rowe | RW | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Scamurra | D | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Marson | LW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Nicholson | LW | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | G | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Bolonchuk | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Forsyth | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Kinsella | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Mikkelson | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Self | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ron Low | 2918 | 54 | 16 | 27 | 5 | 188 | 3.87 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | 1779 | 37 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 114 | 3.84 | 1 |
| Roger Crozier | 103 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.17 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 24 | 42 | 14 | 304 | 3.80 | 1 |
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 1976 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Rick Green | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 1 | 15 | Greg Carroll | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 3 | 37 | Tom Rowe | United States | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 55 | Al Glendinning | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 5 | 73 | Doug Patey | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 91 | Jim Bedard | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 100 | Don Wilson | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 109 | Dale Rideout | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 8 | 119 | Al Dumba | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |