# 1984–85 Washington Capitals season

The 1984–85 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals eleventh season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Regular season

Coming off their most successful season in their NHL history (48 wins, 101 points, 2nd place in the Patrick Division), the Capitals were expected to take over leadership of the division from the New York Islanders, whose fading dynasty was given a blow after the Oilers topped them in the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals.
Instead, despite a solid start to the season, the Caps were struggling in the early going to keep up with the surprising Philadelphia Flyers. With a surge around the holidays, Washington ended up snagging first place and with the help of easy games throughout January, extended their division lead to double-digit points by the start of February.
However, the Flyers came breathing down the Caps' necks from there. On February 9, Washington led Philly by 11 points, but a last-second loss to the Flyers at the Capital Centre triggered another battle for the division title.
Although the Capitals didn't falter over the remaining games of the season, they were unable to hold off their scorching neighbors to the north — dropping a key pair of games in a home-and-home set on March 7 at the Spectrum (9–6) and March 8 at home (4–2) – which drew the clubs into a tie for first. Key losses at home to Boston and on the road at Hartford sealed their fate as the Flyers wrapped up the Patrick on March 28 with the Capitals a distant 10 points off the pace.
Despite winning 46 games and posting another 101 point campaign, the Capitals wound up 12 points behind Philly, and won only once in seven games against them (1–5–1).
That didn't take away from the career performances of Mike Gartner and Bobby Carpenter, who became the first Capitals teammates to post concurrent 50 goal seasons. Both Gartner (50) and Carpenter (53) posted career-highs in goal scoring and led a potent offense which tallied 322 times.

### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 20 | 7 | 348 | 241 | 113 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 322 | 240 | 101 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 345 | 312 | 86 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 295 | 345 | 62 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 22 | 48 | 10 | 264 | 346 | 54 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 24 | 51 | 5 | 276 | 385 | 53 |
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

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—3−2−22−52−55−22−4−114−18−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−3−2—4−33−3−15−23−417−15−3
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−4—0−74−32−514−21−0
Philadelphia
5−23−3−17−0—5−25−1−125−8−2
Pittsburgh
2−52−53−42–5—0−6−19−25−1
Washington
4−2−14−35−21–5−16−0–1—20−13−2
Vs. Adams Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−30−30−31−1−11−1−12−11−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−22−11−1−11−20−35−9−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−1−21−1−10−1−20−2−11−22−7−6
Philadelphia
2−11−1−12−0−11−21−1−17−5−3
Pittsburgh
1−20−2−11−21−20−33−11−1
Washington
2−11−21−21−1−12−17−7−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
0−31−1−11−1−10−2−13−05−7−3
N.Y. Islanders
3−02−11−1−13−02−111−3−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−31−21−22−0−12−0−16−7−2
Philadelphia
2−12−0−13−03−02−112−2−1
Pittsburgh
1−21−1−11−21−22−16−8−1
Washington
3−02−12−0−12−0−12−0−111−1−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−11−20−30−30−2−11−12−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−20−2−12−12−12−17−7−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−2−11−1−11−22−10−34−9−2
Philadelphia
2−13−01−1−13−00−39−5−1
Pittsburgh
2−0−11−1−10−32−11−26−7−2
Washington
2−10−1−22−13−01−28−5−2 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 11, 1984 | 2–2 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 13, 1984 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | W | October 14, 1984 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | W | October 16, 1984 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1984 | 5–6 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | T | October 24, 1984 | 3–3 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | L | October 25, 1984 | 3–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 2–3–2 |
| 8 | W | October 28, 1984 | 5–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | W | October 31, 1984 | 4–3 OT | Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | W | November 3, 1984 | 6–4 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 5–3–2 |
| 11 | L | November 7, 1984 | 3–4 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 5–4–2 |
| 12 | L | November 9, 1984 | 5–8 | Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 5–5–2 |
| 13 | T | November 10, 1984 | 2–2 OT | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 5–5–3 |
| 14 | T | November 13, 1984 | 3–3 OT | Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 5–5–4 |
| 15 | L | November 16, 1984 | 2–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 5–6–4 |
| 16 | W | November 17, 1984 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 6–6–4 |
| 17 | L | November 20, 1984 | 3–5 | @ New York Islanders (1984–85) | 6–7–4 |
| 18 | T | November 21, 1984 | 3–3 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 6–7–5 |
| 19 | L | November 23, 1984 | 1–5 | New York Islanders (1984–85) | 6–8–5 |
| 20 | W | November 25, 1984 | 5–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 7–8–5 |
| 21 | W | November 27, 1984 | 9–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 8–8–5 |
| 22 | W | November 28, 1984 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 9–8–5 |
| 23 | W | December 1, 1984 | 5–4 OT | @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 10–8–5 |
| 24 | W | December 2, 1984 | 9–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 11–8–5 |
| 25 | W | December 4, 1984 | 4–1 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 12–8–5 |
| 26 | L | December 7, 1984 | 5–7 | Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 12–9–5 |
| 27 | W | December 9, 1984 | 4–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 13–9–5 |
| 28 | T | December 11, 1984 | 3–3 OT | @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 13–9–6 |
| 29 | W | December 12, 1984 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 14–9–6 |
| 30 | W | December 15, 1984 | 4–2 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 15–9–6 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1984 | 6–3 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 16–9–6 |
| 32 | W | December 18, 1984 | 4–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 17–9–6 |
| 33 | T | December 20, 1984 | 2–2 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 17–9–7 |
| 34 | W | December 22, 1984 | 7–5 | St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 18–9–7 |
| 35 | L | December 23, 1984 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 18–10–7 |
| 36 | W | December 26, 1984 | 6–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 19–10–7 |
| 37 | W | December 27, 1984 | 5–4 OT | @ New York Islanders (1984–85) | 20–10–7 |
| 38 | W | December 29, 1984 | 3–2 | Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 21–10–7 |
| 39 | W | January 1, 1985 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 22–10–7 |
| 40 | L | January 4, 1985 | 3–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) | 22–11–7 |
| 41 | W | January 8, 1985 | 4–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 23–11–7 |
| 42 | W | January 9, 1985 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) | 24–11–7 |
| 43 | L | January 12, 1985 | 3–5 | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 24–12–7 |
| 44 | W | January 14, 1985 | 6–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) | 25–12–7 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1985 | 5–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 26–12–7 |
| 46 | W | January 17, 1985 | 6–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 27–12–7 |
| 47 | W | January 19, 1985 | 7–1 | New York Rangers (1984–85) | 28–12–7 |
| 48 | W | January 23, 1985 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) | 29–12–7 |
| 49 | W | January 26, 1985 | 5–1 | @ New York Islanders (1984–85) | 30–12–7 |
| 50 | W | January 27, 1985 | 5–2 | New York Islanders (1984–85) | 31–12–7 |
| 51 | L | January 29, 1985 | 3–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) | 31–13–7 |
| 52 | T | February 1, 1985 | 3–3 OT | Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 31–13–8 |
| 53 | W | February 3, 1985 | 6–2 | Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 32–13–8 |
| 54 | W | February 5, 1985 | 4–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 33–13–8 |
| 55 | W | February 8, 1985 | 6–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 34–13–8 |
| 56 | L | February 9, 1985 | 4–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 34–14–8 |
| 57 | L | February 13, 1985 | 3–5 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) | 34–15–8 |
| 58 | W | February 14, 1985 | 4–3 | @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) | 35–15–8 |
| 59 | L | February 16, 1985 | 2–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) | 35–16–8 |
| 60 | W | February 21, 1985 | 6–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 36–16–8 |
| 61 | T | February 23, 1985 | 3–3 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) | 36–16–9 |
| 62 | W | February 26, 1985 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) | 37–16–9 |
| 63 | W | February 28, 1985 | 5–4 | @ New York Rangers (1984–85) | 38–16–9 |
| 64 | L | March 2, 1985 | 0–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) | 38–17–9 |
| 65 | W | March 5, 1985 | 4–1 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 39–17–9 |
| 66 | L | March 7, 1985 | 6–9 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 39–18–9 |
| 67 | L | March 8, 1985 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) | 39–19–9 |
| 68 | L | March 10, 1985 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1984–85) | 39–20–9 |
| 69 | W | March 14, 1985 | 4–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) | 40–20–9 |
| 70 | L | March 16, 1985 | 4–6 | @ New York Islanders (1984–85) | 40–21–9 |
| 71 | W | March 19, 1985 | 4–1 | New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 41–21–9 |
| 72 | L | March 21, 1985 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 41–22–9 |
| 73 | W | March 22, 1985 | 3–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) | 42–22–9 |
| 74 | W | March 24, 1985 | 7–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 43–22–9 |
| 75 | L | March 27, 1985 | 1–3 | Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 43–23–9 |
| 76 | L | March 28, 1985 | 2–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) | 43–24–9 |
| 77 | W | March 30, 1985 | 4–3 | New York Islanders (1984–85) | 44–24–9 |
| 78 | L | April 4, 1985 | 0–2 | @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) | 44–25–9 |
| 79 | W | April 6, 1985 | 7–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 45–25–9 |
| 80 | W | April 7, 1985 | 7–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) | 46–25–9 |

## Playoffs
### Round 1: (P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) New York Islanders

* New York won series 3–2

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Gartner | RW | 80 | 50 | 52 | 102 | 71 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 11 |
| Bobby Carpenter | C | 80 | 53 | 42 | 95 | 87 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Dave Christian | RW | 80 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Stevens | D | 80 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 221 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 5 |
| Larry Murphy | D | 79 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 51 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Laughlin | RW | 78 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Alan Haworth | C | 76 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 48 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Bengt-Ake Gustafsson | RW | 51 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | LW | 67 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 32 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike McEwen | D | 56 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 42 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 80 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 32 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bobby Gould | RW | 78 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Bryan Erickson | RW | 57 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rod Langway | D | 79 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 54 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary Sampson | LW | 46 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Darren Veitch | D | 75 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 37 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Adams | LW | 51 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 72 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lou Franceschetti | RW | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Peter Andersson | D | 57 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Evason | C | 15 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Gardner | C | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Currie | C | 44 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Timo Blomqvist | D | 53 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McGeough | C | 11 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Hidi | LW | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Shand | D | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Taylor | C | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mikko Leinonen | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Mason | G | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | G | 57 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Jensen | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Pat Riggin | 3388 | 57 | 28 | 20 | 7 | 168 | 2.98 | 2 |
| Al Jensen | 803 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 2.54 | 1 |
| Bob Mason | 661 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 2.81 | 1 |
| Team: | 4852 | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 233 | 2.88 | 4 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Gartner | RW | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Murphy | D | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Carpenter | C | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bengt-Ake Gustafsson | RW | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Christian | RW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Franceschetti | RW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Haworth | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Gould | RW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike McEwen | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Stevens | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Veitch | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Adams | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Andersson | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Timo Blomqvist | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Jensen | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Laughlin | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mikko Leinonen | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Sampson | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Al Jensen | 201 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2.39 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | 122 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2.46 | 0 |
| Team: | 323 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 2.41 | 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 1984 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 17 | Kevin Hatcher | United States | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 2 | 34 | Steve Leach | United States | Matignon High School (USHS-MA) |
| 3 | 59 | Michal Pivonka | Czechoslovakia | Poldi Kladno (Czechoslovakia) |
| 4 | 80 | Kris King | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 6 | 122 | Vito Cramarossa | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 7 | 143 | Timo Iljina | Finland | Karpat (Finland) |
| 8 | 164 | Frank Joo | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 9 | 185 | Jim Thomson | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 10 | 205 | Paul Cavallini | Canada | Henry Carr Crusaders (MetJHL) |
| 11 | 225 | Mikhail Tatarinov | Soviet Union | Sokol Kiev (USSR) |
| 12 | 246 | Per Schederin | Sweden | Brynäs IF (Sweden) |