# 1975–76 Washington Capitals season

The 1975–76 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals second season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They improved by three games over their dreadful previous season, faring worse than the Kansas City Scouts, who went 12–56–12 (while going 1–2–1 against them), although the latter would move to Colorado after the season while the Capitals remained in their location.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 58 | 11 | 11 | 337 | 174 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 263 | 265 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 339 | 303 | 82 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 226 | 300 | 62 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 11 | 59 | 10 | 224 | 394 | 32 |
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
1975–76 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—2–3–10–5–11–4–13–36–15–3
Los Angeles
3–2–1—2–3–11–54–1–110–11–3
Montreal
5–0–13–2–1—6–06–020–2–2
Pittsburgh
4–1–15–10–6—4–1–113–9–2
Washington
3–31–4–10–61–4–1—5–17–2
Vs. Adams Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Detroit
0–3–21–41–3–11–2–23–12–5
Los Angeles
1–42–33–21–3–17–12–1
Montreal
3–0–23–25–03–1–114–3–3
Pittsburgh
0–3–21–42–2–14–17–10–3
Washington
0–4–10–4–11–3–10–4–11–15–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
3–11–31–32–27–9
Los Angeles
3–11–2–14–00–2–28–5–3
Montreal
4–02–1–13–0–11–2–110–3–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–11–2–13–10–3–16–7–3
Washington
0–40–42–20–3–12–13–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
2–1–13–13–12–1–10–410–8–2
Los Angeles
2–24–02–1–12–1–13–113–5–2
Montreal
2–1–13–14–04–01–1–214–3–3
Pittsburgh
1–2–12–1–12–1–12–22–1–19–7–4
Washington
2–21–2–10–2–20–40–43–14–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 7, 1975 | 2–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 9, 1975 | 4–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | L | October 11, 1975 | 5–7 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 0–3–0 |
| 4 | L | October 14, 1975 | 2–7 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 0–4–0 |
| 5 | L | October 15, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 0–5–0 |
| 6 | T | October 17, 1975 | 3–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 0–5–1 |
| 7 | L | October 19, 1975 | 4–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 0–6–1 |
| 8 | L | October 22, 1975 | 2–4 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 0–7–1 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1975 | 3–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 0–8–1 |
| 10 | W | October 26, 1975 | 7–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 1–8–1 |
| 11 | L | October 28, 1975 | 0–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 1–9–1 |
| 12 | W | October 30, 1975 | 6–2 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 2–9–1 |
| 13 | L | November 1, 1975 | 3–7 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 2–10–1 |
| 14 | L | November 5, 1975 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 2–11–1 |
| 15 | L | November 9, 1975 | 3–5 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 2–12–1 |
| 16 | T | November 12, 1975 | 6–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 2–12–2 |
| 17 | L | November 14, 1975 | 1–4 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 2–13–2 |
| 18 | L | November 15, 1975 | 2–9 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 2–14–2 |
| 19 | L | November 18, 1975 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 2–15–2 |
| 20 | L | November 19, 1975 | 2–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 2–16–2 |
| 21 | L | November 21, 1975 | 0–2 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 2–17–2 |
| 22 | W | November 26, 1975 | 7–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 3–17–2 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1975 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 3–18–2 |
| 24 | T | December 3, 1975 | 4–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 3–18–3 |
| 25 | L | December 4, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 3–19–3 |
| 26 | L | December 6, 1975 | 3–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 3–20–3 |
| 27 | L | December 7, 1975 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 3–21–3 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1975 | 1–7 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 3–22–3 |
| 29 | L | December 10, 1975 | 2–7 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 3–23–3 |
| 30 | L | December 12, 1975 | 3–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 3–24–3 |
| 31 | T | December 14, 1975 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 3–24–4 |
| 32 | L | December 17, 1975 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 3–25–4 |
| 33 | L | December 19, 1975 | 5–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 3–26–4 |
| 34 | L | December 21, 1975 | 2–14 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 3–27–4 |
| 35 | T | December 26, 1975 | 1–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 3–27–5 |
| 36 | L | December 29, 1975 | 0–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 3–28–5 |
| 37 | L | December 31, 1975 | 0–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 3–29–5 |
| 38 | L | January 2, 1976 | 5–8 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 3–30–5 |
| 39 | L | January 3, 1976 | 0–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 3–31–5 |
| 40 | L | January 6, 1976 | 3–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 3–32–5 |
| 41 | L | January 8, 1976 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 3–33–5 |
| 42 | L | January 9, 1976 | 0–5 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 3–34–5 |
| 43 | L | January 11, 1976 | 4–7 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 3–35–5 |
| 44 | L | January 13, 1976 | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 3–36–5 |
| 45 | L | January 15, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 3–37–5 |
| 46 | L | January 17, 1976 | 3–7 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 3–38–5 |
| 47 | L | January 21, 1976 | 2–5 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 3–39–5 |
| 48 | W | January 23, 1976 | 7–5 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 4–39–5 |
| 49 | L | January 24, 1976 | 2–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 4–40–5 |
| 50 | L | January 27, 1976 | 0–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 4–41–5 |
| 51 | W | January 28, 1976 | 4–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 5–41–5 |
| 52 | L | January 30, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 5–42–5 |
| 53 | T | February 4, 1976 | 4–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 5–42–6 |
| 54 | L | February 7, 1976 | 1–5 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 5–43–6 |
| 55 | L | February 8, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 5–44–6 |
| 56 | T | February 10, 1976 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 5–44–7 |
| 57 | L | February 13, 1976 | 0–2 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 5–45–7 |
| 58 | W | February 15, 1976 | 8–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 6–45–7 |
| 59 | L | February 16, 1976 | 1–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 6–46–7 |
| 60 | L | February 18, 1976 | 4–11 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 6–47–7 |
| 61 | W | February 21, 1976 | 5–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 7–47–7 |
| 62 | L | February 22, 1976 | 0–4 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 7–48–7 |
| 63 | T | February 24, 1976 | 5–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 7–48–8 |
| 64 | T | February 27, 1976 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 7–48–9 |
| 65 | W | February 29, 1976 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 8–48–9 |
| 66 | L | March 6, 1976 | 3–6 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 8–49–9 |
| 67 | L | March 7, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 8–50–9 |
| 68 | L | March 12, 1976 | 1–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 8–51–9 |
| 69 | L | March 14, 1976 | 1–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 8–52–9 |
| 70 | W | March 16, 1976 | 5–2 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 9–52–9 |
| 71 | L | March 19, 1976 | 3–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 9–53–9 |
| 72 | L | March 20, 1976 | 3–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 9–54–9 |
| 73 | T | March 23, 1976 | 5–5 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 9–54–10 |
| 74 | L | March 24, 1976 | 3–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 9–55–10 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1976 | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 9–56–10 |
| 76 | L | March 28, 1976 | 1–3 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 9–57–10 |
| 77 | W | March 30, 1976 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 10–57–10 |
| 78 | L | April 1, 1976 | 2–11 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 10–58–10 |
| 79 | W | April 3, 1976 | 5–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 11–58–10 |
| 80 | L | April 4, 1976 | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 11–59–10 |

## Playoffs

Despite a slightly improved record from the previous season, the Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second year in a row.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Nelson Pyatt | C | 77 | 26 | 23 | 49 | 14 | -56 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Hartland Monahan | RW | 80 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 35 | -49 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Tony White | LW | 80 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 56 | -43 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 67 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 75 | -42 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Gerry Meehan | C | 32 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 10 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Sirois | RW | 43 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 6 | -33 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Lalonde | C | 80 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 19 | -26 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Stan Gilbertson | LW | 31 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 6 | -25 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Blair Stewart | C | 74 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 113 | -53 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Clement | C | 46 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 20 | -30 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Joly | D | 54 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 28 | -46 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Harvey Bennett | C | 49 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 39 | -27 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Lynch | D | 79 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 78 | -52 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Yvon Labre | D | 80 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 146 | -38 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Williams | RW | 34 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 6 | -33 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Lemieux | D | 33 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 2 | -21 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Lampman | LW | 27 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 28 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Peter Scamurra | D | 58 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 33 | -38 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Bragnalo | C | 19 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 8 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gryp | LW | 46 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | -18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Marson | LW | 57 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 50 | -19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Brossart | D | 49 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 40 | -49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Paradise | D | 48 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 42 | -41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Egers | RW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Smith | D | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | -22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Paddock | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Nicholson | LW | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Belhumeur | G | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Bolonchuk | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Kinsella | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Jones | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don McLean | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Stapleton | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ron Low | 2289 | 43 | 6 | 31 | 2 | 208 | 5.45 | 0 |
| Bernie Wolfe | 2134 | 40 | 5 | 23 | 7 | 148 | 4.16 | 0 |
| Michel Belhumeur | 377 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 5.09 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 11 | 59 | 10 | 388 | 4.85 | 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 1975 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 18 | Alex Forsyth | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) |
| 2 | 19 | Peter Scamurra | United States | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 55 | Blair MacKasey | Canada | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 73 | Craig Crawford | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 91 | Roger Swanson | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 7 | 109 | Clark Jantzie | Canada | University of Alberta (CIAU) |
| 8 | 127 | Mike Fryia | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 9 | 144 | Jim Ofrim | Canada | University of Alberta (CIAU) |
| 10 | 161 | Mal Zinger | Canada | Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) |