# 1990–91 Washington Capitals season

The 1990–91 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals 17th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Offseason

The Capitals acquired Peter Zezel from St. Louis for Geoff Courtnall as their main move during the offseason.

## Regular season

The Capitals had the best penalty-killing unit during the regular season, allowing the fewest power-play goals (44) and finishing with the NHL's best penalty-killing percentage (85.99%).

### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 342 | 305 | 88 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 297 | 265 | 85 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 258 | 258 | 81 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 272 | 264 | 79 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 252 | 267 | 76 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 223 | 290 | 60 |
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.
Wales Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 299 | 264 | 100 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | ADM | 80 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 273 | 249 | 89 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | PTK | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 342 | 305 | 88 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 297 | 265 | 85 |
| 5 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 258 | 258 | 81 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 31 | 30 | 19 | 292 | 278 | 81 |
| 7 | New Jersey Devils | PTK | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 272 | 264 | 79 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 252 | 267 | 76 |
| 9 | Hartford Whalers | ADM | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 238 | 276 | 73 |
| 10 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 223 | 290 | 60 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 16 | 50 | 14 | 236 | 354 | 46 |
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 5, 1990 | 4–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 6, 1990 | 6–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 10, 1990 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 12, 1990 | 3–1 | Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | October 13, 1990 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | L | October 15, 1990 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | L | October 17, 1990 | 2–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | W | October 19, 1990 | 4–3 | New York Islanders (1990–91) | 3–5–0 |
| 9 | W | October 20, 1990 | 4–0 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 4–5–0 |
| 10 | W | October 23, 1990 | 6–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 5–5–0 |
| 11 | L | October 25, 1990 | 2–3 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 5–6–0 |
| 12 | L | October 27, 1990 | 4–9 | @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 5–7–0 |
| 13 | W | October 28, 1990 | 1–0 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 6–7–0 |
| 14 | W | October 30, 1990 | 2–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 7–7–0 |
| 15 | W | November 2, 1990 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 8–7–0 |
| 16 | W | November 3, 1990 | 5–2 | @ New York Islanders (1990–91) | 9–7–0 |
| 17 | W | November 6, 1990 | 4–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 10–7–0 |
| 18 | L | November 10, 1990 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 10–8–0 |
| 19 | L | November 11, 1990 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 10–9–0 |
| 20 | L | November 14, 1990 | 3–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 10–10–0 |
| 21 | L | November 16, 1990 | 3–4 | Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 10–11–0 |
| 22 | L | November 17, 1990 | 2–4 | @ Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 10–12–0 |
| 23 | W | November 19, 1990 | 3–2 OT | @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 11–12–0 |
| 24 | W | November 21, 1990 | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 12–12–0 |
| 25 | W | November 23, 1990 | 7–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 13–12–0 |
| 26 | L | November 24, 1990 | 2–3 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 13–13–0 |
| 27 | W | November 28, 1990 | 6–3 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 14–13–0 |
| 28 | L | November 30, 1990 | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 14–14–0 |
| 29 | W | December 1, 1990 | 3–1 | @ New York Islanders (1990–91) | 15–14–0 |
| 30 | W | December 5, 1990 | 3–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 16–14–0 |
| 31 | W | December 7, 1990 | 5–2 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 17–14–0 |
| 32 | L | December 8, 1990 | 2–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 17–15–0 |
| 33 | W | December 11, 1990 | 4–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 18–15–0 |
| 34 | L | December 15, 1990 | 2–3 | Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 18–16–0 |
| 35 | L | December 17, 1990 | 3–5 | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 18–17–0 |
| 36 | L | December 19, 1990 | 2–3 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) | 18–18–0 |
| 37 | T | December 20, 1990 | 3–3 OT | @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 18–18–1 |
| 38 | L | December 22, 1990 | 2–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) | 18–19–1 |
| 39 | L | December 26, 1990 | 3–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 18–20–1 |
| 40 | L | December 28, 1990 | 3–5 | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 18–21–1 |
| 41 | L | December 29, 1990 | 3–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 18–22–1 |
| 42 | W | January 1, 1991 | 4–3 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 19–22–1 |
| 43 | T | January 4, 1991 | 3–3 OT | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 19–22–2 |
| 44 | W | January 5, 1991 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 20–22–2 |
| 45 | W | January 11, 1991 | 4–2 | Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 21–22–2 |
| 46 | L | January 12, 1991 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) | 21–23–2 |
| 47 | L | January 15, 1991 | 3–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 21–24–2 |
| 48 | L | January 17, 1991 | 2–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 21–25–2 |
| 49 | W | January 22, 1991 | 2–1 OT | @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) | 22–25–2 |
| 50 | L | January 24, 1991 | 1–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 22–26–2 |
| 51 | T | January 25, 1991 | 2–2 OT | Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 22–26–3 |
| 52 | W | January 27, 1991 | 5–4 OT | New York Islanders (1990–91) | 23–26–3 |
| 53 | L | January 29, 1991 | 2–3 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 23–27–3 |
| 54 | W | January 31, 1991 | 4–3 OT | @ New York Islanders (1990–91) | 24–27–3 |
| 55 | L | February 2, 1991 | 2–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 24–28–3 |
| 56 | W | February 5, 1991 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 25–28–3 |
| 57 | W | February 8, 1991 | 6–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 26–28–3 |
| 58 | W | February 10, 1991 | 5–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 27–28–3 |
| 59 | L | February 15, 1991 | 2–8 | @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) | 27–29–3 |
| 60 | L | February 16, 1991 | 2–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) | 27–30–3 |
| 61 | L | February 18, 1991 | 2–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 27–31–3 |
| 62 | W | February 22, 1991 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1990–91) | 28–31–3 |
| 63 | T | February 24, 1991 | 5–5 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) | 28–31–4 |
| 64 | L | February 25, 1991 | 1–5 | @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 28–32–4 |
| 65 | T | February 27, 1991 | 4–4 OT | @ New York Rangers (1990–91) | 28–32–5 |
| 66 | W | March 2, 1991 | 3–2 | New York Islanders (1990–91) | 29–32–5 |
| 67 | T | March 5, 1991 | 3–3 OT | Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) | 29–32–6 |
| 68 | W | March 8, 1991 | 2–1 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) | 30–32–6 |
| 69 | W | March 10, 1991 | 5–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) | 31–32–6 |
| 70 | L | March 12, 1991 | 2–3 | Hartford Whalers (1990–91) | 31–33–6 |
| 71 | W | March 14, 1991 | 5–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) | 32–33–6 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1991 | 6–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 33–33–6 |
| 73 | L | March 19, 1991 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1990–91) | 33–34–6 |
| 74 | W | March 21, 1991 | 6–2 | @ New York Islanders (1990–91) | 34–34–6 |
| 75 | W | March 22, 1991 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) | 35–34–6 |
| 76 | T | March 24, 1991 | 3–3 OT | Boston Bruins (1990–91) | 35–34–7 |
| 77 | L | March 26, 1991 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 35–35–7 |
| 78 | W | March 28, 1991 | 3–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) | 36–35–7 |
| 79 | W | March 30, 1991 | 4–0 | New Jersey Devils (1990–91) | 37–35–7 |
| 80 | L | March 31, 1991 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) | 37–36–7 |

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

* Washington won series 4–2

### Round 2: (P1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (P3) Washington Capitals

* Pittsburgh won series 4–1

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 79 | 24 | 50 | 74 | 69 | -10 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| Mike Ridley | C | 79 | 23 | 48 | 71 | 26 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Michal Pivonka | C | 79 | 20 | 50 | 70 | 34 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| John Druce | RW | 80 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 46 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Calle Johansson | D | 80 | 11 | 41 | 52 | 23 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Kelly Miller | LW | 80 | 24 | 26 | 50 | 29 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Dale Hunter | C | 76 | 16 | 30 | 46 | 234 | -22 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Dino Ciccarelli | RW | 54 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 66 | -17 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Stephen Leach | RW | 68 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 99 | -9 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Peter Bondra | RW | 54 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 47 | -10 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Dmitri Khristich | LW/C | 40 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 21 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mikhail Tatarinov | D | 65 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 82 | -4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Rouse | D | 47 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 65 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Kypreos | LW | 79 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 196 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Dave Tippett | LW | 61 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 24 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Al Iafrate | D | 30 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 124 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tim Bergland | RW | 47 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 21 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Zezel | C | 20 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 10 | -13 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan May | RW | 67 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 264 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 56 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Joyce | LW | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 68 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 61 | -23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Sabourin | D | 28 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 81 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Felix | D | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Murray | C | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Greenlaw | LW | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alfie Turcotte | C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Purves | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Joel Quenneville | D | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Ferner | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Babcock | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Beaupre | G | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Hrivnak | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kordic | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Liut | G | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Lovsin | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Maltais | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent Paynter | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Savage | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Seftel | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Don Beaupre | 2572 | 45 | 20 | 18 | 3 | 113 | 2.64 | 5 | 1095 | 982 | .897 |
| Mike Liut | 1834 | 35 | 13 | 16 | 3 | 114 | 3.73 | 0 | 786 | 672 | .855 |
| Jim Hrivnak | 432 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 3.61 | 0 | 226 | 200 | .885 |
| Team: | 4838 | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 253 | 3.14 | 5 | 2107 | 1854 | .880 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dale Hunter | C | 11 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dino Ciccarelli | RW | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Calle Johansson | D | 10 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Ridley | C | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kelly Miller | LW | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Michal Pivonka | C | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Tippett | LW | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Iafrate | D | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dmitri Khristich | LW/C | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lalor | D | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Leach | RW | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Bergland | RW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Druce | RW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan May | RW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rod Langway | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Beaupre | G | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Bondra | RW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Kypreos | LW | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Greenlaw | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Liut | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent Paynter | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Sabourin | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neil Sheehy | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Don Beaupre | 624 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 2.79 | 1 | 294 | 265 | .901 |
| Mike Liut | 48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5.00 | 0 | 30 | 26 | .867 |
| Team: | 672 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 2.95 | 1 | 324 | 291 | .898 |
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; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 9 | John Slaney | Canada | Cornwall Royals (OHL) |
| 2 | 30 | Rod Pasma | Canada | Cornwall Royals (OHL) |
| 3 | 51 | Chris Long | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 4 | 72 | Randy Pearce | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 5 | 93 | Brian Sakic | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 5 | 94 | Mark Ouimet | Canada | University of Michigan (CCHA) |
| 6 | 114 | Andrei Kovalev | Soviet Union | Dynamo Moscow (USSR) |
| 7 | 135 | Roman Kontsek | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Trencin (Czechoslovakia) |
| 8 | 156 | Peter Bondra | Soviet Union | VSZ Kosice (Czechoslovakia) |
| 8 | 159 | Steve Martell | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 9 | 177 | Ken Klee | United States | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |
| 10 | 198 | Mike Boback | United States | Providence College (Hockey East) |
| 11 | 219 | Alan Brown | Canada | Colgate University (ECAC) |
| 12 | 240 | Todd Hlushko | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| S | 14 | Martin Jiranek | Canada | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |