# 1985–86 Washington Capitals season

The Washington Capitals are a professional American ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.; in the 1985–86 season, the team finished with 107 points and won 50 games for the first time in franchise history, good enough for the third-best record in the National Hockey League (NHL). However, they were bounced out of the playoffs in the second round by the New York Rangers.
The 107 points scored by the Capitals in this season would not be surpassed until the 2008–09 season, when the team scored 108 points in the regular season.

## Offseason

The Washington Capitals picked up Yvon Corriveau in the first round (19th overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

## Regular season

The fifty wins which the Washington Capitals won during the regular season placed them second in the Patrick Division, after the Philadelphia Flyers, and earned them a berth in the playoffs, which was the fourth consecutive time it had made the playoffs since the 1982–83 NHL season.

### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 23 | 4 | 335 | 241 | 110 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 50 | 23 | 7 | 315 | 272 | 107 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 39 | 29 | 12 | 327 | 284 | 90 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 280 | 276 | 78 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 313 | 305 | 76 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 28 | 49 | 3 | 300 | 374 | 59 |
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
1985–86 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—2−52−53−42−4−11−610−24−1
N.Y. Islanders
5−2—3−3−14−35−1−13−420−13−2
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−3−1—1−62−4−13−3−114−18−3
Philadelphia
4−33−46−1—6−0−15−224−10−1
Pittsburgh
4−2−11−5−14−2−10–6−1—1−610−21−4
Washington
6−14−33−3−12–56−1—21−13−1
Vs. Adams Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−31−21−21−22−15−10−0
N.Y. Islanders
1−0−21−22−11−21−26−7−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−10−31−22−0−10−2−15−8−2
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−11−1−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
1−22−0−11−20−2−11−1−15−7−3
Washington
2−0−11−1−12−0−12−0−13−010−1−4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
2−12−0−11−21−21−27−7−1
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−13−00−2−11−1−13−07−5−3
N.Y. Rangers
0−33−01−21−1−12−17−7−1
Philadelphia
2−0−12−12−0−12−12−110−3−2
Pittsburgh
1−1−12−13−02−13−011−3−1
Washington
2−12−12−13−02−111−4−0
Vs. Smythe Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−10−32−12−12−16−8−1
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−10−1−22−11−1−12−0−16−4−5
N.Y. Rangers
1−22−12−13−02−110−5−0
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−12−110−5−0
Pittsburgh
1−21−22−12−12−18−7−0
Washington
0−33−02−12−0−11−1−18−5−2 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 10, 1985 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1985–86) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 12, 1985 | 1–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | L | October 13, 1985 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 0–3–0 |
| 4 | W | October 16, 1985 | 6–5 OT | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 1–3–0 |
| 5 | W | October 18, 1985 | 4–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | T | October 19, 1985 | 2–2 OT | Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | October 23, 1985 | 2–4 | @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1985 | 7–7 OT | @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) | 2–4–2 |
| 9 | W | October 27, 1985 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 3–4–2 |
| 10 | W | October 29, 1985 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 4–4–2 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1985 | 5–3 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 5–4–2 |
| 12 | L | November 2, 1985 | 3–5 | @ New York Islanders (1985–86) | 5–5–2 |
| 13 | W | November 5, 1985 | 8–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 6–5–2 |
| 14 | W | November 6, 1985 | 4–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 7–5–2 |
| 15 | L | November 9, 1985 | 4–5 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 7–6–2 |
| 16 | W | November 12, 1985 | 5–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 8–6–2 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1985 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 9–6–2 |
| 18 | T | November 16, 1985 | 2–2 OT | @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 9–6–3 |
| 19 | W | November 19, 1985 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 10–6–3 |
| 20 | W | November 20, 1985 | 3–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 11–6–3 |
| 21 | W | November 23, 1985 | 3–0 | Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 12–6–3 |
| 22 | W | November 27, 1985 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 13–6–3 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1985 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 13–7–3 |
| 24 | W | November 30, 1985 | 6–2 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 14–7–3 |
| 25 | W | December 5, 1985 | 3–2 OT | St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 15–7–3 |
| 26 | W | December 7, 1985 | 2–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 16–7–3 |
| 27 | W | December 10, 1985 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 17–7–3 |
| 28 | W | December 14, 1985 | 5–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 18–7–3 |
| 29 | T | December 17, 1985 | 4–4 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 18–7–4 |
| 30 | W | December 18, 1985 | 5–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 19–7–4 |
| 31 | L | December 20, 1985 | 4–7 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) | 19–8–4 |
| 32 | W | December 22, 1985 | 7–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 20–8–4 |
| 33 | W | December 26, 1985 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 21–8–4 |
| 34 | L | December 28, 1985 | 4–7 | Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 21–9–4 |
| 35 | L | December 29, 1985 | 5–6 | @ New York Rangers (1985–86) | 21–10–4 |
| 36 | W | January 1, 1986 | 3–0 | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 22–10–4 |
| 37 | W | January 3, 1986 | 3–2 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 23–10–4 |
| 38 | W | January 4, 1986 | 9–3 | New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 24–10–4 |
| 39 | W | January 7, 1986 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 25–10–4 |
| 40 | L | January 9, 1986 | 0–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 25–11–4 |
| 41 | L | January 11, 1986 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 25–12–4 |
| 42 | L | January 14, 1986 | 3–4 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 25–13–4 |
| 43 | W | January 17, 1986 | 4–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 26–13–4 |
| 44 | W | January 18, 1986 | 5–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 27–13–4 |
| 45 | W | January 21, 1986 | 7–5 | Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 28–13–4 |
| 46 | L | January 24, 1986 | 5–7 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 28–14–4 |
| 47 | W | January 25, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 29–14–4 |
| 48 | L | January 28, 1986 | 0–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 29–15–4 |
| 49 | L | January 29, 1986 | 2–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 29–16–4 |
| 50 | W | February 1, 1986 | 5–4 | New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 30–16–4 |
| 51 | W | February 2, 1986 | 5–4 | @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 31–16–4 |
| 52 | W | February 7, 1986 | 3–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 32–16–4 |
| 53 | W | February 8, 1986 | 5–4 OT | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 33–16–4 |
| 54 | L | February 12, 1986 | 1–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 33–17–4 |
| 55 | W | February 15, 1986 | 4–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 34–17–4 |
| 56 | W | February 18, 1986 | 5–4 | @ New York Islanders (1985–86) | 35–17–4 |
| 57 | T | February 19, 1986 | 4–4 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 35–17–5 |
| 58 | L | February 22, 1986 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 35–18–5 |
| 59 | L | February 23, 1986 | 1–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 35–19–5 |
| 60 | W | February 25, 1986 | 4–3 OT | Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 36–19–5 |
| 61 | W | February 27, 1986 | 2–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 37–19–5 |
| 62 | W | March 1, 1986 | 4–0 | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 38–19–5 |
| 63 | W | March 2, 1986 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1985–86) | 39–19–5 |
| 64 | W | March 4, 1986 | 4–2 | New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 40–19–5 |
| 65 | W | March 8, 1986 | 6–2 | @ New York Islanders (1985–86) | 41–19–5 |
| 66 | W | March 9, 1986 | 3–1 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 42–19–5 |
| 67 | W | March 11, 1986 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 43–19–5 |
| 68 | L | March 13, 1986 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 43–20–5 |
| 69 | W | March 15, 1986 | 5–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 44–20–5 |
| 70 | W | March 17, 1986 | 5–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 45–20–5 |
| 71 | L | March 18, 1986 | 2–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 45–21–5 |
| 72 | W | March 21, 1986 | 5–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) | 46–21–5 |
| 73 | W | March 23, 1986 | 6–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 47–21–5 |
| 74 | W | March 25, 1986 | 6–3 | Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 48–21–5 |
| 75 | L | March 28, 1986 | 3–4 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 48–22–5 |
| 76 | T | March 29, 1986 | 6–6 OT | @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 48–22–6 |
| 77 | W | April 1, 1986 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 49–22–6 |
| 78 | W | April 3, 1986 | 4–2 | Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 50–22–6 |
| 79 | T | April 5, 1986 | 4–4 OT | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 50–22–7 |
| 80 | L | April 6, 1986 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 50–23–7 |

## Playoffs

The 1985–86 NHL season was the fourth time the Washington Capitals had made the playoffs, and finally defeated the New York Islanders in a playoff series three games to none. However, the Capitals were eliminated by the New York Rangers four games to two in a best of seven series.

### Patrick Division Semi-finals

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals
* Washington won series 3–0

### Patrick Divisional Finals

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
* New York Rangers won series 4–2

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dave Christian | RW | 80 | 41 | 42 | 83 | 15 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 4 |
| Mike Gartner | RW | 74 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 63 | -5 | 11 | 2 | 4 |
| Craig Laughlin | RW | 75 | 30 | 45 | 75 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Bengt-Ake Gustafsson | RW | 70 | 23 | 52 | 75 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| Alan Haworth | C | 71 | 34 | 39 | 73 | 72 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Larry Murphy | D | 78 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 50 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Bobby Carpenter | C | 80 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 105 | -12 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Greg Adams | LW | 78 | 18 | 38 | 56 | 152 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Stevens | D | 73 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 165 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | LW | 80 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 39 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Bobby Gould | RW | 79 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Jorgen Pettersson | LW | 47 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 10 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Peter Andersson | D | 61 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 36 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Lou Franceschetti | RW | 76 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 131 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 79 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 119 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rod Langway | D | 71 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 61 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Veitch | D | 62 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Sampson | LW | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Taylor | C | 30 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Schofield | D | 50 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Barrett | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Smith | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Leach | RW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Jensen | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryl Evans | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Jensen | G | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant Martin | LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yves Beaudoin | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Corriveau | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Kastelic | W | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Mason | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Peeters | G | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Al Jensen | 2437 | 44 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 129 | 3.18 | 2 | 1168 | 1039 | .890 |
| Pete Peeters | 2021 | 34 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 113 | 3.35 | 1 | 910 | 797 | .876 |
| Pat Riggin | 369 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 3.74 | 0 | 133 | 110 | .827 |
| Bob Mason | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1.000 |
| Team: | 4843 | 80 | 50 | 23 | 7 | 265 | 3.28 | 3 | 2216 | 1951 | .880 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Gartner | RW | 9 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Stevens | D | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Alan Haworth | C | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Carpenter | C | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Christian | RW | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | LW | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Gould | RW | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Murphy | D | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Adams | LW | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Barrett | D | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Smith | D | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Laughlin | RW | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jorgen Pettersson | LW | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Corriveau | LW | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Hatcher | D | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Leach | RW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Franceschetti | RW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Jensen | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Peeters | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Schofield | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Taylor | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Pete Peeters | 544 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 2.65 | 0 | 253 | 229 | .905 |
| Team: | 544 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 2.65 | 0 | 253 | 229 | .905 |
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;

## Awards and records

* The 107 points scored by the Washington Capitals in this season would not be surpassed until the 2008–09 Washington Capitals season, when the team scored 108 points in the regular season.
* Alan Haworth scored a goal in nine consecutive games, setting Washington record.

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 19 | Yvon Corriveau | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 2 | 40 | John Druce | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 3 | 61 | Rob Murray | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 4 | 82 | Bill Houlder | Canada | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 4 | 83 | Larry Shaw | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 5 | 103 | Claude Dumas | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 124 | Doug Stromback | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 7 | 145 | Jamie Nadjiwan | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 8 | 166 | Mark Haarmann | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 9 | 187 | Steve Hollett | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 10 | 208 | Dallas Eakins | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 11 | 229 | Steve Hrynewich | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 12 | 250 | Frank Di Muzio | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |