# 2021–22 Washington Capitals season

The 2021–22 Washington Capitals season was the 48th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. On April 17, 2022, the Capitals clinched a playoff spot after the New York Islanders lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Capitals were defeated in the first round by the Florida Panthers, in six games.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 54 | 20 | 8 | 47 | 278 | 202 | +76 | 116 |
| 2 | x – New York Rangers | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 44 | 254 | 207 | +47 | 110 |
| 3 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 37 | 272 | 229 | +43 | 103 |
| 4 | x – Washington Capitals | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 35 | 275 | 245 | +30 | 100 |
| 5 | e – New York Islanders | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 34 | 231 | 237 | −6 | 84 |
| 6 | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 26 | 262 | 300 | −38 | 81 |
| 7 | e – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 27 | 46 | 9 | 19 | 248 | 307 | −59 | 63 |
| 8 | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 25 | 46 | 11 | 20 | 211 | 298 | −87 | 61 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AT | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 51 | 26 | 5 | 40 | 255 | 220 | +35 | 107 |
| 2 | ME | x – Washington Capitals | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 35 | 275 | 245 | +30 | 100 |
| 3 | ME | e – New York Islanders | 82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 34 | 231 | 237 | −6 | 84 |
| 4 | ME | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 37 | 38 | 7 | 26 | 262 | 300 | −38 | 81 |
| 5 | AT | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 25 | 232 | 290 | −58 | 75 |
| 6 | AT | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 21 | 230 | 312 | −82 | 74 |
| 7 | AT | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 26 | 227 | 266 | −39 | 73 |
| 8 | ME | e – New Jersey Devils | 82 | 27 | 46 | 9 | 19 | 248 | 307 | −59 | 63 |
| 9 | ME | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 25 | 46 | 11 | 20 | 211 | 298 | −87 | 61 |
| 10 | AT | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 22 | 49 | 11 | 16 | 221 | 319 | −98 | 55 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on July 22, 2021.
2021–22 game log :
October: 5–0–3 (home: 3–0–3; road: 2–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 13New York Rangers5–1Vanecek18,5731–0–02
2October 16Tampa Bay1–2OTVanecek18,5731–0–13
3October 19Colorado6–3Samsonov18,5732–0–15
4October 21@ New Jersey4–1Vanecek12,3773–0–17
5October 23Calgary3–4OTSamsonov18,5733–0–28
6October 25@ Ottawa7–5Samsonov11,3874–0–210
7October 27Detroit2–3OTVanecek18,5734–0–311
8October 29Arizona2–0Samsonov18,5735–0–313 :
November: 9–4–2 (home: 4–1–0; road: 5–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
9November 1@ Tampa Bay Lightning2–3Vanecek19,0925–1–313
10November 4@ Florida Panthers4–5OTVanecek12,5425–1–414
11November 6Philadelphia Flyers1–2Vanecek18,5735–2–414
12November 8Buffalo Sabres5–3Vanecek18,5736–2–416
13November 11@ Detroit Red Wings2–0Fucale16,8127–2–418
14November 12@ Columbus Blue Jackets4–3Samsonov16,9858–2–420
15November 14Pittsburgh Penguins6–1Vanecek18,5739–2–422
16November 16@ Anaheim Ducks2–3OTVanecek13,4569–2–523
17November 17@ Los Angeles Kings2–0Samsonov14,69410–2–525
18November 20@ San Jose Sharks4–0Samsonov16,52711–2–527
19November 21@ Seattle Kraken2–5Vanecek17,15111–3–527
20November 24Montreal Canadiens6–3Samsonov18,57312–3–529
21November 26Florida Panthers4–3Samsonov18,57313–3–531
22November 28@ Carolina Hurricanes4–2Samsonov18,81514–3–533
23November 30@ Florida Panthers4–5Samsonov12,36514–4–533 :
December: 6–2–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
24December 2Chicago Blackhawks3–4SOVanecek18,57314–4–634
25December 4Columbus Blue Jackets3–1Samsonov18,57315–4–636
26December 6Anaheim Ducks4–3SOSamsonov18,57316–4–638
27December 10Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Samsonov18,57316–5–638
28December 11@ Buffalo Sabres3–2SOVanecek9,55417–5–640
29December 15@ Chicago Blackhawks4–5OTSamsonov18,26017–5–741
30December 17@ Winnipeg Jets5–2Vanecek14,03918–5–743
31December 19Los Angeles Kings2–3Vanecek18,57318–6–743
—December 21@ Philadelphia FlyersPostponed due to COVID-19. Moved to February 17.
—December 23@ New York IslandersPostponed due to COVID-19. Moved to April 28.
—December 27Ottawa SenatorsPostponed due to COVID-19. Moved to February 13.
32December 29Nashville Predators5–3Samsonov18,57319–6–745
33December 31@ Detroit Red Wings3–1Samsonov17,72120–6–747 :
January: 5–6–2 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
34January 2New Jersey Devils3–4OTSamsonov18,57320–6–848
—January 4@ Montreal CanadiensPostponed due to attendance restrictions. Moved to February 10.
35January 7@ St. Louis Blues1–5Samsonov18,09620–7–848
36January 8@ Minnesota Wild2–3SOFucale19,07820–7–949
37January 10Boston Bruins3–7Fucale18,57320–8–949
38January 15@ New York Islanders2–0Vanecek17,25521–8–951
39January 16Vancouver Canucks2–4Samsonov18,57321–9–951
40January 18Winnipeg Jets4–3OTVanecek18,57322–9–953
41January 20@ Boston Bruins3–4Vanecek17,85022–10–953
42January 22Ottawa Senators2–3OTVanecek18,57323–10–955
43January 24Vegas Golden Knights0–1Vanecek18,57323–11–955
44January 26San Jose Sharks1–4Samsonov18,57323–12–955
45January 28@ Dallas Stars5–0Vanecek18,53224–12–957 :
February: 4–6–0 (home: 0–4–0; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
46February 1@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–3OTSamsonov17,82625–12–959
47February 2Edmonton Oilers3–5Copley18,57325–13–959
48February 8Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Samsonov18,57325–14–959
49February 10@ Montreal Canadiens5–2Samsonov50026–14–961
50February 13Ottawa Senators1–4Samsonov18,57326–15–961
51February 15@ Nashville Predators4–1Samsonov17,23827–15–963
52February 17@ Philadelphia Flyers5–3Samsonov16,88628–15–965
53February 24@ New York Rangers1–4Samsonov18,00628–16–965
54February 26@ Philadelphia Flyers1–2Samsonov18,27628–17–965
55February 28Toronto Maple Leafs3–5Vanecek18,57328–18–965 :
March: 9–3–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 5–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
56March 3Carolina Hurricanes4–0Vanecek18,57329–18–967
57March 5Seattle Kraken5–2Vanecek18,57330–18–969
58March 8@ Calgary Flames5–4Vanecek15,62831–18–971
59March 9@ Edmonton Oilers3–4OTSamsonov16,36831–18–1072
60March 11@ Vancouver Canucks4–3OTVanecek18,81432–18–1074
61March 15New York Islanders4–3SOVanecek18,57333–18–1076
62March 17@ Columbus Blue Jackets7–2Vanecek15,91134–18–1078
63March 18@ Carolina Hurricanes4–3SOSamsonov18,68035–18–1080
64March 20Dallas Stars2–3Vanecek18,57335–19–1080
65March 22St. Louis Blues2–5Vanecek18,57335–20–1080
66March 25@ Buffalo Sabres4–3SOSamsonov9,74036–20–1082
67March 26New Jersey Devils4–3Vanecek18,57337–20–1084
68March 28Carolina Hurricanes1–6Vanecek18,57337–21–1084 :
April: 7–5–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 4–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
69April 3Minnesota Wild1–5Vanecek18,57337–22–1084
70April 6Tampa Bay Lightning4–3Samsonov18,57338–22–1086
71April 9@ Pittsburgh Penguins6–3Samsonov18,40439–22–1088
72April 10Boston Bruins4–2Vanecek18,57340–22–1090
73April 12Philadelphia Flyers9–2Samsonov18,57341–22–1092
74April 14@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–7Samsonov18,46641–23–1092
75April 16@ Montreal Canadiens8–4Vanecek21,10542–23–1094
76April 18@ Colorado Avalanche3–2Samsonov18,02043–23–1096
77April 20@ Vegas Golden Knights3–4OTSamsonov18,24043–23–1197
78April 22@ Arizona Coyotes2–0Vanecek14,05344–23–1199
79April 24Toronto Maple Leafs3–4SOVanecek18,57344–23–12100
80April 26New York Islanders1–4Samsonov18,57344–24–12100
81April 28@ New York Islanders1–5Vanecek16,72244–25–12100
82April 29@ New York Rangers2–3Samsonov17,23044–26–12100 :
Win (2 Points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2022 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Florida Panthers: Florida won 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 3@ Florida4–2Vanecek19,6781–0
2May 5@ Florida1–5Vanecek19,6361–1
3May 7Florida6–1Samsonov18,5732–1
4May 9Florida2–3OTSamsonov18,5732–2
5May 11@ Florida3–5Samsonov20,0232–3
6May 13Florida3–4OTSamsonov18,5732–4 :
Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

As of April 29, 2022

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Alexander Ovechkin | 77 | 50 | 40 | 90 | +8 | 18 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | 79 | 24 | 54 | 78 | +7 | 44 |
| John Carlson | 78 | 17 | 54 | 71 | +13 | 20 |
| Tom Wilson | 78 | 24 | 28 | 52 | +13 | 98 |
| Conor Sheary | 71 | 19 | 24 | 43 | −2 | 14 |
| Dmitry Orlov | 76 | 12 | 23 | 35 | +25 | 44 |
| Lars Eller | 72 | 13 | 18 | 31 | −4 | 40 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 47 | 6 | 25 | 31 | −8 | 12 |
| Garnet Hathaway | 76 | 14 | 12 | 26 | +19 | 57 |
| T. J. Oshie | 44 | 11 | 14 | 25 | −12 | 18 |
| Nic Dowd | 64 | 10 | 14 | 24 | +10 | 44 |
| Anthony Mantha | 37 | 9 | 14 | 23 | +4 | 14 |
| Justin Schultz | 74 | 4 | 19 | 23 | −15 | 16 |
| Nick Jensen | 76 | 5 | 16 | 21 | +32 | 21 |
| Connor McMichael | 68 | 9 | 9 | 18 | −3 | 10 |
| Martin Fehervary | 79 | 8 | 9 | 17 | +15 | 26 |
| Trevor van Riemsdyk | 72 | 1 | 16 | 17 | −3 | 40 |
| Daniel Sprong$^‡$ | 47 | 8 | 6 | 14 | +6 | 8 |
| Carl Hagelin | 53 | 3 | 11 | 14 | +10 | 20 |
| Aliaksei Protas | 33 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +4 | 0 |
| Joe Snively | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | +3 | 2 |
| Marcus Johansson$^†$ | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −4 | 0 |
| Brett Leason | 36 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| Johan Larsson$^†$ | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 |
| Michael Sgarbossa | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +3 | 0 |
| Axel Jonsson-Fjallby | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Irwin | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Michal Kempny | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 16 |
| Beck Malenstyn | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 9 |
| Garrett Pilon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Hendrix Lapierre | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 |
| Lucas Johansen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Dennis Cholowski$^‡$ | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| Mike Vecchione | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Alexander Alexeyev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| T. J. Oshie | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | +2 | 0 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| Alexander Ovechkin | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −3 | 0 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −3 | 2 |
| John Carlson | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 2 |
| Anthony Mantha | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 13 |
| Justin Schultz | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
| Lars Eller | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| Garnet Hathaway | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 16 |
| Trevor van Riemsdyk | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +3 | 0 |
| Nic Dowd | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 4 |
| Marcus Johansson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 0 |
| Johan Larsson | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| Tom Wilson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor McMichael | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Conor Sheary | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Dmitry Orlov | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| Brett Leason | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Martin Fehervary | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 8 |
| Nick Jensen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ilya Samsonov | 44 | 39 | 2,361:18 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 119 | 3.02 | 1,145 | .896 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitek Vanecek | 42 | 39 | 2,317:23 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 103 | 2.67 | 1,117 | .908 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zachary Fucale | 4 | 3 | 171:35 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1.75 | 66 | .924 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pheonix Copley | 2 | 1 | 96:35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3.11 | 41 | .878 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Ilya Samsonov | 5 | 4 | 262:54 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 2.97 | 148 | .912 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitek Vanecek | 2 | 2 | 99:49 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4.21 | 51 | .863 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 24, 2021 (2021-07-24) | To New York RangersARI 3rd-round pick in 2021 | To Washington Capitals3rd-round pick in 2021 6th-round pick in 2021 |
| July 26, 2021 (2021-07-26) | To Winnipeg JetsBrenden Dillon | To Washington Capitals2nd-round pick in 2022 2nd-round pick in 2023 |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | To Seattle KrakenWPG 2nd-round pick in 2023 | To Washington CapitalsVitek Vanecek |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Seattle KrakenDaniel Sprong 4th-round pick in 2022 6th-round pick in 2022 | To Washington CapitalsMarcus Johansson |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Arizona Coyotes3rd-round pick in 2023 | To Washington CapitalsJohan Larsson |
Notes:
* Arizona will receive a third-round pick in 2024 if Colorado wins the 2022 Stanley Cup and Kuemper in 50% of their playoff games; otherwise no pick will be exchanged.

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Matt Irwin | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Dylan McIlrath | Detroit Red Wings | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Hunter Shepard | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 5, 2021 (2021-08-05) | Mike Vecchione | Colorado Avalanche | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 11, 2021 (2021-10-11) | Axel Jonsson-Fjallby | Buffalo Sabres | | Waivers |
| October 14, 2021 (2021-10-14) | Dennis Cholowski | Seattle Kraken | | Waivers |
| March 1, 2022 (2022-03-01) | Henrik Rybinski | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| March 28, 2022 (2022-03-28) | Clay Stevenson | Dartmouth Big Green (ECAC) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 21, 2021 (2021-07-21) | Vitek Vanecek | Seattle Kraken | | Expansion draft |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Craig Anderson | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Michael Raffl | Dallas Stars | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 20, 2021 (2021-08-20) | Henrik Lundqvist | | | Retirement |
| October 4, 2021 (2021-10-04) | Axel Jonsson-Fjallby | Buffalo Sabres | | Waivers |
| October 14, 2021 (2021-10-14) | Cameron Schilling | Abbotsford Canucks (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| February 9, 2022 (2022-02-09) | Dennis Cholowski | Seattle Kraken | | Waivers |
| June 15, 2022 (2022-06-15) | Tobias Geisser | EV Zug (NL) | 3-year | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 8, 2021 (2021-07-08) | Beck Malenstyn | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 27, 2021 (2021-07-27) | Alexander Ovechkin | 5-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Lucas Johansen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2021 (2021-08-09) | Ilya Samsonov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| October 4, 2021 (2021-10-04) | Vincent Iorio | 3-year | Entry-level |
| November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14) | Nic Dowd | 3-year | Extension |
| March 16, 2022 (2022-03-16) | Joe Snively | 2-year | Extension |
| March 28, 2022 (2022-03-28) | Mike Vecchione | 1-year | Extension |
| April 29, 2022 (2022-04-29) | Garin Bjorklund | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 2, 2022 (2022-05-02) | Bogdan Trineyev | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 25, 2022 (2022-06-25) | Brett Leason | 2-year | Extension |
| June 25, 2022 (2022-06-25) | Beck Malenstyn | 2-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which were held on July 23 to 24, 2021. It was held virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
| Round | # | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 2 | 55 | Vincent Iorio | D | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 3 | 80 | Brent Johnson | D | USA | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) |
| 4 | 119 | Joaquin Lemay | D | Canada | Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) |
| 5 | 151 | Haakon Hanelt | F/D | Germany | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) |
| 6 | 176 | Dru Krebs | D | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 6 | 183 | Chase Clark | G | USA | Jersey Hitmen (USPHL) |