2008–09 Washington Capitals season

The 2008–09 Washington Capitals season is the team's 34th in the National Hockey League. The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50-24-8 and a team record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 4 games to 3, overcoming a 3-1 deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in seven games.
==Pre-season==
Schedule/Results 
from capitals.nhl.com
Opponent 	Result	Score
@ Carolina Hurricanes 	W 	4-1
vs Carolina Hurricanes	W 	5-2
@ Boston Bruins 	W 	4-3
@ New Jersey Devils 	W 	3-2
@ Philadelphia Flyers 	L 	1-2
vs Philadelphia Flyers	W 	5-1
vs Boston Bruins 	OTL 	4-5
==Regular season==
=== Division standings ===
===Conference standings===
===Game log===
Full schedule, results, and recaps at capitals.nhl.com
* Green background indicates win. (2 points) 
* Red indicates loss. (0 points) 	
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log 	2008–09 Game log
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October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)	October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	
1 	10 	Washington 	4 - 7 	Atlanta Thrashers 	 	Johnson 	18,545 	0–1–0 	0 	
2 	11 	Chicago Blackhawks 	2 - 4 	Washington 	 	Theodore 	18,277 	1-1-0 	2 	
3 	13 	Vancouver Canucks 	1 - 5 	Washington 	 	Johnson 	16,847 	2-1-0 	4 	
4 	16 	Washington 	4 - 3 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	 	Theodore 	17,030 	3-1-0 	6 	
5 	18 	New Jersey Devils 	4 - 3 	Washington 	SO 	Theodore 	17,904 	3-1-1 	7 	
6 	21 	Washington 	1 - 2 	Calgary Flames 	 	Theodore 	19,289 	3-2-1 	7 	
7 	23 	Washington 	1 - 2 	Phoenix Coyotes 	 	Theodore 	14,722 	3-3-1 	7 	
8 	25 	Washington 	6 - 5 	Dallas Stars 	OT 	Theodore 	18,532 	4-3-1 	9 	
9 	28 	Nashville Predators 	3 - 4 	Washington 	SO 	Theodore 	17,011 	5-3-1 	11 	
==Playoffs==
The Washington Capitals won the Southeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Capitals entered the 2009 NHL Playoffs as the second seed and defeated the New York Rangers in the 1st round 4 games to 3. The Capitals Lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2nd round 4 games to 3.
Key: Win Loss Clinch Playoff Series
2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	
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Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (7) New York Rangers	
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap 	
1 	April 15 	NY Rangers 	4 - 3 	Capitals 	 	Theodore 	18,277 	Rangers lead 1 - 0 	 	
2 	April 18 	NY Rangers 	1 - 0 	Capitals 	 	Varlamov 	18,277 	Rangers lead 2 - 0 	 	
3 	April 20 	Capitals 	4 - 0 	NY Rangers 	 	Varlamov 	18,200 	Rangers lead 2 - 1 	 	
4 	April 22 	Capitals 	1 - 2 	NY Rangers 	 	Varlamov 	18,200 	Rangers lead 3 - 1 	 	
5 	April 24 	NY Rangers 	0 - 4 	Capitals 	 	Varlamov 	18,277 	Rangers lead 3 - 2 	 	
6 	April 26 	Capitals 	5 - 3 	NY Rangers 	 	Varlamov 	18,200 	Series tied 3 - 3 	 	
7 	April 28 	NY Rangers 	1 - 2 	Capitals 	 	Varlamov 	18,277 	Capitals win series 4 - 3 	 	
==Player stats==
===Skaters===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	79	56	54	110	+8 	72
 	82	22	66	88 	+16	46
 	62	34	45	79 	+25	77
 	68	31	42	73 	+24	68
 	82	23	30	53 	-1 	31
 	67	13	28	41 	-9 	16
 	73	19	18	37 	-3 	20
 	52	11	22	33 	+4 	50
 	72	9 	24	33 	0 	32
 	61	12	13	25 	+8 	22
 	76	8 	11	19 	+2 	34
 	63	5 	9 	14 	-4 	16
 	79	3 	11	14 	+1 	68
 	52	3 	10	13 	+3 	28
 	72	3 	10	13 	+4 	77
 	64	1 	11	12 	+13	21
 	81	5 	6 	11 	-1 	59
 	32	1 	5 	6 	-3 	32
 	12	2 	4 	6 	+5 	4
 	26	1 	4 	5 	+4 	14
 	30	1 	4 	5 	-1 	2
 	63	1 	3 	4 	-6 	121
 	52	0 	4 	4 	+1 	63
 	7 	0 	4 	4 	-3 	6
 	12	0 	3 	3 	-1 	2
 	9 	1 	2 	3 	0 	4
 	12	1 	1 	2 	+4 	10
 	8 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	+1 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	-3 	2
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	14	11	10	21 	+10	8
 	14	3 	12	15 	+3 	8
 	14	5 	9 	14 	-1 	16
 	14	1 	8 	9 	-5 	12
 	14	1 	7 	8 	+1 	12
 	14	2 	5 	7 	+8 	4
 	14	3 	4 	7 	0 	10
 	14	2 	4 	6 	+3 	0
 	14	4 	2 	6 	+5 	6
 	14	3 	2 	5 	0 	4
 	14	3 	1 	4 	0 	4
 	14	0 	3 	3 	-1 	4
 	13	0 	2 	2 	+1 	8
 	14	2 	0 	2 	+6 	12
 	8 	1 	0 	1 	-2 	8
 	12	0 	1 	1 	+1 	16
 	14	0 	1 	1 	+1 	8
 	2 	0 	1 	1 	+1 	0
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	18
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	2
 	9 	0 	0 	0 	-3 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
 	4 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
===Goaltenders===
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA= Goals Against Average; SA= Shots Against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	OT	GA 	GAA 	SA 	SV 	Sv% 	SO
 	57	3286	32	17	5 	157	2.87	1572	1415	.900	2
 	21	1131	12	6 	2 	53 	2.81	579 	526 	.908	0
 	6 	328 	4 	0 	1 	13 	2.37	159 	146 	.918	0
 	5 	219 	2 	1 	0 	11 	3.00	102 	91 	.892	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA 	SA 	SV 	Sv% 	SO
 	13	758	7	6	32	2.53	389	357	.918	2
 	2 	96 	0	1	6 	3.72	33 	27 	.818	0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record
==Awards and records==
===Trophies and awards ===
* Alexander Ovechkin - Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player)
* Alexander Ovechkin - Lester B. Pearson Award (Most Outstanding Player)
* Alexander Ovechkin - Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: (56 goals)
* Alexander Ovechkin - Kharlamov Trophy 
* Alexander Ovechkin - NHL First All-Star Team
* Mike Green - NHL First All-Star Team
===Stars===
* Alexander Semin - NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (October 2008)
* Alex Ovechkin - NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (November 2008)
* Nicklas Bäckström - NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending November 28, 2008)
* Alex Ovechkin - NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending December 28, 2008)
* Mike Green - NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 1, 2009)
* Mike Green - NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 8, 2009)
===Records===
* Mike Green – NHL-record 8-game goal-scoring streak by a defenseman
===Milestones===
Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Brent Johnson 	100th NHL win 	October 13, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Sergei Fedorov 	1200th NHL game 	October 16, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Milan Jurcina 	200th NHL game 	October 16, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Tyler Sloan 	1st NHL game 	October 21, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Sergei Fedorov 	474th NHL goal (most by a Russian-born player) 	October 25, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander Semin 	200th NHL game 	October 25, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Tyler Sloan 	1st NHL goal 	October 25, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Viktor Kozlov 	500th NHL point 	November 14, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nicklas Backstrom	100th NHL game 	November 19, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Karl Alzner 	1st NHL game 	November 26, 2008	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alex Ovechkin 	200th NHL goal 	February 5, 2009 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Mike Green 	8-game goal-scoring streak by defenseman (NHL record)	February 14, 2009	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Transactions==
===Trades===
June 20, 2008	To Washington Capitals 21st pick in 2008 	To New Jersey Devils 23rd pick in 20082nd round pick in 2008
June 20, 2008	To Washington Capitals 27th pick in 2008	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Eminger3rd round pick in 2008
===Free agents===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Contract terms
Jose Theodore, G	Colorado Avalanche	$9 million, 2 yearsCapitals sign Theodore, Raycroft joins Avs
===Claimed from waivers===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers
Staffan Kronwall, D	Toronto Maple Leafs	February 6, 2009
==Draft picks==
Washington 's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario. 
Round	# 	Player 	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1 	21 (from New Jersey) 	Anton Gustafsson 	(C) 	 	Frölunda HC (Sweden Jr.)
1 	27 (from Philadelphia)	John Carlson 	(D) 	 	Indiana Ice (USHL)
2 	57 (from San Jose) 	Eric Mestery 	(D) 	 	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
2 	58 (from Philadelphia)	Dmitri Kugryshev 	(RW) 	 	CSKA Moscow (RSL)
4 	93 (from Los Angeles) 	Braden Holtby 	(G) 	 	Saskatoon Blades (Western Hockey League)
5 	144 	Joel Broda 	(C) 	 	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
6 	174 	Greg Burke 	(LW) 	 	New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL)
7 	204 	Stefan Della Rovere	(LW) 	 	Barrie Colts (OHL)
==See also==
*2008–09 NHL season
*Brett Leonhardt
==Farm teams==
Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL)
==References==
Category:Washington Capitals seasons
Category:2008 in hockey
Category:2009 in hockey