2005–06 Washington Capitals season

The Washington Capitals season involved Alexander Ovechkin’s rookie season. Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3-2 victory over Columbus. In a shootout against Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the winning goal to end the game at 5-4. The Capitals finished the 2005–06 NHL season in the cellar of the Southeastern Division again, with a 29-41-12 campaign, having 12 more points then the 2003–04 season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing 2/3 of those games. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of the hometown Capitals. At the 2006 trade deadline, March 8, Witt was traded to Nashville. Several Capitals achieved career highs in several offensive categories. Matt Pettinger and Dainius Zubrus achieved new career highs in all offensive categories. Jeff Halpern achieved a career high in assists for the second consecutive season.
==Offseason==
===NHL Draft===
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1 	14	Sasha Pokulok (D)	 	Cornell University (ECAC)
1 	27	Joe Finley (D) 	 	University of North Dakota (NCAA)
==Regular season==
Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. Two notable landmarks were also hit by Capitals, as the team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal and Andrew Cassels became the 204th player to play 1,000 games, although he did not finish out his season with the team.
* November 22, 2005 - Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face each other for the first time
* On January 13, 2006 in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. His hat trick goals went past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for his first ever hat trick game.
* January 29, 2006 – Dainius Zubrus scored the Game Winning Goal in a 2-1 victory for the Capitals.
* April 1, 2006 – Brent Johnson earned a shutout in a 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
* April 7, 2006 – In a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Olaf Kolzig played his 600th game as a Washington Capitals.
* April 13, 2006 - Alexander Ovechkin becomes the second rookie in history to record 50 goals and 100 points in a season. Teemu Selanne was the first rookie to reach the accomplishment
===Alexander Ovechkin===
Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005-06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals; and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. He had 21 power play goals and a plus-minus rating of plus 2. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
===Final standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W	October 5, 2005 	3–2 	Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 	1–0–0
2 	L	October 7, 2005 	3–7 	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	1–1–0
3 	L	October 8, 2005 	1–8 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	1–2–0
5 	L	October 12, 2005 	2–7 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	2–3–0
6 	L	October 13, 2005 	3–5 	New York Islanders (2005–06) 	2–4–0
7 	W	October 16, 2005 	3–2 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	3–4–0
8 	L	October 20, 2005 	2–3 	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	3–5–0
9 	L	October 22, 2005 	0–4 	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	3–6–0
10 	W	October 26, 2005 	3–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 	4–6–0
11 	L	October 28, 2005 	2–4 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	4–7–0
12 	L	November 3, 2005 	1–8 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 	4–8–0
13 	W	November 4, 2005 	3–2 SO	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	5–8–0
14 	W	November 6, 2005 	5–4 	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 	6–8–0
15 	L	November 8, 2005 	4–6 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 	6–9–0
16 	L	November 11, 2005	3–4 	New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 	6–10–0
17 	L	November 12, 2005	2–3 	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 	6–11–0
18 	W	November 15, 2005	4–3 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	7–11–0
19 	L	November 17, 2005	5–8 	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 	7–12–0
20 	W	November 19, 2005	5–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 	8–12–0
21 	L	November 22, 2005	4–5 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 	8–13–0
22 	L	November 23, 2005	3–4 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	8–13–1
23 	L	November 26, 2005	2–3 SO	@ New York Rangers (2005–06) 	8–13–2
24 	L	November 27, 2005	2–3 	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 	8–14–2
25 	L	December 1, 2005 	2–3 	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	8–15–2
26 	W	December 3, 2005 	5–1 	New York Rangers (2005–06) 	9–15–2
27 	L	December 7, 2005 	2–5 	Nashville Predators (2005–06) 	9–16–2
28 	L	December 9, 2005 	3–4 	Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 	9–17–2
29 	W	December 14, 2005	3–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 	10–17–2
30 	L	December 16, 2005	1–4 	@ San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 	10–18–2
31 	L	December 18, 2005	2–3 	Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	10–19–2
32 	W	December 22, 2005	6–5 SO	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	11–19–2
33 	W	December 23, 2005	4–2 	Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 	12–19–2
34 	L	December 27, 2005	3–4 OT	Boston Bruins (2005–06) 	12–19–3
35 	L	December 28, 2005	2–7 	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 	12–20–3
36 	W	December 31, 2005	4–3 SO	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 	13–20–3
37 	L	January 1, 2006 	2–5 	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	13–21–3
38 	L	January 4, 2006 	1–3 	Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 	13–22–3
39 	L	January 6, 2006 	1–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 	13–23–3
40 	L	January 8, 2006 	3–4 SO	Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	13–23–4
41 	L	January 10, 2006 	3–4 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 	13–23–5
42 	L	January 12, 2006 	1–4 	@ Dallas Stars (2005–06) 	13–24–5
43 	W	January 13, 2006 	3–2 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)	14–24–5
44 	W	January 16, 2006 	6–1 	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 	15–24–5
45 	W	January 19, 2006 	5–4 SO	St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 	16–24–5
46 	W	January 21, 2006 	5–2 	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	17–24–5
47 	L	January 23, 2006 	2–3 	Boston Bruins (2005–06) 	17–25–5
48 	L	January 25, 2006 	1–8 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 	17–26–5
49 	L	January 26, 2006 	2–3 	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 	17–27–5
50 	W	January 29, 2006 	2–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	18–27–5
51 	L	January 31, 2006 	3–5 	@ New York Islanders (2005–06) 	18–28–5
52 	W	February 3, 2006 	4–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 	19–28–5
53 	L	February 4, 2006 	0–5 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	19–29–5
54 	L	February 7, 2006 	0–5 	Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	19–30–5
55 	L	February 10, 2006	4–5 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 	19–31–5
56 	L	February 11, 2006	3–6 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 	19–32–5
57 	W	February 28, 2006	5–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 	20–32–5
58 	L	March 2, 2006 	1–7 	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 	20–33–5
59 	L	March 4, 2006 	2–3 OT	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	20–33–6
60 	W	March 6, 2006 	5–2 	New York Islanders (2005–06) 	21–33–6
61 	W	March 8, 2006 	6–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 	22–33–6
62 	L	March 10, 2006 	3–4 SO	New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 	22–33–7
63 	L	March 12, 2006 	2–5 	Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 	22–34–7
64 	L	March 14, 2006 	4–6 	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 	22–35–7
65 	L	March 16, 2006 	4–5 	@ New York Rangers (2005–06) 	22–36–7
66 	L	March 18, 2006 	3–4 SO	Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	22–36–8
67 	L	March 20, 2006 	2–4 	Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 	22–37–8
68 	L	March 22, 2006 	2–3 	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	22–38–8
69 	L	March 23, 2006 	3–4 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	22–38–9
70 	W	March 25, 2006 	3–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	23–38–9
71 	W	March 29, 2006 	5–1 	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	24–38–9
72 	L	March 30, 2006 	2–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 	24–38–10
73 	W	April 1, 2006 	1–0 	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 	25–38–10
74 	L	April 3, 2006 	5–6 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	25–38–11
75 	L	April 5, 2006 	3–4 SO	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	25–38–12
76 	L	April 7, 2006 	3–4 	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 	25–39–12
77 	L	April 8, 2006 	0–5 	@ New York Islanders (2005–06) 	25–40–12
78 	W	April 10, 2006 	2–1 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 	26–40–12
79 	L	April 13, 2006 	3–5 	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	26–41–12
80 	W	April 15, 2006 	2–1 SO	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 	27–41–12
81 	W	April 17, 2006 	6–4 	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 	28–41–12
82 	W	April 18, 2006 	4–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 	29–41–12
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW 	81	52	54	106	52 	2 	21 	3 	5
 	C 	71	23	34	57 	84 	3 	13 	0 	5
 	C 	70	11	33	44 	79 	-8 	6 	0 	1
 	RW 	82	19	22	41 	77 	-19	8 	1 	2
 	RW 	78	20	19	39 	110	9 	1 	3 	0
 	LW 	71	20	18	38 	39 	-2 	4 	5 	2
 	RW 	77	16	17	33 	72 	-7 	3 	0 	3
 	C 	76	14	16	30 	73 	-17	0 	2 	0
 	D 	71	7 	21	28 	54 	-5 	4 	0 	2
 	D 	72	8 	18	26 	72 	-9 	4 	0 	0
 	C 	73	7 	14	21 	26 	-9 	1 	0 	1
 	RW 	74	7 	12	19 	72 	-8 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	66	5 	13	18 	81 	-12	1 	0 	0
 	D 	80	1 	13	14 	91 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	52	4 	9 	13 	50 	-11	3 	0 	0
 	C 	31	4 	8 	12 	14 	-3 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	58	1 	10	11 	141	-5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	57	1 	8 	9 	66 	-2 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	33	3 	4 	7 	24 	-11	0 	0 	0
 	D 	38	0 	7 	7 	86 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	21	3 	3 	6 	8 	3 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	10	2 	2 	4 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	25	1 	3 	4 	8 	-11	0 	0 	0
 	D 	22	1 	2 	3 	18 	-8 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	59	0 	3 	3 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	14	0 	2 	2 	0 	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	25	0 	1 	1 	4 	-4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0 	1 	1 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	19 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	9 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	26	0 	0 	0 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	5 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	7 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T/OT	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3506	59	20	28	11 	206	3.53	0 	1987	1781	.896
 	1413	26	9 	12	1 	81 	3.44	1 	854 	773 	.905
 	59 	1 	0 	1 	0 	4 	4.07	0 	30 	26 	.867
Team: 	4978	82	29	41	12 	291	3.51	1 	2871	2580	.899
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/OT = Ties/Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
* Ovechkin was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for December 2005.
* Alexander Ovechkin, Calder Trophy
==Roster==
						
Goaltenders
*
*		
Defensemen
*
*
*
*		
Wingers
* 
* - A
*
* 
*
*
*
*		
Centers
* - C
*
*
*
*GM: George McPhee
*Coach: Glen Hanlon
==Farm Teams==
* Hershey Bears, American Hockey League
* South Carolina Stingrays, East Coast Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.14, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
==References==
*Capitals on Hockey Database
*Capitals Game Log on Database Hockey
*Capitals on Database Hockey
</div>
Category:Washington Capitals seasons
Washington Capitals seasons
Washington Capitals seasons