2009–10 Washington Capitals season

The 2009–10 Washington Capitals season was the 36th season for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL). The season started with the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on June 26–27, with the Capitals holding the 24th selection in the draft.
== Pre-season ==
#	Date 	Opponent 	Score 	Location
1	September 17	Buffalo Sabres 	W 4-3 (OT)	HSBC Arena
2	September 19	Chicago Blackhawks	W 3-2 (OT)	United Center
3	September 21	Buffalo Sabres 	L 1-2 	Verizon Center
4	September 23	Chicago Blackhawks	W 6-2 	Verizon Center
5	September 24	New York Rangers 	L 2-3 	Madison Square Garden
6	September 27	New York Rangers 	W 4-3 	Verizon Center
== Regular season ==
On December 28, the Capitals traded away captain Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jason Chimera. On January 5, Alexander Ovechkin was made the new captain, the unanimous choice of the other players.
=== Divisional standings ===
=== Conference standings ===
=== Game log ===
2009–10 Game Log	2009–10 Game Log	 	 	 	 	 	
October: 8-2-3 (Home: 4-1-2; Road: 4-1-1)
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Game 	Date 	Opponent 	Score 	Location 	Attendance	Record	Points
1 	October 1 	Boston Bruins 	4 - 1 	TD Garden 	17,565 	1-0-0 	2
2 	October 3 	Toronto Maple Leafs	6 - 4 	Verizon Center 	18,277 	2-0-0 	4
3 	October 6 	Philadelphia Flyers	6 - 5 OT	Wachovia Center 	19,567 	2-0-1 	5
4 	October 8 	New York Rangers 	4 - 3 	Verizon Center 	18,277 	2-1-1 	5
5 	October 10 	Detroit Red Wings 	3 - 2 	Joe Louis Arena 	19,122 	2-2-1 	5
6 	October 12 	New Jersey Devils 	3 - 2 SO	Verizon Center 	18,277 	2-2-2 	6
7 	October 15 	San Jose Sharks 	4 - 1 	Verizon Center 	18,277 	3-2-2 	8
8 	October 17 	Nashville Predators	3 - 2 SO	Verizon Center 	18,277 	4-2-2 	10
9 	October 22 	Atlanta Thrashers 	5 - 4 	Philips Arena 	13,192 	5-2-2 	12
10 	October 24 	New York Islanders 	3 - 2 OT	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	11,541 	6-2-2 	14
11 	October 27 	Philadelphia Flyers	4 - 2 	Verizon Center 	18,277 	7-2-2 	16
12 	October 29 	Atlanta Thrashers 	4 - 3 	Philips Arena 	12,893 	8-2-2 	18
13 	October 30 	New York Islanders 	4 - 3 OT	Verizon Center 	18,277 	8-2-3 	19
== Playoffs ==
On March 11th, the Capitals clinched the division title for the 3rd consecutive season after also winning division titles in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 campaigns. The Capitals have also clinched as the Eastern Conference champion. On April 4, the Capitals won their first ever President's Trophy award. The Capitals played the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round. The Canadiens won game 1, 3-2 in overtime. The Capitals won the next three games to take a 3-1 series lead. The Canadiens won the next two games to tie the series at 3-3 and force a game 7. In game 7, the Canadiens took a 2-0 lead which held up until the 3rd period. The Capitals came close many times and outshot the Canadiens 42-16, but the Canadiens' goaltender Jaroslav Halak kept them in the game, only allowing 1 goal. The Canadiens won the game 2-1 and eliminated the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, which was one of the biggest playoff upsets in NHL history. 
Key: Win Loss Clinch Playoff Series Eliminated from playoffs
2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs 	2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens	Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap
1 	April 15 	Canadiens 	3 - 2 	Capitals 	OT 	Theodore 	18,377 	Canadiens lead 1 - 0 	
2 	April 17 	Canadiens 	5 - 6 	Capitals 	OT 	Varlamov 	18,377 	Series tied 1 - 1 	
3 	April 19 	Capitals 	5 - 1 	Canadiens 	 	Varlamov 	21,273 	Capitals lead 2 - 1 	
4 	April 21 	Capitals 	6 - 3 	Canadiens 	 	Varlamov 	21,273 	Capitals lead 3 - 1 	
5 	April 23 	Canadiens 	2 - 1 	Capitals 	 	Varlamov 	18,377 	Capitals lead 3 - 2 	
6 	April 26 	Capitals 	1 - 4 	Canadiens 	 	Varlamov 	21,273 	Series tied 3 - 3 	
7 	April 28 	Canadiens 	2 - 1 	Capitals 	 	Varlamov 	18,377 	Capitals lose 3 - 4 	
==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
 	72	50	59	109	45 	89
 	82	33	68	101	37 	50
 	73	40	44	84 	36 	66
 	75	19	57	76 	39 	54
 	78	25	34	59 	16 	34
 	69	29	24	53 	23 	59
 	69	23	28	51 	9 	28
 	74	12	30	42 	23 	40
 	69	21	18	39 	18 	24
 	70	4 	20	24 	26 	42
 	77	10	14	24 	6 	47
 	73	3 	20	23 	50 	32
 	39	7 	10	17 	6 	51
 	79	5 	11	16 	4 	19
 	38	4 	11	15 	-4 	27
 	68	1 	11	12 	8 	68
 	41	4 	7 	11 	12 	10
 	36	4 	6 	10 	4 	12
 	21	4 	5 	9 	4 	6
 	50	1 	5 	6 	16 	66
 	40	2 	4 	6 	-1 	22
 	22	1 	5 	6 	11 	8
 	17	2 	4 	6 	3 	4
 	18	2 	4 	6 	-4 	2
 	9 	1 	4 	5 	-2 	0
 	21	0 	5 	5 	-2 	8
 	36	2 	2 	4 	2 	21
 	27	0 	4 	4 	0 	14
 	9 	1 	2 	3 	3 	4
 	9 	2 	1 	3 	1 	9
 	2 	0 	2 	2 	1 	0
 	7 	1 	1 	2 	-1 	2
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	2
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	-2 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	-2 	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	4 	5	4	9 	8 	2
 	4 	4	4	8 	7 	0
 	4 	2	3	5 	5 	4
 	4 	1	3	4 	7 	0
 	4 	2	1	3 	2 	0
 	4 	1	2	3 	2 	2
 	4 	0	3	3 	8 	5
 	3 	1	1	2 	3 	0
 	4 	1	1	2 	-1 	4
 	4 	1	1	2 	2 	2
 	4 	1	1	2 	1 	2
 	4 	0	2	2 	2 	2
 	3 	0	1	1 	-1 	0
 	4 	0	1	1 	0 	2
 	4 	0	1	1 	1 	4
 	4 	0	1	1 	-1 	4
 	4 	0	1	1 	0 	2
 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0	0	0 	2 	0
 	2 	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% 	SO	G	A	PIM
 	47	2586	30	7	7 	121	2.81	1352	.911	1 	0	2	0
 	26	1527	15	4	6 	65 	2.55	718 	.909	2 	0	1	0
 	17	872 	9 	4	0 	40 	2.75	464 	.914	0 	0	0	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA 	SA	Sv% 	SO	G	A	PIM
 	3 	172	3	0	7 	2.44	88	.920	0 	0	0	0
 	2 	81 	0	1	5 	3.70	40	.875	0 	0	0	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 ==
===Awards===
Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Award 	Awarded 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinOvechkin, Anderson and Tkachuk named NHL "Three Stars" 	NHL First Star of the Week 	October 5, 2009 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinBryzgalov, Anderson, Ovechkin named NHL "Three Stars" of the week 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	October 19, 2009	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinAnderson, Ovechkin, Bryzgalov named NHL 'Three Stars' for October 	NHL Second Star of the Month	October 2009 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nicklas BackstromBackstrom, Weiss, Duchene named '3 Stars of Week' 	NHL First Star of the Week 	December 7, 2009	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinOvechkin, Mason and Latendresse named NHL's three stars of the week 	NHL First Star of the Week 	January 18, 2010	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinOvi, Henrik Sedin, Vokoun named January's best 	NHL First Star of the Month 	January 2010 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nicklas BackstromPhoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan named NHL first star of the week with nine points	NHL Third Star of the Week 	February 1, 2010	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Alexander OvechkinWashington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin once again named NHL first star of week 	NHL First Star of the Week 	February 8, 2010	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nicklas BackstromWashington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin once again named NHL first star of week 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	February 8, 2010	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nicklas BackstromCrosby, Staal, Backstrom are NHL's Stars of the Week 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	April 12, 2010 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Transactions==
The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.
===Trades===
Date 	Details 	Details
June 27, 2009COYOTES ACQUIRE LEPISTO FROM WASHINGTON, HESHKA FROM VANCOUVER IN EXCHANGE FOR DRAFT PICKS	To Phoenix Coyotes Sami Lepisto 	To Washington Capitals 5th-round pick in 2010
July 17, 2009Capitals Trade Keith Seabrook to Calgary Flames 	To Calgary Flames Keith Seabrook 	To Washington Capitals Future considerations
December 28, 2009Capitals Acquire Jason Chimera from Columbus for Chris Clark, Milan Jurcina 	To Columbus Blue Jackets Chris ClarkMilan Jurcina 	To Washington Capitals Jason Chimera
March 3, 2010Capitals Acquire Right Wing Scott Walker from Carolina 	To Carolina Hurricanes 7th-round pick in 2010 	To Washington Capitals Scott Walker
March 3, 2010Capitals Acquire Center Eric Belanger from Minnesota 	To Minnesota Wild 2nd-round pick in 2010 	To Washington Capitals Eric Belanger
March 3, 2010Capitals Acquire Defenseman Milan Jurcina from Columbus 	To Columbus Blue Jackets 6th-round pick in 2010 	To Washington Capitals Milan Jurcina
March 3, 2010Capitals Acquire Defenseman Joe Corvo from Carolina 	To Carolina Hurricanes Brian PothierOskar Osala2nd-round pick in 2011	To Washington Capitals Joe Corvo
|}
=== Free agents acquired ===
Player 	Former team 	Contract terms
Jake HauswirthCapitals Sign Center Jake Hauswirth 	Omaha Lancers 	3 years, $545,000Jake Hauswirth - CapGeek
Mike KnubleCapitals Sign Mike Knuble to Two-Year Contract	Philadelphia Flyers	2 years, $5.6 million
Brendan MorrisonCaps Sign Brendan Morrison 	Dallas Stars 	1 year, $1.5 million
Dustin StevensonCapitals Sign Defenseman Dustin Stevenson	La Ronge Ice Wolves	3 year entry-level contract
===Free agents lost===
Player 	New team 	Contract terms
Sergei FedorovFedorov: "I Always Wanted to Play on the Same Team With My Brother"	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	2 years
Viktor Kozlov2009-10 Washington Capitals Preview 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	3 years
Donald Brashear Rangers agree to terms with Brashear 	New York Rangers 	2 years, $2.8 million
Graham MinkFlorida Panthers Sign RW Graham Mink 	Florida Panthers 	2 years, $525,000
Staffan KronwallFlames sign d-man Kronwall 	Calgary Flames 	2 years, $500,000
Brent JohnsonPens Sign Goaltender Brent Johnson 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	2 years, $2 million
=== Claimed via waivers ===
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers
Chris BourqueCapitals Claim Chris Bourque off Waivers from Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Penguins	December 5, 2009
=== Lost via waivers ===
Player 	New team 	Date claimed off waivers
Chris BourquePenguins Claim Forward Chris Bourque Off Waivers	Pittsburgh Penguins	September 30, 2009
=== Player Signings ===
Player 	Contract terms
Anton GustafssonCapitals Sign Center Anton Gustafsson 	3 years
Quintin LaingCapitals Re-Sign Left Wing Quintin Laing to One-Year Contract 	1 year
Boyd GordonCapitals Sign Boyd Gordon 	1 year, $761,000
Shaone MorrisonnCapitals Sign Shaone Morrisonn and Eric Fehr 	1 year, $1.975 million
Eric FehrCapitals Sign Shaone Morrisonn and Eric Fehr 	1 year, $771,750
Chris BourqueChris Bourque, Steve Pinizzotto and Kyle Wilson also signed for next year 	1 year
Kyle WilsonChris Bourque, Steve Pinizzotto and Kyle Wilson also signed for next year 	1 year
Steve PinizzottoChris Bourque, Steve Pinizzotto and Kyle Wilson also signed for next year	2 years
Jeff SchultzCapitals Sign Jeff Schultz 	1 year, $715,000
Milan JurcinaCapitals Sign Milan Jurcina 	1 year, $1.375 million
Cody EakinCapitals Sign Center Cody Eakin 	3 year entry level contract
Alexander SeminCaps Extend Forward Alexander Semin 	1 year, $6 million contract extension
Tyler SloanCapitals Sign Tyler Sloan and David Steckel to Contract Extensions 	2 year contract extension
David SteckelCapitals Sign Tyler Sloan and David Steckel to Contract Extensions 	3 year contract extension
Keith AucoinCapitals Sign Keith Aucoin to Two-Year Contract Extension 	2 year contract extension
Dmitry KugryshevCapitals Sign Right Wing Dmitry Kugryshev 	3 year entry-level contract
== Roster ==
== Draft picks ==
The Capitals' picks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, in Montreal, Quebec on June 26–27, 2009.
Rnd	Pick	Player 	Nat	Pos	Team (league) 	NHL statistics	NHL statistics	NHL statistics	NHL statistics	NHL statistics
Rnd	Pick	Player 	Nat	Pos	Team (league) 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1 	24 	Marcus Johansson 	 	C 	Färjestads BK (SEL) 	 	 	 	 	
2 	55 	Dmitri Orlov 	 	D 	Novokuznetsk (KHL) 	 	 	 	 	
3 	85 	Cody Eakin 	 	C 	Swift Current Broncos (WHL) 	 	 	 	 	
4 	115 	Patrick Wey 	 	D 	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) 	 	 	 	 	
5 	144 	Brett Fleming 	 	D 	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL)	 	 	 	 	
6 	174 	Garrett Michael 	 	RW 	Regina Pats (WHL) 	 	 	 	 	
7 	204 	Benjamin Casavant	 	LW 	PEI Rocket (QMJHL) 	 	 	 	 	
== Farm teams ==
=== Hershey Bears ===
The Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate will remain to be the Hershey Bears in the 2009–10 season.
=== South Carolina Stingrays ===
The South Carolina Stingrays remain Washington's ECHL affiliate for the 2009–10 season.
== See also ==
* 2009–10 NHL season
== References ==
==External Links==
*2009–10 Washington Capitals season at ESPN
*2009–10 Washington Capitals season at Hockey Reference
Category:Washington Capitals seasons
Category:2009 in hockey
Category:2010 in hockey