2017–18 Washington Capitals season
The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in organization history, defeating the inaugural-season Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals. The team finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. In the Stanley  Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semi-finals against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs each of the previous two years. The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998. The Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit following a  Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, with goaltender Braden Holtby posting shutouts in both Games 6 and 7 in the process, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals faced the first-year Vegas Golden Knights and defeated them in five games to earn the organization's first ever Stanley Cup, while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Schedule and results. Preseason. The Capitals' preseason  schedule was released on June 7, 2017. Regular season. The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017. Playoffs. The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds (1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins) and the fourth to drop the first two games of the first series at home (2001–02 Detroit Red Wings, 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes, and 2010–11 Boston Bruins). This also makes such run the third-longest Stanley Cup run, tied with four other runs. Player  statistics. Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only. Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only. Transactions. The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season. Draft picks. Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.