1985–86 Washington Capitals season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1985–86
Year:	1985
Team:	Washington Capitals
Record:	50–23–7
Divisionrank:	2nd
Goalsfor:	315
Goalsagainst:	272

The Washington Capitals are a professional American ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.; in the 1985–86 season, the team finished with 107 points and won 50 games for the first time in franchise history, good enough for the third-best record in the National Hockey League (NHL). However, they were bounced out of the playoffs in the second round by the New York Rangers.

The 107 points scored by the Capitals in this season would not be surpassed until the 2008–09 season, when the team scored 108 points in the regular season.^[1]

Offseason

The Washington Capitals picked up Yvon Corriveau in the first round (19th overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

Regular season

The fifty wins which the Washington Capitals won during the regular season placed them second in the Patrick Division, after the Philadelphia Flyers, and earned them a berth in the playoffs, which was the fourth consecutive time it had made the playoffs since the 1982–83 NHL season.

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 10, 1985	2–4	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	0–1–0
2	L	October 12, 1985	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	0–2–0
3	L	October 13, 1985	2–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	0–3–0
4	W	October 16, 1985	6–5 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	1–3–0
5	W	October 18, 1985	4–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	2–3–0
6	T	October 19, 1985	2–2 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	2–3–1
7	L	October 23, 1985	2–4	@ Calgary Flames (1985–86)	2–4–1
8	T	October 25, 1985	7–7 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	2–4–2
9	W	October 27, 1985	4–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	3–4–2
10	W	October 29, 1985	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	4–4–2
11	W	November 1, 1985	5–3	New York Islanders (1985–86)	5–4–2
12	L	November 2, 1985	3–5	@ New York Islanders (1985–86)	5–5–2
13	W	November 5, 1985	8–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	6–5–2
14	W	November 6, 1985	4–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	7–5–2
15	L	November 9, 1985	4–5	Calgary Flames (1985–86)	7–6–2
16	W	November 12, 1985	5–2	Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	8–6–2
17	W	November 15, 1985	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	9–6–2
18	T	November 16, 1985	2–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	9–6–3
19	W	November 19, 1985	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	10–6–3
20	W	November 20, 1985	3–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	11–6–3
21	W	November 23, 1985	3–0	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	12–6–3
22	W	November 27, 1985	5–3	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	13–6–3
23	L	November 29, 1985	2–5	New York Rangers (1985–86)	13–7–3
24	W	November 30, 1985	6–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	14–7–3
25	W	December 5, 1985	3–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	15–7–3
26	W	December 7, 1985	2–1	Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	16–7–3
27	W	December 10, 1985	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	17–7–3
28	W	December 14, 1985	5–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	18–7–3
29	T	December 17, 1985	4–4 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	18–7–4
30	W	December 18, 1985	5–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	19–7–4
31	L	December 20, 1985	4–7	@ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	19–8–4
32	W	December 22, 1985	7–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	20–8–4
33	W	December 26, 1985	4–3	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	21–8–4
34	L	December 28, 1985	4–7	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	21–9–4
35	L	December 29, 1985	5–6	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	21–10–4
36	W	January 1, 1986	3–0	New York Rangers (1985–86)	22–10–4
37	W	January 3, 1986	3–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	23–10–4
38	W	January 4, 1986	9–3	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	24–10–4
39	W	January 7, 1986	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	25–10–4
40	L	January 9, 1986	0–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	25–11–4
41	L	January 11, 1986	3–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	25–12–4
42	L	January 14, 1986	3–4	Calgary Flames (1985–86)	25–13–4
43	W	January 17, 1986	4–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	26–13–4
44	W	January 18, 1986	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	27–13–4
45	W	January 21, 1986	7–5	Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	28–13–4
46	L	January 24, 1986	5–7	New York Islanders (1985–86)	28–14–4
47	W	January 25, 1986	6–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86)	29–14–4
48	L	January 28, 1986	0–7	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	29–15–4
49	L	January 29, 1986	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	29–16–4
50	W	February 1, 1986	5–4	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	30–16–4
51	W	February 2, 1986	5–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	31–16–4
52	W	February 7, 1986	3–2	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	32–16–4
53	W	February 8, 1986	5–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	33–16–4
54	L	February 12, 1986	1–8	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	33–17–4
55	W	February 15, 1986	4–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	34–17–4
56	W	February 18, 1986	5–4	@ New York Islanders (1985–86)	35–17–4
57	T	February 19, 1986	4–4 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	35–17–5
58	L	February 22, 1986	1–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	35–18–5
59	L	February 23, 1986	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	35–19–5
60	W	February 25, 1986	4–3 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	36–19–5
61	W	February 27, 1986	2–1	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	37–19–5
62	W	March 1, 1986	4–0	New York Rangers (1985–86)	38–19–5
63	W	March 2, 1986	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	39–19–5
64	W	March 4, 1986	4–2	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	40–19–5
65	W	March 8, 1986	6–2	@ New York Islanders (1985–86)	41–19–5
66	W	March 9, 1986	3–1	New York Islanders (1985–86)	42–19–5
67	W	March 11, 1986	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	43–19–5
68	L	March 13, 1986	0–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	43–20–5
69	W	March 15, 1986	5–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	44–20–5
70	W	March 17, 1986	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	45–20–5
71	L	March 18, 1986	2–5	Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	45–21–5
72	W	March 21, 1986	5–3	Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	46–21–5
73	W	March 23, 1986	6–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	47–21–5
74	W	March 25, 1986	6–3	Boston Bruins (1985–86)	48–21–5
75	L	March 28, 1986	3–4	New York Islanders (1985–86)	48–22–5
76	T	March 29, 1986	6–6 OT	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	48–22–6
77	W	April 1, 1986	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	49–22–6
78	W	April 3, 1986	4–2	Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	50–22–6
79	T	April 5, 1986	4–4 OT	New York Rangers (1985–86)	50–22–7
80	L	April 6, 1986	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	50–23–7

Playoffs

The 1985–86 NHL season was the fourth time the Washington Capitals had made the playoffs, and finally defeated the New York Islanders in a playoff series three games to none. However, the Capitals were eliminated by the New York Rangers four games to two in a best of seven series.

Patrick Division Semi-finals

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals

Patrick Divisional Finals

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
	RW	80	41	42	83	15	3	18	2	4
	RW	74	35	40	75	63	-5	11	2	4
	RW	75	30	45	75	43	24	10	0	4
	RW	70	23	52	75	26	9	8	4	6
	C	71	34	39	73	72	36	7	0	5
	D	78	21	44	65	50	2	8	1	2
	C	80	27	29	56	105	-12	7	0	3
	LW	78	18	38	56	152	24	3	0	2
	D	73	15	38	53	165	0	3	0	2
	LW	80	11	28	39	39	10	0	1	3
	RW	79	19	19	38	26	7	0	3	5
	LW	47	8	16	24	10	-4	2	0	3
	D	61	6	16	22	36	-8	3	0	3
	RW	76	7	14	21	131	-4	0	0	2
	D	79	9	10	19	119	6	1	0	1
	D	71	1	17	18	61	27	1	0	0
	D	62	3	9	12	27	21	0	0	0
	LW	19	1	4	5	2	-3	0	0	1
	C	30	2	1	3	4	-4	0	0	0
	C	25	1	2	3	16	-5	0	0	0
	D	50	1	2	3	127	5	0	0	0
	D	14	0	3	3	12	3	0	0	0
	D	14	0	3	3	10	3	0	0	0
	RW	11	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	0
	C	5	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
	LW	6	0	1	1	0	-1	0	0	0
	G	44	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	0
	LW	11	0	1	1	6	-5	0	0	0
	D	4	0	0	0	0	-4	0	0	0
	LW	2	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
	W	15	0	0	0	73	0	0	0	0
	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	G	34	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	0
	G	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	2437	44	28	9	3	129	3.18	2	1168	1039	.890
	2021	34	19	11	3	113	3.35	1	910	797	.876
	369	7	2	3	1	23	3.74	0	133	110	.827
	16	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	0	5	5	1.000
Team:	4843	80	50	23	7	265	3.28	3	2216	1951	.880

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
	RW	9	2	10	12	4	0	0	0
	D	9	3	8	11	12	2	0	2
	C	9	4	6	10	11	1	0	0
	C	9	5	4	9	12	2	0	1
	RW	9	4	4	8	0	1	0	0
	LW	9	4	3	7	12	0	1	0
	RW	9	4	3	7	11	0	0	0
	D	9	1	5	6	6	1	0	0
	LW	9	1	3	4	27	0	0	0
	D	9	2	1	3	35	0	0	1
	D	9	2	1	3	9	0	1	0
	D	9	1	2	3	6	1	0	0
	RW	9	1	2	3	10	0	0	1
	LW	8	1	2	3	2	1	0	0
	LW	4	0	3	3	2	0	0	0
	D	9	1	1	2	19	0	0	0
	RW	6	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
	RW	8	0	0	0	15	0	0	0
	C	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	G	9	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
	D	3	0	0	0	14	0	0	0
	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	544	9	5	4	24	2.65	0	253	229	.905
Team:	544	9	5	4	24	2.65	0	253	229	.905

^[2]

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 = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

• The 107 points scored by the Washington Capitals in this season would not be surpassed until the 2008–09 Washington Capitals season, when the team scored 108 points in the regular season.^[1]
• Alan Haworth scored a goal in nine consecutive games, setting Washington record.^[3]

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Round		Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	19	Yvon Corriveau		Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
2	40	John Druce		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3	61	Rob Murray		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
4	82	Bill Houlder		North Bay Centennials (OHL)
4	83	Larry Shaw		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5	103	Claude Dumas		Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
6	124	Doug Stromback		Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7	145	Jamie Nadjiwan		Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
8	166	Mark Haarmann		Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9	187	Steve Hollett		Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
10	208	Dallas Eakins		Peterborough Petes (OHL)
11	229	Steve Hrynewich		Ottawa 67's (OHL)
12	250	Frank Di Muzio		Belleville Bulls (OHL)

See also

• 1985–86 NHL season

External links

• Web site: 1985–86 Washington Capitals Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-07 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Playoff-race drama a fitting end to a great season.
2. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-02 . 1985-86 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.
3. News: Mike Green's scoring streak comes to an end . CBC News . February 15, 2009.