2007–08 Washington Capitals season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2007–08
Year:	2007
Team:	Washington Capitals
Conferencerank:	3rd
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	43–31–8
Homerecord:	23–15–3
Roadrecord:	20–16–5
Goalsfor:	242
Goalsagainst:	231
Coach:	Glen Hanlon (Oct.–Nov.) Bruce Boudreau (Nov.–Apr.)
Altcaptain:	Donald Brashear (Nov.–Apr.) Alexander Ovechkin Brian Sutherby (Oct.–Nov.)
Attendance:	15,473 (84.7%)
Goalsleader:	Alexander Ovechkin (65)
Assistsleader:	Nicklas Backstrom (55)
Pointsleader:	Alexander Ovechkin (112)
Plusminusleader:	Viktor Kozlov Alexander Ovechkin (+28)
Pimleader:	Donald Brashear (119)
Winsleader:	Olaf Kolzig (25)
Gaaleader:	Cristobal Huet (1.63)
Divisionwin:	Yes

The 2007–08 Washington Capitals season began on October 5, 2007. It was the Capitals' 34th season in the National Hockey League.

On November 22, Head coach Glen Hanlon was fired^[1] after starting the Capitals with a 6–14–1 record, the team's worst start since the 1981–82 season. He was replaced by Bruce Boudreau on an interim basis until December 26, when Boudreau's position was made permanent.^[2]

On March 21, Alexander Ovechkin scored his 60th goal of the season in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first NHL player to accomplish the feat in 12 years, and tying Dennis Maruk's single-season franchise record. He would go on to break the record in the Capitals' next game, a 3–2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes, on March 25. Ovechkin also became the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995–96.^[3]

On April 3, Ovechkin scored twice to break Luc Robitaille's single-season left-winger goal-scoring record of 63 goals.

Leading the league in scoring with 65 goals, 47 assists and 112 points in all 82 games played, Ovechkin simultaneously captured the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's Most Valuable Player. It was also the first time in 41 seasons that a left-winger led the NHL in points since Bobby Hull led the league with 97 points in 1965–66.^[4] Moreover, Ovechkin also holds the distinction of being the only NHL player to have scored over 60 goals in a single NHL season during the 2000s. He also belongs to a select group of NHL players to have accomplished this rare feat in the salary cap era following the 2004–05 NHL lockout.^[5]

On April 5, the Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers 3–1 at home to clinch the franchise's third Southeast Division title and fourth Division title overall. The Capitals became the first team in NHL history to make the playoffs after being ranked 14th or lower in the standings at the season's midpoint.^[6]

In the playoffs, the Capitals won their first game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but then lost three consecutive games to fall behind three games to one. They managed to win their next two games to force a Game 7, but lost in overtime on a power play goal by Joffrey Lupul.

Regular season

On March 3, 2008, the Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins at home by a score of 10–2.^[7] Alexander Ovechkin scored three goals in the game. It was the first time that the Capitals had scored 10 goals in a regular season game since January 11, 2003, when they defeated the Florida Panthers at home by a score of 12–2.^[8]

Season standings

Division standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

October

Record: 5-6-0; Home: 2-3-0; Road: 3-3-0

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
1	October 5	Washington	3 - 1				18,707	1-0-0	2
2	October 6		0 - 2	Washington			16,741	2-0-0	4
3	October 8	Washington	2 - 1			Kolzig	16,234	3-0-0	6
4	October 12	Washington	1 - 3			Kolzig	18,200	3-1-0	6
5	October 13	Washington	3 - 7			Johnson	18,690	3-2-0	6
6	October 18		5 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	11,036	3-3-0	6
7	October 20		2 - 1	Washington		Johnson	18,277	3-4-0	6
8	October 24		3 - 5	Washington		Kolzig	10,226	4-4-0	8
9	October 26		3 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	12,705	4-5-0	8
10	October 27	Washington	3 - 4			Johnson	16,863	4-6-0	8
11	October 29	Washington	7 - 1			Kolzig	19,316	5-6-0	10

November

Record: 3-10-2 ; Home: 1-5-1 ; Road: 2-5-1

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
12	November 1	Washington	0 - 2			Kolzig	18,200	5-7-0	10
13	November 2		3 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	16,055	5-8-0	10
14	November 5	Washington	0 - 5			Kolzig	12,171	5-9-0	10
15	November 6	Washington	1 - 2		OT	Johnson	15,530	5-9-1	11
16	November 8	Washington	4 - 1			Kolzig	19,666	6-9-1	13
17	November 10		5 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	14,617	6-10-1	13
18	November 15	Washington	1 - 2			Kolzig	12,101	6-11-1	13
19	November 16	Washington	2 - 5			Kolzig	19,526	6-12-1	13
20	November 19		4 - 3	Washington		Kolzig	13,411	6-13-1	13
21	November 21		5 - 1	Washington		Kolzig	11,669	6-14-1	13
22	November 23	Washington	4 - 3		OT	Kolzig	19,727	7-14-1	15
23	November 24		2 - 5	Washington		Kolzig	13,650	8-14-1	17
24	November 26		3 - 1	Washington		Kolzig	11,204	8-15-1	17
25	November 28		2 - 1	Washington	SO	Kolzig	10,526	8-15-2	18
26	November 30	Washington	3 - 4			Kolzig	16,386	8-16-2	18

December

Record: 7-3-3; Home: 4-2-0; Road: 3-1-3

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
27	December 1	Washington	2 - 1			Johnson	14,333	9-16-2	20
28	December 7	Washington	2 - 3			Kolzig	16,265	9-17-2	20
29	December 8		3 - 6	Washington		Kolzig	14,014	10-17-2	22
30	December 10		2 - 3	Washington		Kolzig	10,719	11-17-2	24
31	December 12		4 - 5	Washington	OT	Kolzig	12,553	12-17-2	26
32	December 14		5 - 3	Washington		Kolzig	17,035	12-18-2	26
33	December 15	Washington	3 - 2			Johnson	18,367	13-18-2	28
34	December 17	Washington	3 - 4		SO	Kolzig	19,483	13-18-3	29
35	December 20		5 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	12,670	13-19-3	29
36	December 22	Washington	2 - 3		OT	Kolzig	14,305	13-19-4	30
37	December 26		2 - 3	Washington		Kolzig	15,035	14-19-4	32
38	December 27	Washington	3 - 4		OT	Johnson	17,132	14-19-5	33
39	December 29	Washington	8 - 6			Kolzig	20,296	15-19-5	35

January

Record: 9-4-0; Home: 7-1-0; Road: 2-3-0

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
40	January 1		3 - 6	Washington		Kolzig	14,547	16-19-5	37
41	January 3	Washington	0 - 2			Kolzig	12,240	16-20-5	37
42	January 5	Washington	5 - 4		OT	Kolzig	21,273	17-20-5	39
43	January 9		1 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	16,168	18-20-5	41
44	January 13		6 - 4	Washington		Kolzig	17,713	18-21-5	41
45	January 15		2 - 4	Washington		Johnson	15,261	19-21-5	43
46	January 17		4 - 5	Washington	SO	Kolzig	13,399	20-21-5	45
47	January 19		3 - 5	Washington		Johnson	16,973	21-21-5	47
48	January 21	Washington	6 - 5		SO	Kolzig	17,050	22-21-5	49
49	January 23	Washington	2 - 3			Kolzig	19,479	22-22-5	49
50	January 24		1 - 2	Washington		Johnson	14,094	23-22-5	51
51	January 29	Washington	0 - 4			Johnson	21,273	23-23-5	51
52	January 31		4 - 5	Washington	OT	Kolzig	14,930	24-23-5	53

February

Record: 6-4-3; Home: 2-2-2; Road: 4-2-1

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
53	February 2		2 - 0	Washington		Kolzig	17,205	24-24-5	53
54	February 5	Washington	4 - 3		OT	Johnson	14,450	25-24-5	55
55	February 6	Washington	4 - 3			Kolzig	19,778	26-24-5	57
56	February 8		2 - 1	Washington		Johnson	18,204	26-25-5	57
57	February 10		2 - 3	Washington	OT	Kolzig	17,873	27-25-5	59
58	February 13	Washington	2 - 3		SO	Kolzig	15,285	27-25-6	60
59	February 15	Washington	2 - 4			Johnson	16,202	27-26-6	60
60	February 16	Washington	3 - 2			Kolzig	20,454	28-26-6	62
61	February 20		3 - 2	Washington	SO	Kolzig	17,584	28-26-7	63
62	February 23	Washington	3 - 6			Kolzig	18,680	28-27-7	63
63	February 24		2 - 1	Washington	OT	Johnson	18,277	28-27-8	64
64	February 26		1 - 4	Washington		Kolzig	17,391	29-27-8	66
65	February 29	Washington	4 - 0				16,580	30-27-8	68

March

Record: 10-4-0; Home: 4-2-0; Road: 6-2-0

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
66	March 1		3 - 2	Washington		Kolzig	18,277	30-28-8	68
67	March 3		2 - 10	Washington		Huet	17,189	31-28-8	70
68	March 5	Washington	3 - 1			Kolzig	18,690	32-28-8	72
69	March 8	Washington	1 - 2			Huet	17,565	32-29-8	72
70	March 9		4 - 2	Washington		Huet	18,277	32-30-8	72
71	March 12		2 - 3	Washington		Kolzig	17,560	33-30-8	74
72	March 14		1 - 4	Washington		Kolzig	18,208	34-30-8	76
73	March 16		1 - 2	Washington	SO	Huet	18,277	35-30-8	78
74	March 18	Washington	4 - 2			Huet	17,133	36-30-8	80
75	March 19	Washington	0 - 5			Kolzig	20,942	36-31-8	80
76	March 21	Washington	5 - 3			Huet	18,562	37-31-8	82
77	March 25	Washington	3 - 2		SO	Huet	18,680	38-31-8	84
78	March 27	Washington	4 - 3		OT	Huet	17,777	39-31-8	86
79	March 29	Washington	3 - 0			Huet	17,832	40-31-8	88

April

Record: 3-0-0; Home: 3-0-0; Road: 0-0-0

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts
80	April 1		1 - 4	Washington		Huet	18,277	41-31-8	90
81	April 3		1 - 4	Washington		Huet	16,311	42-31-8	92
82	April 5		1 - 3	Washington		Huet	18,277	43-31-8	94

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular Season
Top 10 Players	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
	82	65	47	112	28	40
	82	14	55	69	13	24
	82	18	38	56	6	62
	81	16	38	54	28	18
	63	26	16	42	-18	54
	40	11	26	37	-19	24
	82	21	16	37	-3	35
	75	10	20	30	-7	18
	71	2	27	29	9	46
	72	5	13	18	12	28
Playoffs
Top 10 Players	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
	7	4	5	9	-1	0
	7	3	5	8	2	8
	7	3	4	7	-2	15
	7	1	5	6	2	4
	7	3	2	5	2	2
	7	1	3	4	-1	2
	7	0	3	3	-4	2
	7	1	1	2	1	0
	7	1	1	2	-2	4
	7	0	2	2	-3	2

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses;
GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Regular Season
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
	54	3154	25	21	6	153	1	.892	2.91
	19	1032	7	8	2	46	0	.908	2.67
	13	771	11	2	0	21	2	.936	1.63
Playoffs
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
	7	451	3	2	2	22	0	.909	2.93

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st NHL Game 1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point	October 5, 2007
	200th NHL Point	October 6, 2007
	100th NHL PIM	October 8, 2007
	100th NHL Goal	October 12, 2007
	1st NHL Assist	October 18, 2007
	600th NHL Game	October 18, 2007
	100th NHL Game	October 24, 2007
	1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point	October 24, 2007
	1st NHL Goal	October 29, 2007
	1st NHL Game	November 6, 2007
	1st NHL Goal	November 8, 2007
	300th NHL Game	November 23, 2007
	200th NHL Assist	November 23, 2007
	100th NHL Point	December 8, 2007
	1st NHL Goal	December 10, 2007
	200th NHL Game	December 26, 2007
	100th NHL Point	December 27, 2007
	1st NHL 4-Goal Game	December 29, 2007
	200th NHL Goal	January 13, 2008
	200th NHL Game	January 23, 2008
	200th NHL Game	January 24, 2008
	200th NHL Game	January 29, 2008
	800th NHL Game	January 29, 2008
	900th NHL Game	February 5, 2008
	700th NHL Game	February 10, 2008
	300th NHL Assist	February 16, 2008
	1st NHL Game	February 16, 2008
	100th NHL Game	February 20, 2008
	200th NHL Point	March 3, 2008
	300th NHL Win	March 12, 2008
	1st NHL Point	March 14, 2008
	300th NHL Point	March 18, 2008
	61st Goal (Franchise single season record)	March 25, 2008
	64th Goal (NHL single season record - goals by LW)	April 3, 2008
	65th Goal (Franchise single season record)	April 3, 2008
	55th Assist (Franchise single season record - rookie assists)	April 5, 2008

Awards

Player	Award
	All-Star forward
	NHL YoungStar
Alexander Ovechkin	First Star of the Month (January)^[9]
Nicklas Backstrom	Rookie of the Month (January)^[10]
Alexander Ovechkin	First Star of the Month (March)
Alexander Ovechkin	Art Ross Trophy
Alexander Ovechkin	Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
Alexander Ovechkin	Hart Memorial Trophy
	Lester B. Pearson Award
	Jack Adams Award

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

November 19, 2007	To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2009 – Jeremy Morin	To Anaheim Ducks Brian Sutherby
February 26, 2008	To Washington Capitals Cristobal Huet	To Montreal Canadiens 2nd-round pick in 2009 – Jeremy Morin
February 26, 2008	To Washington Capitals Sergei Fedorov	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ted Ruth
February 26, 2008	To Washington Capitals Matt Cooke	To Vancouver Canucks Matt Pettinger
February 26, 2008	To Washington Capitals Alexandre Giroux	To Atlanta Thrashers Joe Motzko

Free agents

Player	Former team	Contract Terms
Tom Poti^[11]		4 years, $14 million^[12] ^[13]
Viktor Kozlov^[14]		2 years, $5 million
Michael Nylander^[15]		4 years, $19.5 million
Joe Motzko^[16]		2 years, $1.025 million
Jason Morgan^[17]		1 year, $500,000

Player	New team
	Columbus Blue Jackets
	Phoenix Coyotes
	Atlanta Thrashers
	Pittsburgh Penguins

Draft picks

Washington's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.^[18] The Capitals had the 5th overall pick .

Round		Player	Position	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	5	Karl Alzner	D	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
2	34	Josh Godfrey	D	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2	46	Ted Ruth (Traded to Columbus)	D	U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)
3	84	Phil Desimone	C	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
4	108	Brett Bruneteau	C	Omaha Lancers (USHL)
5	125	Brett Leffler	RW	Regina Pats (WHL)
6	154	Dan Dunn	G	Wellington Dukes (OPRJA)
6	180	Justin Taylor	C	London Knights (OHL)
7	185	Nick Larson	C	Omaha Lancers (USHL)
7	199	Andrew Glass	RW

Farm teams

American Hockey League

The Hershey Bears are the Capitals American Hockey League affiliate in 2007–08.

ECHL

The South Carolina Stingrays are the Capitals ECHL affiliate in 2007–08.

Notes and References

https://archive.today/20070808042627/http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=344174&page=NewsPage&service=page NHL-worst Capitals fire Hanlon, promote Bruce Boudreau from AHL
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=347706&page=NewsPage&service=page Washington Capitals remove interim tag from coach Boudreau's resume
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/14533-Ovechkin-becomes-first-NHL-player-in-12-years-to-score-60-Caps-beat-Thrashers-53.html "Ovechkin becomes first NHL player in 12 years to score 60, Caps beat Atlanta 5–3"
Web site: Ovechkin passes single-season mark as Capitals keep playoff hopes alive. ESPN. 3 April 2008. 9 May 2013. 5 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121105195951/http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280403023. dead.
Web site: Ovechkin passes single-season mark as Capitals keep playoff hopes alive. ESPN. 3 April 2008. 9 May 2013. 5 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121105195951/http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280403023. dead.
News: Coming All the Way Back . The Washington Post . Tarik . El-Bashir . April 6, 2008 . April 22, 2010.
Web site: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals Box Score — March 3, 2008.
Web site: Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals Box Score — January 11, 2003.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=352005 Ovechkin, Dumont and Huet named NHL 'Three Stars' for January
https://archive.today/20070808042627/http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=348614&page=NewsPage&service=page Capitals' Backstrom named NHL Rookie of the month
Web site: Capitals Sign Defenseman Tom Poti . Washington Capitals . 2007-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070707235956/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=326885 . 2007-07-07 . dead .
Web site: NHL Signing Tracker . 2007-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070817202312/http://www4.sportsnet.ca/nhl_signings_2007/Was/ . 17 August 2007 . dead . dmy-all .
Web site: Washington Capitals Salary Cap Information . 2007-08-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20070813144123/http://www.nhlscap.com/capnumbers/washington.htm. 13 August 2007 . dead.
Web site: Capitals Sign Forward Viktor Kozlov . 2007-07-24 . Washington Capitals. https://web.archive.org/web/20070708000453/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=326911. 8 July 2007 . dead.
Web site: Capitals Sign Center Michael Nylander . 2007-07-24 . Washington Capitals. https://web.archive.org/web/20070704233531/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=326993. 4 July 2007 . dead.
Web site: Capitals Sign Right Wing Joe Motzko . 2007-07-24 . Washington Capitals. https://web.archive.org/web/20070712175324/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=331713. 12 July 2007 . dead.
Web site: Capitals Sign Center Jason Morgan . Washington Capitals . 2007-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110726153032/http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=334617 . 2011-07-26 . dead .
2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com