2015–16 Washington Capitals season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	2015–16
Year:	2015
Team:	Washington Capitals
Division:	Metropolitan
Divisionrank:	1st
Conference:	Eastern
Conferencerank:	1st
Record:	56–18–8
Homerecord:	29–8–4
Roadrecord:	27–10–4
Goalsfor:	252
Goalsagainst:	193
Generalmanager:	Brian MacLellan
Coach:	Barry Trotz
Captain:	Alexander Ovechkin
Altcaptain:	Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik
Arena:	Verizon Center
Attendance:	18,509^[1] (27 games)
Minorleague:	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Goalsleader:	Alexander Ovechkin (50)
Assistsleader:	Evgeny Kuznetsov (57)
Pointsleader:	Evgeny Kuznetsov (77)
Plusminusleader:	Evgeny Kuznetsov (+27)
Pimleader:	Tom Wilson (163)
Winsleader:	Braden Holtby (48)
Gaaleader:	Braden Holtby (2.20)
Divisionwin:	Yes
Presidentstrophy:	Yes

The 2015–16 Washington Capitals season was the 42nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.^[2] The season began its regular games on October 10, 2015, against the New Jersey Devils. This was the first of five consecutive Metropolitan Division titles for the Capitals.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2015 Pre-Season Game Log: 5–0–2 (Home: 3–0–0 ; Road: 2–0–2)^[3]
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 21	Carolina	0–2	Washington			15,955	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 22	Washington	1–2	Boston	OT		16,460	1–0–1	Recap
3	September 24	Washington	4–3	Montreal	SO		21,287	2–0–1	Recap
4	September 28	Washington	3–1	NY Islanders			––	3–0–1	Recap
5	September 30	Washington	3–4	Carolina	SO	Peters	6,256	3–0–2	Recap
6	October 2	Boston	1–2	Washington	SO	Holtby	16,243	4–0–2	Recap
7	October 4	NY Islanders	2–6	Washington		Holtby	16,073	5–0–2	Recap

Regular season

2015–16 Game Log
October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 10 3–5 Washington 18,506 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 13 5–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 15 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 17 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 20 Washington 6–2 Holtby 18,303 4–1–0 8 Recap 6 October 22 Washington 3–2 Holtby 18,188 5–1–0 10 Recap 7 October 23 Washington 7–4 16,839 6–1–0 12 Recap 8 October 28 3–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 6–2–0 12 Recap 9 October 30 1–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 7–2–0 14 Recap 10 October 31 Washington 2–1 OT Grubauer 11,207 8–2–0 16 Recap
November: 9–3–1 (Home: 6–1–1 ; Road: 3–2–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 3 Washington 2–5 18,006 8–3–0 16 Recap 12 November 5 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 9–3–0 18 Recap 13 November 7 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 10–3–0 20 Recap 14 November 10 Washington 0–1 Holtby 20,027 10–4–0 20 Recap 15 November 12 Washington 5–2 Holtby 19,414 11–4–0 22 Recap 16 November 13 3–2 Washington OT 18,506 11–4–1 23 Recap 17 November 18 Washington 2–1 OT Holtby 20,027 12–4–1 25 Recap 18 November 19 3–2 Washington Grubauer 18,506 12–5–1 25 Recap 19 November 21 3–7 Washington Holtby 18,506 13–5–1 27 Recap 20 November 23 0–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 14–5–1 29 Recap 21 November 25 3–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 15–5–1 31 Recap 22 November 27 2–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 16–5–1 33 Recap 23 November 28 Washington 4–2 Holtby 19,053 17–5–1 35 Recap
December: 11–2–1 (Home: 5–0–0 ; Road: 6–2–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 24 December 3 Washington 3–2 21,288 18–5–1 37 Recap 25 December 5 Washington 1–2 OT Holtby 15,294 18–5–2 38 Recap 26 December 8 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 19–5–2 40 Recap 27 December 10 Washington 1–4 12,810 19–6–2 40 Recap 28 December 12 Washington 2–1 Holtby 19,092 20–6–2 42 Recap 29 December 14 Washington 4–1 Holtby 18,520 21–6–2 44 Recap 30 December 16 1–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 22–6–2 46 Recap 31 December 18 3–5 Washington Grubauer 18,506 23–6–2 48 Recap 32 December 20 Washington 7–3 Holtby 18,006 24–6–2 50 Recap 33 December 21 Washington 2–1 Grubauer 13,228 25–6–2 52 Recap 34 December 26 1–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 26–6–2 54 Recap 35 December 28 Washington 2–0 Holtby 19,070 27–6–2 56 Recap 36 December 30 2–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 28–6–2 58 Recap 37 December 31 Washington 2–4 Grubauer 14,134 28–7–2 58 Recap
January: 7–1–2 (Home: 3–0–1 ; Road: 4–1–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 2 Washington 4–5 SO 17,170 28–7–3 59 Recap 39 January 5 Washington 3–2 Holtby 17,565 29–7–3 61 Recap 40 January 7 Washington 4–1 Holtby 14,261 30–7–3 63 Recap 41 January 9 Washington 4–3 OT Holtby 18,006 31–7–3 65 Recap 42 January 10 1–7 Washington 18,506 32–7–3 67 Recap 43 January 14 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 33–7–3 69 Recap 44 January 16 Washington 1–4 Holtby 19,070 33–8–3 69 Recap 45 January 17 2–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 34–8–3 71 Recap 46 January 19 Washington 6–3 Holtby 12,291 35–8–3 73 Recap – January 22 Washington Game rescheduled to April 10 due to hazardous weather. – January 24 Washington Game rescheduled to March 1 due to hazardous weather. 47 January 27 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 35–8–4 74 Recap
February: 10–4–0 (Home: 6–2–0 ; Road: 4–2–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 48 February 2 5–2 Washington 18,506 35–9–4 74 Recap 49 February 4 2–3 Washington 18,506 36–9–4 76 Recap 50 February 6 Washington 3–2 SO Holtby 16,514 37–9–4 78 Recap 51 February 7 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 38–9–4 80 Recap 52 February 9 Washington 5–3 Holtby 17,113 39–9–4 82 Recap 53 February 11 Washington 4–3 Holtby 19,213 40–9–4 84 Recap 54 February 13 Washington 3–4 Holtby 18,532 40–10–4 84 Recap 55 February 16 1–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 41–10–4 86 Recap 56 February 18 Washington 3–2 OT Holtby 15,795 42–10–4 88 Recap 57 February 20 3–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 43–10–4 90 Recap 58 February 22 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 44–10–4 92 Recap 59 February 24 4–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 44–11–4 92 Recap 60 February 26 2–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 45–11–4 94 Recap 61 February 28 Washington 2–3 Holtby 22,218 45–12–4 94 Recap
March: 9–4–2 (Home: 5–2–0 ; Road: 4–2–2) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 62 March 1 2–3 Washington 18,506 46–12–4 96 Recap 63 March 2 2–3 Washington 18,506 47–12–4 98 Recap 64 March 4 3–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 47–13–4 98 Recap 65 March 5 Washington 2–1 OT Grubauer 17,565 48–13–4 100 Recap 66 March 7 Washington 2–1 SO Holtby 17,174 49–13–4 102 Recap 67 March 9 Washington 3–4 OT Holtby 18,324 49–13–5 103 Recap 68 March 12 Washington 2–5 Grubauer 17,562 49–14–5 103 Recap 69 March 15 1–2 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 50–14–5 105 Recap 70 March 18 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 51–14–5 107 Recap 71 March 20 Washington 2–6 Holtby 18,656 51–15–5 107 Recap 72 March 22 Washington 4–2 Holtby 19,313 52–15–5 109 Recap 73 March 25 Washington 1–0 OT Holtby 16,514 53–15–5 111 Recap 74 March 26 4–0 Washington Grubauer 18,506 53–16–5 111 Recap 75 March 28 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 54–16–5 113 Recap 76 March 30 Washington 1–2 SO Holtby 19,850 54–16–6 114 Recap
April: 2–2–2 (Home: 0–1–2 ; Road: 2–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 Washington 4–2 18,049 55–16–6 116 Recap 78 April 2 Washington 0–3 17,125 55–17–6 116 Recap 79 April 5 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 55–17–7 117 Recap 80 April 7 4–3 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 55–17–8 118 Recap 81 April 9 Washington 5–1 Holtby 19,610 56–17–8 120 Recap 82 April 10 2–0 Washington Grubauer 18,506 56–18–8 120 Recap
Legend:

Playoffs

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season^[4]

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	82	20	57	77	27	32
	79	50	21	71	21	53
	75	20	50	70	17	36
	82	22	30	52	15	36
	80	26	25	51	16	34
	74	17	29	46	12	16
	82	20	20	40	0	22
	56	8	31	39	16	14
	79	17	21	38	4	12
	82	5	27	32	10	38
	82	8	21	29	8	26
	82	7	16	23	3	163
	82	4	17	21	14	26
	57	8	9	17	0	24
	72	2	14	16	12	16
	41	3	7	10	11	24
	43	3	4	7	0	50
^‡	60	1	6	7	−7	16
	55	1	5	6	8	21
	39	2	3	5	−2	8
^†	20	2	3	5	7	22
	24	0	3	3	2	4
	8	0	2	2	4	2
	4	1	0	1	0	0
	10	1	0	1	0	2
^†	10	0	0	0	−1	28
	2	0	0	0	−1	2
	1	0	0	0	−1	2
	9	0	0	0	−3	2
^‡	1	0	0	0	0	0
^‡	3	0	0	0	−2	0

Playoffs

Player					data-sort-type="number"
	12	5	7	12	3	2
	12	5	7	12	−2	4
	12	2	9	11	3	8
	12	6	4	10	2	11
	12	3	4	7	−3	14
	12	2	5	7	−2	2
	12	3	0	3	1	2
	12	0	3	3	3	6
	12	1	1	2	−1	12
	12	1	1	2	−4	8
	12	0	2	2	3	6
	12	1	0	1	−1	6
	7	0	1	1	−1	4
	11	0	1	1	0	2
	12	0	1	1	−3	13
	10	0	1	1	−3	2
	6	0	0	0	−3	10
	12	0	0	0	0	4
	12	0	0	0	0	4
	2	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player
style=white-space:nowrap		66	66	3841:11	48	9	7	141	2.20	1802	.922	3	0	1	6
style=white-space:nowrap		22	16	1111:53	8	9	1	43	2.32	523	.918	0	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Player suspensions/fines

Player	Explanation	Length	Salary	Date issued
	Boarding on Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid during NHL Game No. 588 in Boston on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at 4:43 of the second period.	2 games	$6,182.80	January 6, 2016^[5]
	Illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey during NHL Game No. 601 in New York on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 8:42 of the first period.	2 games	$40,322.58	January 8, 2016^[6]

Notable achievements

Awards

Regular Season

Player	Award	Awarded
	NHL First Star of the Week^[7]	October 26, 2015
	NHL Second Star of the Week^[8]	November 30, 2015
	NHL Second Star of the Month^[9]	December 1, 2015
	NHL Second Star of the Week^[10]	December 21, 2015
	NHL All-Star game captain^[11]	January 2, 2016
	NHL Second Star of the Month^[12]	January 4, 2016
	NHL All-Star game selection^[13]	January 6, 2016
	NHL All-Star game selection	January 6, 2016
	NHL First Star of the Week^[14]	January 11, 2016
	NHL All-Star game replacement selection^[15]	January 28, 2016
	NHL First Star of the Month^[16]	February 1, 2016

Milestones

Regular Season

Player	Milestone	Reached
	200th Career NHL Point	October 10, 2015
	400th Career NHL Game	October 13, 2015
	1st Career NHL Game	October 15, 2015
	100th Career NHL Game	October 15, 2015
	1st Career NHL Assist	October 15, 2015
	900th Career NHL Point	October 20, 2015
J. Carlson	200th Career NHL Point	November 5, 2015
	484th Career Goal; Most Goals scored by Russian	November 19, 2015
	700th Career NHL Game	November 19, 2015
	200th Career NHL Game	December 8, 2015
	600th Career NHL Game	December 8, 2015
	200th Career NHL Point	December 8, 2015
	600th Career NHL Point	December 8, 2015
M. Niskanen	600th Career NHL Game	December 10, 2015
	900th Career NHL Game	December 18, 2015
N. Backstrom	600th Career NHL Point	December 18, 2015
	100th Career NHL Game	December 31, 2015
A. Ovechkin	800th Career NHL Game	January 9, 2016
	100th Career NHL Game	January 9, 2016
A. Ovechkin	500th Career NHL Goal	January 10, 2016

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2015–16 season.

Trades

Date			Ref
	To New York Rangers BUF's 3rd-round pick in 2015 4th-round pick in 2015	To Washington Capitals MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2015	^[17]
	To St. Louis Blues Troy Brouwer Pheonix Copley 3rd-round pick in 2016	To Washington Capitals T. J. Oshie	^[18]
	To Buffalo Sabres 3rd-round pick in 2017	To Washington Capitals Mike Weber	^[19]
	To New York Rangers Chris Brown	To Washington Capitals Ryan Bourque	^[20]
	To Toronto Maple Leafs Brooks Laich Connor Carrick 2nd-round pick in 2016	To Washington Capitals Daniel Winnik ANA's 5th-round pick in 2016	^[21]

Notes

• Buffalo to retain 50% ($1.67 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			1 year, $700,000	^[22]
			2 years, $6.5 million	^[23]
			1 year, $575,000	^[24]
			1 year, $575,000
			1 year, $575,000
			2 years, $1.2 million	^[25]
			1 year, $650,000	^[26]
			1 year, $575,000	^[27]
			1 year, $575,000	^[28]
			1 year, $575,000	^[29]
			3 years, entry-level contract	^[30]
			1 year, $1 million	^[31]
			2 years, entry-level contract	^[32]

Free agents lost

Date	Player	New team	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
			3 years, $18 million	^[33]
			1 years, $575,000	^[34]
			1 years, $575,000	^[35]
			1 years, $575,000	^[36]
			3 years, $9.825 million	^[37]
			3 years, $6 million	^[38]

Lost via retirement

Date	Player	Ref
	Patrick Wey	^[39]

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
		3-years, $5.25 million	^[40]
		2-years, $2.3 million	^[41]
		1 year, $575,000
		2-years, $6 million	^[42]
		2-years, $1.701 million	^[43]
		5-years, $30.5 million	^[44]
		3-years, entry-level contract	^[45]
		1-year, $3.75 million	^[46]
		2-years, $1.6 million contract extension	^[47]

Draft picks

See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks. Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Round		Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	22	Ilya Samsonov	G		Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
2	57	Jonas Siegenthaler	D		ZSC Lions (NLA)
5	143	Conner Hobbs	D		Regina Pats (WHL)
6	173	Colby Williams	D		Regina Pats (WHL)

Draft notes^[48]

• The Washington Capitals' second-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015, that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.^[49]
• The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and a fourth-round pick in 2015 (113th overall) to New York in exchange for this pick. The Rangers previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Cam Talbot and a seventh-round pick in 2015 (209th overall) to Edmonton in exchange for Ottawa's third-round pick in 2015 (79th overall), a seventh-round pick in 2015 (184th overall) and this pick.
• The Washington Capitals' third-round pick will go to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on March 1, 2015, that sent Curtis Glencross to Washington in exchange for a second-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
• The Washington Capitals' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent Montreal's second-round pick in 2015 (57th overall) to Washington in exchange for and Buffalo's third-round pick in 2015 (62nd overall) and this pick.^[50]
• The Washington Capitals' seventh-round pick will go to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Edward Pasquale and a sixth-round pick in 2014 to Washington in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2014, Nashville's seventh-round pick in 2014 and this pick.^[51]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2015–2016 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN. ESPN.
2. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2013. 2012. Triumph Books. 127. 978-1-60078-785-0.
3. Web site: 2015-2016 Regular Season Schedule/Results - Washington Capitals - Schedule. July 17, 2015. Capitals.nhl.com.
4. Web site: 2015-2016 Regular Season Stats - Points - Washington Capitals - Statistics. Washington Capitals. April 13, 2016.
5. Web site: Capitals' Sill suspended two games for boarding. NHL. January 6, 2016.
6. Web site: Capitals forward Johansson suspended two games. NHL. January 8, 2016.
7. Web site: Kuznetsov, Markov and Quick named stars of week. NHL. October 26, 2015.
8. Web site: Benn, Holtby and Galchenyuk named stars of week. NHL. November 30, 2015.
9. Web site: Kane, Holtby and Duchene named stars for November. NHL. December 1, 2015.
10. Web site: Varlamov, Oshie and Koivu named stars of week. NHL. December 21, 2015.
11. Web site: Fans elect division captains for 2016 All-Star Game. NHL. January 2, 2016.
12. Web site: Gaudreau, Holtby and Kane named stars for December. NHL. January 4, 2016.
13. Web site: Star-studded Central roster highlights All-Star reveal. NHL. January 6, 2016.
14. Web site: Ovechkin, Mrazek and Barrie named stars of week. NHL. January 11, 2016.
15. Web site: Kuznetsov, Neal added to All-Star Game rosters. NHL. January 28, 2015.
16. Web site: Kuznetsov, Crawford, Letang named stars for January. NHL. February 1, 2016.
17. Web site: Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend. Washington Capitals. June 27, 2015.
18. Web site: Capitals Acquire T.J. Oshie from St. Louis. Washington Capitals. July 2, 2015.
19. Web site: Capitals Acquire Mike Weber from Buffalo. Washington Capitals. February 23, 2016.
20. Web site: Capitals Acquire Ryan Bourque from NY Rangers. Washington Capitals. February 28, 2016.
21. Web site: Capitals Acquire Daniel Winnik from Toronto. Washington Capitals. February 28, 2016.
22. Web site: Capitals Sign Taylor Chorney. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
23. Web site: Capitals Sign Justin Williams. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
24. Web site: Capitals Sign Carter Camper, Sean Collins, Mike Moore and Aaron Ness. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
25. Web site: Capitals Sign Chris Bourque. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
26. Web site: Capitals Sign Dan Ellis. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
27. Web site: Capitals Sign Paul Carey. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
28. Web site: Capitals Sign Zach Sill. capitals.nhl.com. July 16, 2015.
29. Web site: Capitals Sign Ryan Stanton. capitals.nhl.com. July 24, 2015.
30. Web site: Capitals Sign Tim McGauley. capitals.nhl.com. October 7, 2015.
31. Web site: Capitals Agree to Terms with Mike Richards . capitals.nhl.com . January 6, 2016.
32. Web site: Capitals Sign Adam Carlson. capitals.nhl.com. March 29, 2016.
33. Web site: Green agrees to three-year deal with Wings. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
34. Web site: Penguins Sign Defenseman Steve Oleksy. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
35. Web site: Flyers sign C Tim Brent, RW Chris Connor, D Davis Drewiske. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
36. Web site: Blackhawks agree to terms with Schilling and Liambas. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
37. Web site: Sharks Sign Forward Joel Ward. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
38. Web site: Penguins Agree to Terms with Forward Eric Fehr to a Three-Year Contract. nhl.com. July 28, 2015.
39. Web site: In wake of back to back concussions, Patrick Wey has elected to retire and pursue educational interests. Great kid, wish him the best. #Caps . Vogel . Mike . @VogsCaps . 2015-06-29.
40. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Jay Beagle. Capital's Today. July 17, 2015.
41. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Stanislav Galiev. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
42. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Evgeny Kuznetsov. nhl.com. July 17, 2015.
43. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Chris Brown. capitals.nhl.com. July 16, 2015.
44. Web site: CAPITALS RE-SIGN BRADEN HOLTBY. capitals.nhl.com. July 24, 2015.
45. Web site: Capitals Sign Jonas Siegenthaler. capitals.nhl.com. July 30, 2015.
46. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Marcus Johansson. capitals.nhl.com. July 31, 2015.
47. Web site: Capitals Re-sign Taylor Chorney. capitals.nhl.com. February 22, 2016.
48. Web site: 2015 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions. Pro Sports Transactions. June 3, 2015.
49. Web site: Flames deal Glencross to Capitals. March 1, 2015. March 1, 2015.
50. Web site: Trades completed during 2015 NHL Draft weekend. June 27, 2015. June 27, 2015.
51. Web site: Notes from the 2014 NHL Draft. June 28, 2014. June 28, 2014.