Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals were founded in May of 1972 as a new NHL expansion Hockey Team by owner Abe Pollin, and their first official season started in 1974. They started out that first season with Milt Schmidt as general manager, and Jimmy Anderson as head coach. They played their first game on October 9, 1974 against the New York Rangers, losing 6-3. However, for an extremely new NHL Hockey team they held their own fairly well against the Rangers during the first two periods, and for a short while during the third period. The Capitals and Rangers were tied up at 3-3 in the beginning of the third period. But during that third period you could tell that they were fading fast, and that they lacked both the experience and strength of the older team. They just couldn’t keep up with the Rangers, and they were having major difficulties getting the Rangers out of their zone during that third period.

The first win for the Capitals that year was on their home turf, and they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on October 17, 1975. This was a complete upset for the Blackhawks since they had just won the Stanley Cup not more than two years ago. Denis Dupere was the lead scorer in this game with two goals, and Germain Gagnon and Jack Egers each scored one goal a piece. Jack Egers scored the winning goal during this game, but this first season for the Caps didn't turn out very well for them. Their record for the 1974-1975 season was 8-67-5.

Although their first season did not go well, the Capitals are still around and have been more successful in recent years. With any luck, maybe they will finally be able to obtain the Stanley Cup with the support of their fans in Washington, D.C.