1994–95 Washington Capitals season

The 1994–95 Washington Capitals season was the team's 21st season of play. After stumbling to a 3–10–5 record by February 28, the Capitals caught a break in bringing up 20-year-old rookie goaltender Jim Carey from the Portland Pirates for their March 2 game against the New York Islanders. The Capitals edged the Islanders 4–3 and Carey made 21 saves. Carey would finish his rookie season with an impressive 18–6–3 record, a 2.13 goals against average (GAA) and four shutouts. With the help of Carey's superb goaltending, Washington would go on to win 19 of their final 30 games and finish in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with a 22–18–8 record for 52 points. Peter Bondra had an excellent season, leading all NHL skaters in goals (34) and shorthanded goals (6).

1994–95 Washington Capitals
Division3rd Atlantic
Conference6th Eastern
1994–95 record22–18–8
Home record15–6–3
Road record7–12–5
Goals for136
Goals against120
Team information
General managerDavid Poile
CoachJim Schoenfeld
CaptainDale Hunter
Alternate captainsCalle Johansson
Joe Juneau
Michal Pivonka
ArenaUSAir Arena
Team leaders
GoalsPeter Bondra (34)
AssistsJoe Juneau (38)
PointsPeter Bondra (43)
Joe Juneau
Penalty minutesCraig Berube (173)
Plus/minusJoe Reekie (+10)
WinsJim Carey (18)
Goals against averageJim Carey (2.13)

Regular season

The Capitals tied the Buffalo Sabres for the most short-handed goals scored (13) and tied the St. Louis Blues for the fewest short-handed goals allowed (2) during the regular season.[1]

Final standings
Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
12Philadelphia Flyers482816415013260
25New Jersey Devils482218813612152
36Washington Capitals482218813612052
48New York Rangers482223313913447
59Florida Panthers482022611512746
612Tampa Bay Lightning481728312014437
713New York Islanders481528512615835

[2]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1TJanuary 21, 19951–1 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)0–0–1
2LJanuary 24, 19951–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)0–1–1
3LJanuary 25, 19950–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)0–2–1
4WJanuary 27, 19955–2New York Islanders (1994–95)1–2–1
5LJanuary 29, 19951–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)1–3–1
6LFebruary 2, 19950–1Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)1–4–1
7WFebruary 4, 19953–2Florida Panthers (1994–95)2–4–1
8LFebruary 7, 19951–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)2–5–1
9LFebruary 8, 19954–5@ New York Rangers (1994–95)2–6–1
10TFebruary 11, 19951–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)2–6–2
11LFebruary 13, 19953–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)2–7–2
12LFebruary 15, 19952–4@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)2–8–2
13WFebruary 18, 19954–2Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)3–8–2
14LFebruary 20, 19950–2New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–9–2
15TFebruary 23, 19955–5 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)3–9–3
16TFebruary 25, 19953–3 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)3–9–4
17TFebruary 26, 19951–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)3–9–5
18LFebruary 28, 19952–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)3–10–5
19WMarch 2, 19954–3@ New York Islanders (1994–95)4–10–5
20WMarch 4, 19955–1Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)5–10–5
21WMarch 5, 19954–2New York Rangers (1994–95)6–10–5
22WMarch 7, 19953–1@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)7–10–5
23TMarch 10, 19952–2 OTOttawa Senators (1994–95)7–10–6
24WMarch 12, 19953–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)8–10–6
25WMarch 13, 19953–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)9–10–6
26LMarch 16, 19951–5@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)9–11–6
27WMarch 18, 19954–1New York Rangers (1994–95)10–11–6
28WMarch 20, 19955–0@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)11–11–6
29WMarch 21, 19951–0Ottawa Senators (1994–95)12–11–6
30TMarch 25, 19952–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1994–95)12–11–7
31LMarch 26, 19953–4 OTHartford Whalers (1994–95)12–12–7
32WMarch 29, 19954–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)13–12–7
33WMarch 31, 19956–4Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)14–12–7
34WApril 2, 19952–1Boston Bruins (1994–95)15–12–7
35WApril 4, 19955–4@ New York Islanders (1994–95)16–12–7
36LApril 8, 19951–3Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)16–13–7
37LApril 11, 19951–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)16–14–7
38LApril 12, 19951–2New Jersey Devils (1994–95)16–15–7
39WApril 14, 19953–0Florida Panthers (1994–95)17–15–7
40LApril 16, 19952–4@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)17–16–7
41LApril 17, 19952–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)17–17–7
42WApril 21, 19956–3Hartford Whalers (1994–95)18–17–7
43WApril 22, 19952–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)19–17–7
44LApril 24, 19954–5@ New York Rangers (1994–95)19–18–7
45WApril 26, 19956–5New York Islanders (1994–95)20–18–7
46WApril 28, 19955–1Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)21–18–7
47TApril 30, 19952–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)21–18–8
48WMay 2, 19957–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)22–18–8

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals faced their old rivals from 1991, 1992 and 1994, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington had defeated Pittsburgh in the first round one year earlier and were hoping to do the same in 1995. The series started out well for the Capitals, as they defeated the Penguins 5-4 in the opening game. In Game 2, Washington held a 3–1 lead after two periods, but Pittsburgh scored four times in the third period to win 5–3 and tie the series at 1–1. Washington won Games 3 and 4 at home by identical scores of 6–2. The two teams skated to a 5–5 tie in Game 5, and with just 4:30 into the first overtime period, Luc Robitaille scored his fourth of the playoffs to keep the Penguins alive in the series. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens each scored twice in the game. Leading three games to two, the Capitals had a chance to eliminate the Penguins on home ice in Game 6, but goaltender Jim Carey struggled, allowing six goals on just 13 shots. Washington got only one shot (by Keith Jones) past Pittsburgh goaltender Ken Wregget, who made 30 saves. The Penguins went on to win the game 7–1 and tied the series at three games apiece. Jaromir Jagr, Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom each scored twice. In Game 7, Carey played better than he had in Game 6, stopping 15 of 17 shots, but Ken Wregget was solid again and stopped all 33 Washington shots to get the shutout. Troy Murray would add an empty-net goal to give Pittsburgh a 3–0 win and the series victory, four games to three. It was the second time in four years that the Penguins had defeated the Capitals after trailing 3–1 in a playoff series.

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Peter BondraRW47349432491263
Joe JuneauC44538438-1300
Michal PivonkaC46102333503422
Calle JohanssonD465263135-6402
Dmitri KhristichLW/C48121426410802
Steve KonowalchukLW46111425447333
Kelly MillerLW4810132365201
Dale HunterC4581523101-4301
Keith JonesRW401462065-2104
Sylvain CoteD4751419532102
Jim JohnsonD4701313436000
Mark TinordiD42391271-5201
Dave PoulinC29459102020
Sergei GoncharD31257224000
Joe ReekieD481679710000
Craig BerubeLW43246173-5000
Rob PearsonRW3206696-6000
Ken KleeD23314412000
Mike EaglesC/LW1313482000
Pat PeakeC1804412-6000
Jason AllisonC122136-3200
Martin GendronRW821323000
John SlaneyD160336-3000
Kevin KaminskiC27112102-6001
Jeff NelsonC101012-2000
Rick TabaracciG801120000
Igor UlanovD301123000
Randy BurridgeLW200020000
Jim CareyG2800000000
Byron DafoeG400000000
Olaf KolzigG1400040000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Jim Carey1604281863572.134654597.913
Olaf Kolzig72414282302.490305275.902
Byron Dafoe1874111113.5308069.863
Rick Tabaracci3948132162.440147131.891
Team:290948221881142.35411861072.904

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Peter BondraRW753810201
Dale HunterC744824200
Keith JonesRW744822100
Joe JuneauC72682000
Steve KonowalchukLW725712010
Dmitri KhristichLW/C71450000
Michal PivonkaC714521000
Calle JohanssonD73140100
Sergei GoncharD72242001
Sylvain CoteD71342000
Kelly MillerLW70334000
Mike EaglesC/LW70224000
Jim JohnsonD70228000
Rob PearsonRW310117001
Craig BerubeLW700029000
Jim CareyG70004000
Byron DafoeG10000000
Kevin KaminskiC500036000
Ken KleeD70004000
Olaf KolzigG20000000
Dave PoulinC20000000
Joe ReekieD70002000
Mark TinordiD10002000
Igor UlanovD20004000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Jim Carey358724254.190151126.834
Olaf Kolzig4421011.3602120.952
Byron Dafoe2010013.00032.667
Team:422734273.840175148.846

[3]

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;

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
110Nolan Baumgartner CanadaKamloops Blazers (WHL)
115Alexander Kharlamov RussiaCSKA Moscow (Russia)
241Scott Cherrey CanadaNorth Bay Centennials (OHL)
493Matt Herr United StatesThe Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT)
5119Yanick Jean CanadaChicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
6145Dmitri Mekeshkin RussiaAvangard Omsk (Russia)
7171Dan Reja CanadaLondon Knights (OHL)
8197Chris Patrick United StatesKent School (USHS-CT)
9223John Tuohy United StatesSouth Kent School (USHS-CT)
10249Richard Zednik SlovakiaBanska Bystrica (Slovakia)
11275Sergei Tertyshny RussiaTraktor Chelyabinsk (Russia)

See also

References
  1. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1995.html
  2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. "1994-95 Washington Capitals Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
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