2018-19 WASHINGTON CAPITALS Regular Season Record: 46-24-8, 100 points as of March 28 Clinched 29th all-time playoff appearance with 3-2 victory over Carolina PLAYOFF QUICK HITS Playoff History All-Time Playoff Appearance: 29th Consecutive Playoff Appearances: 5 Most Recent Playoff Appearance: 2018 (FR: 4-2 W vs. CBJ; SR: 4-2 W vs. PIT; CF: 4-3 W vs. TBL; F: 4-1 W vs. VGK) All-Time Playoff Record: 132-143 in 275 GP (20-27 in 47 series) Playoff Records Game 7s: 5-11 (3-8 at home, 2-3 on road) Overtime: 31-36 (13-16 at home, 8-20 on road) Facing Elimination: 21-27 (13-15 at home, 8-12 on road) With Chance to Clinch Series: 20-32 (8-18 at home, 12-14 on road) Stanley Cup Final Stanley Cup Final Appearances: 2 Stanley Cups: 1 (2018) Links Stanley Cup Champions Playoff Skater Records All-Time Playoff Formats Playoff Goaltender Records All-Time Playoff Standings Playoff Team Records Washington Capitals: Year-by-Year Record (playoffs at bottom) Washington Capitals: All-Time Record vs. Opponents (playoffs at bottom) LOOKING AHEAD: 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS Team Notes * The Capitals are looking to become only the fourth repeat Stanley Cup champion in the last 30 years (since 1989), a feat accomplished twice by the rival Penguins (1991, 1992 and 2016, 2017). The Red Wings (1997, 1998) are the only other club to do so in that span. * The Capitals have advanced to at least the Second Round in four consecutive postseasons, the longest active streak in the NHL. * A common playoff theme over the past three years has been a Capitals-Penguins series, with the two clubs meeting each postseason since 2016 and the winner going on to hoist the Stanley Cup each time. There have been 11 instances in NHL history of two teams meeting in at least four straight playoff years, including only six in the expansion era (since 1967-68): MTL-BOS (9), DAL-EDM (5), NYI-WSH (5), LAK- EDM (4), CHI-MNS (4) and NYR-NYI (4). * Washington has played more Game 7s over the past 11 years than 15 active NHL franchises have played in their history. Since the start of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Capitals have played a seventh and deciding game in 11 of 19 series, the most in that span (WSH: 11x; BOS: 10x; PIT: 7x; NYR: 7x; DET: 7x; TBL: 6x; and ANA: 6x). * Washington has contested at least one Game 7 in eight of its 10 postseason appearances, playing to the limit in the opening round six times since 2008. * The Capitals have played Game 7 in six of their past 10 opening round series dating to 2008, winning three times (2009 vs. NYR, 2012 at BOS, 2015 vs. NYI) and losing three (2008 vs. PHI, 2010 vs. MTL, 2013 vs. NYR). Two others have played more than three opening-round Game 7s since 2008 (BOS: 5, NYR: 4). * Washington has gone past regulation in each of its opening three games in each of the past two playoff years (2017 FR vs. TOR and 2018 FR vs. CBJ) – a first in NHL history. * If the Capitals play past regulation in their first game of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it would mark the ninth time in NHL history that a team has required overtime in their opening game over three consecutive playoff appearances. Washington accounts for one of the previous eight instances (2010, 2011, 2012). * Washington, the first team in NHL history to play a combined nine overtime games in the opening round over two playoff years, has contested a total of 36 playoff overtime games since 2008. They are one of five teams to play at least 30 playoff overtime games in that span (CHI: 38, WSH: 36, BOS: 32, PIT: 31, SJS: 30). * In 2018, the Capitals became the second team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup despite trailing in all four playoff rounds (FR: 0-2 vs. CBJ; SR: 0-1 vs. PIT; CF: 2-3 vs. TBL; F: 0-1 vs. VGK). The 1991 Penguins also faced a series deficit in each round en route to winning the first of back-to-back Cups. * The Capitals went 10-3 on the road during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs to tie the NHL record for road victories by a team in a playoff year. They also became the third team to post four series-clinching victories on the road, joining the 2008 Red Wings and 2009 Penguins. * Washington finished the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 29.3% power-play percentage, the fourth- highest by a team in a single postseason since the League officially began tracking the statistic in 1977- 78 (min. 60 opportunities). The only teams with a higher percentage: 1981 Islanders (37.8%, 31-for-82), 1982 Islanders (29.9%, 23-for-77) and 1994 Maple Leafs (29.7%, 22-for-74). Player Notes * One of three captains from outside North America to lead his team to a Stanley Cup, Alex Ovechkin (Moscow, Russia) can become the first to captain multiple Cup winners. Nicklas Lidstrom (Vasteras, Sweden) and Zdeno Chara (Trencin, Slovakia) are the only other non-North American players to captain a Cup winner, doing so in 2008 and 2011, respectively. * Ovechkin led the NHL with a franchise-record 15 playoff goals in 2018, joining Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009) as the only players to score as many goals in a single postseason since 1997. * Ovechkin is tied for 28th place in NHL history with 61 career playoff goals, with Patrick Marleau (72; t- 14th), Crosby (66; t-19th) and Evgeni Malkin (62; t-26th) the only active players with more. The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner ranks 13th in NHL history with 717 career goals, regular-season and playoffs combined. * Evgeny Kuznetsov (12-20—32 in 24 GP) set the Capitals record for points in a single postseason in 2018 – leading all scorers with 1-7—8 in the Stanley Cup Final – and became the fourth active player to record 30 or more points in the playoffs. * Kuznetsov, who set a franchise playoff record with an 11-game point streak from May 3-28, 2018 (6- 10—16), is one of three Russian players to lead the NHL in postseason scoring during the League’s modern era (since 1943-44). The others: Sergei Fedorov in 1995 with Detroit and Malkin in 2009 and 2017 with Pittsburgh. * Nicklas Backstrom (31-67—98 in 116 GP) sits two points shy of joining Ovechkin (61-56—117 in 121 GP) as the second player in franchise history to accumulate 100 career playoff points. In addition to Ovechkin, seven other active players have reached triple digits in playoff points: Crosby (185), Malkin (165), Marleau (125), Patrick Kane (123), Joe Thornton (123), Ryan Getzlaf (120) and Jonathan Toews (110). * Backstrom, whose 67 postseason assists are the most in franchise history, has scored four career overtime goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. trailing Joe Sakic (8), Maurice Richard (6), Patrick Kane (5) and Glenn Anderson (5) for the most in NHL history. * In the Stanley Cup-clinching game in 2018, John Carlson (18-37—55 in 100 GP) surpassed Calle Johansson (12-42—54 in 95 GP) as the all-time franchise playoff leader in points by a defenseman. Carlson also owns the franchise playoff record for goals by a blueliner (18) and ranks third in assists by a defenseman (37), behind Scott Stevens (44) and Johansson (42). Carlson also holds the franchise records for assists and points by a blueliner in a single postseason. * Ovechkin (121 GP), Backstrom (116 GP) and Carlson (100 GP) are three of five players to skate in at least 100 career playoff games for the Capitals – Dale Hunter and Kelly Miller have 100 apiece. * Braden Holtby (2.04 GAA in 82 GP) is one of four goaltenders with at least 80 career playoff games to maintain a goals-against average of 2.04 or better, trailing only Turk Broda (1.98 GAA in 101 GP), Dominik Hasek (2.02 GAA in 119 GP) and Martin Brodeur (2.02 GAA in 205 GP) on that list. * Todd Reirden can become the fourth head coach in NHL history to join the reigning champions and win the Stanley Cup in his first year with the club. Jimmy Skinner (1955 Red Wings), Claude Ruel (1969 Canadiens) and Scott Bowman (1992 Penguins) are the only head coaches to achieve that feat. IN REVIEW: 2018-19 REGULAR-SEASON Team Notes * After opening the campaign with a 7-0 win over the Bruins – scoring two goals in the first 1:47 of 2018- 19 – the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals aim to close the regular season by wrapping up their fourth consecutive division title. They would become the third reigning Cup champion to win its division since 2003-04 (Bruins in 2011-12 and Red Wings in 2008-09). * The Capitals have won four straight division titles once before, claiming the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Division each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Since divisions were introduced in 1926-27, only one franchise has won at least four straight division titles on multiple occasions – the Bruins from 1927-28 to 1930-31 (4) and again from 1975-76 to 1978-79 (4). * Washington hit the 100-point mark for the 12th time in franchise history, fifth consecutive season and eighth time in the past 11 campaigns. They are the 10th team in NHL history to hit the century mark in at least five straight seasons, with the Ducks (5; 2013-14 to 2017-18) that last team to do so.