The 2007–08

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

season began on October 5, 2007. It was the Capitals' 34th season in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. On November 22, Head Coach

Glen Hanlon Glen A. Hanlon (born February 20, 1957) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, executive and former goaltender. Hanlon played in the National Hockey League for the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. He is a ...

was fired 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 Bruce Allan Boudreau (born January 9, 1955) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach currently serving as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota W ...

on an interim basis until December 26, when Boudreau's position was made permanent. On March 21,

Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin ( rus, Александр Михайлович Овечкин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capital ...

scored his 60th goal of the season in a game against the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

, becoming the first NHL player to accomplish the feat in 12 years, and tying

Dennis Maruk Dennis John Maruk (born November 17, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975 to 1989, scoring a career-high 60 goals for the Washington Capitals in ...

'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 The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

, on March 25. On April 3, Ovechkin scored twice to break

Luc Robitaille Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille (born February 17, 1966) is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 19-season N ...

's single-season left-winger goal-scoring record of 63 goals. Ovechkin finished the regular season with 65 goals and 112 points and won the

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

, awarded to the NHL's Most Valuable Player. He remains the only NHL player to exceed 60 goals in a season in the salary cap era. On April 5, the Capitals defeated the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home game ...

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. In the playoffs, the Capitals won their first game against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

, 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 Joffrey Lupul (born September 23, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. In his professional career, Lupul played in the NHL for the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was sele ...

Regular season

On March 3, 2008, the Capitals defeated the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

at home by a score of 10–2. 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.

Season standings

Division standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

October

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

November

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

December

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

January

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

February

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

March

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

April

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

Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

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

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''

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Awards

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following

transactions Transaction or transactional may refer to: Commerce *Financial transaction, an agreement, communication, or movement carried out between a buyer and a seller to exchange an asset for payment *Debits and credits in a Double-entry bookkeeping syst ...

during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Washington's picks at the

2007 NHL Entry Draft The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007. The draft ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

.2007 NHL Entry Draft Result
nhl.com
/ref> The Capitals had the 5th overall pick .

Farm teams

American Hockey League

The

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since ...

are the Capitals

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

affiliate in 2007–08.

ECHL

The

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

are the Capitals

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

affiliate in 2007–08.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Washington Capitals season

Wash WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievi ...

Washington Capitals seasons

Cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

Regular season

Season standings

Division standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Awards

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Farm teams

American Hockey League

ECHL

See also

References