I went to my first Washington Nationals game June 9, and so many people there were "rocking the red" for the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. The hockey team was at the ballpark, and not only did they bring out the trophy for the ceremonial first pitch, but they would show it in the stands at several points to get the crowd to make noise. Make noise we did.
This hockey team, in its 43rd season, was the fourth-oldest extant NHL franchise that hadn't won the Cup (the St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Vancouver Canucks are older). They hadn't even made the final for 20 years, their '98 campaign ending in a sweep by the Detroit Red Wings.
The long journey began with the Capitals in a humble place. By the end of their first calendar year, they had lost 30 of their first 37 games, winning just one in each of their first three months. Long strings of L's or T's separate pairs of their 8 wins that season, including a 17-loss streak bookended by their Feb. 16, 1975, win over the Kansas City Scouts -- the team's first shutout -- and their March 28, 1975, win against the California Golden Seals -- the team's first road win.
Yvon Labre, scorer of the Caps' first home goal in their first home game and captain of the team later on in the '70s, was honored in 1981 with his sweater number, 7, being the first one retired. The defenseman came to the Beltway as the eighth pick in the expansion draft, leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored four goals and made 23 assists that first season, with 12 potted pucks and 84 helpers in his time with the team overall. Labre had a team-high 182 penalty minutes in that first season and 756 on the Caps altogether, for what it's worth.
Not until late in the '74-75 season would Capitals players get hat tricks. In a March 30 home game against Detroit, December trade acquisition Ron Lalonde accomplished the franchise's first, but the Red Wings still won 8-5. One week later, in the season finale, February trade acquisition Stan Gilbertson put four in the basket, helping the Caps win 8-4 over the visiting Penguins.
In the June 12 expansion draft, the Caps picked their goalies first: Ron Low from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Michel Belheumeur from the Philadelphia Flyers. Low is the goalie of record for all 8 wins and 36 of their 67 losses. Belheumeur made 52 saves Dec. 7, 1974 -- tied for a team record for one game -- but St. Louis won 8-2.
Jim Hrycuik scored the team's first goal Oct. 9, assisted by #1 draft pick Greg Joly and eventual All-Star Denis Dupere. Bill Mikkelsen's hooking penalty that night in Madison Square Garden was another team first. Jack Egers clinched the Capitals' first win Oct. 15, and Mike Bloom got in the franchise's first fight two days later. The team's overall goals leader was Tommy Williams with 22, and his 36 assists and 58 points paced the club as well.
The Capitals attracted 10,004 per home game, with two sellouts. The day after Christmas 1974 was their first; they drew 18,130 to that Thursday contest against the eventual champion Flyers. On the road, the Caps didn't even win until their third-to-last away game, the one in California. They allowed 12 goals on two occasions in the season and 14 in one game the next season.
Needless to say, the Capitals have come a long way. How they got to the summit of hockey is a story that's probably been told elsewhere; my blog's purpose is to cover the year the Capitals began. Come to think of it, this stands in contrast to a certain other team's maiden voyage.
Source for most data: 2017-18 Capitals Media Guide, available here for now
