1984–85 Washington Capitals season

1984–85 Washington Capitals
Division2nd Patrick
Conference2nd Wales
1984–85 record46–25–9
Home record27–11–2
Road record19–14–7
Goals for322
Goals against240
Team information
General managerDavid Poile
CoachBryan Murray
CaptainRod Langway
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaCapital Centre
Team leaders
GoalsBobby Carpenter (53)
AssistsMike Gartner (52)
PointsMike Gartner (102)
Penalty minutesScott Stevens (221)
Plus/minusRod Langway (+36)
WinsPat Riggin (28)
Goals against averageAl Jensen (2.54)

The 1984–85 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals eleventh season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Offseason

Regular season

Coming off their most successful season in their NHL history (48 wins, 101 points, 2nd place in the Patrick Division), the Capitals were expected to take over leadership of the division from the New York Islanders, whose fading dynasty was given a blow after the Oilers topped them in the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals.

Instead, despite a solid start to the season, the Caps were struggling in the early going to keep up with the surprising Philadelphia Flyers. With a surge around the holidays, Washington ended up snagging first place and with the help of easy games throughout January, extended their division lead to double-digit points by the start of February.

However, the Flyers came breathing down the Caps' necks from there. On February 9, Washington led Philly by 11 points, but a last-second loss to the Flyers at the Capital Centre triggered another battle for the division title.

Although the Capitals didn't falter over the remaining games of the season, they were unable to hold off their scorching neighbors to the north — dropping a key pair of games in a home-and-home set on March 7 at the Spectrum (9–6) and March 8 at home (4–2) – which drew the clubs into a tie for first. Key losses at home to Boston and on the road at Hartford sealed their fate as the Flyers wrapped up the Patrick on March 28 with the Capitals a distant 10 points off the pace.

Despite winning 46 games and posting another 101 point campaign, the Capitals wound up 12 points behind Philly, and won only once in seven games against them (1–5–1).

That didn't take away from the career performances of Mike Gartner and Bobby Carpenter, who became the first Capitals teammates to post concurrent 50 goal seasons. Both Gartner (50) and Carpenter (53) posted career-highs in goal scoring and led a potent offense which tallied 322 times.

Final standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 80 53 20 7 348 241 113
80 46 25 9 322 240 101
New York Islanders 80 40 34 6 345 312 86
New York Rangers 80 26 44 10 295 345 62
New Jersey Devils 80 22 48 10 264 346 54
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 24 51 5 276 385 53

[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

1984–85 regular season[3]
October: 4–3–2 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–1–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 11, 1984 2–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 0–0–1
2 L October 13, 1984 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 0–1–1
3 W October 14, 1984 5–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 1–1–1
4 W October 16, 1984 5–3 Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 2–1–1
5 L October 20, 1984 5–6 New York Rangers (1984–85) 2–2–1
6 T October 24, 1984 3–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 2–2–2
7 L October 25, 1984 3–5 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 2–3–2
8 W October 28, 1984 5–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) 3–3–2
9 W October 31, 1984 4–3 OT Calgary Flames (1984–85) 4–3–2
November: 5–5–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–3–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 W November 3, 1984 6–4 New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 5–3–2
11 L November 7, 1984 3–4 @ New York Rangers (1984–85) 5–4–2
12 L November 9, 1984 5–8 Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 5–5–2
13 T November 10, 1984 2–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 5–5–3
14 T November 13, 1984 3–3 OT Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 5–5–4
15 L November 16, 1984 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 5–6–4
16 W November 17, 1984 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 6–6–4
17 L November 20, 1984 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1984–85) 6–7–4
18 T November 21, 1984 3–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 6–7–5
19 L November 23, 1984 1–5 New York Islanders (1984–85) 6–8–5
20 W November 25, 1984 5–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 7–8–5
21 W November 27, 1984 9–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 8–8–5
22 W November 28, 1984 2–1 @ New York Rangers (1984–85) 9–8–5
December: 12–2–2 (home: 7–1–0; road: 5–1–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
23 W December 1, 1984 5–4 OT @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) 10–8–5
24 W December 2, 1984 9–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 11–8–5
25 W December 4, 1984 4–1 New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 12–8–5
26 L December 7, 1984 5–7 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 12–9–5
27 W December 9, 1984 4–0 Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 13–9–5
28 T December 11, 1984 3–3 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 13–9–6
29 W December 12, 1984 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 14–9–6
30 W December 15, 1984 4–2 New York Rangers (1984–85) 15–9–6
31 W December 16, 1984 6–3 @ New York Rangers (1984–85) 16–9–6
32 W December 18, 1984 4–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 17–9–6
33 T December 20, 1984 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 17–9–7
34 W December 22, 1984 7–5 St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 18–9–7
35 L December 23, 1984 4–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 18–10–7
36 W December 26, 1984 6–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 19–10–7
37 W December 27, 1984 5–4 OT @ New York Islanders (1984–85) 20–10–7
38 W December 29, 1984 3–2 Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 21–10–7
January: 10–3–0 (home: 5–1–0; road: 5–2–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
39 W January 1, 1985 5–1 Boston Bruins (1984–85) 22–10–7
40 L January 4, 1985 3–5 Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) 22–11–7
41 W January 8, 1985 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 23–11–7
42 W January 9, 1985 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) 24–11–7
43 L January 12, 1985 3–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 24–12–7
44 W January 14, 1985 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) 25–12–7
45 W January 16, 1985 5–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 26–12–7
46 W January 17, 1985 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 27–12–7
47 W January 19, 1985 7–1 New York Rangers (1984–85) 28–12–7
48 W January 23, 1985 3–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) 29–12–7
49 W January 26, 1985 5–1 @ New York Islanders (1984–85) 30–12–7
50 W January 27, 1985 5–2 New York Islanders (1984–85) 31–12–7
51 L January 29, 1985 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) 31–13–7
February: 7–3–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 4–2–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
52 T February 1, 1985 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 31–13–8
53 W February 3, 1985 6–2 Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 32–13–8
54 W February 5, 1985 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 33–13–8
55 W February 8, 1985 6–1 Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 34–13–8
56 L February 9, 1985 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 34–14–8
37th All-Star Game in Calgary, Alberta
57 L February 13, 1985 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) 34–15–8
58 W February 14, 1985 4–3 @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) 35–15–8
59 L February 16, 1985 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) 35–16–8
60 W February 21, 1985 6–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) 36–16–8
61 T February 23, 1985 3–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) 36–16–9
62 W February 26, 1985 3–2 Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) 37–16–9
63 W February 28, 1985 5–4 @ New York Rangers (1984–85) 38–16–9
March: 6–8–0 (home: 6–4–0; road: 0–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
64 L March 2, 1985 0–4 Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) 38–17–9
65 W March 5, 1985 4–1 New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 39–17–9
66 L March 7, 1985 6–9 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 39–18–9
67 L March 8, 1985 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) 39–19–9
68 L March 10, 1985 2–3 Boston Bruins (1984–85) 39–20–9
69 W March 14, 1985 4–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) 40–20–9
70 L March 16, 1985 4–6 @ New York Islanders (1984–85) 40–21–9
71 W March 19, 1985 4–1 New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 41–21–9
72 L March 21, 1985 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 41–22–9
73 W March 22, 1985 3–1 Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) 42–22–9
74 W March 24, 1985 7–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 43–22–9
75 L March 27, 1985 1–3 Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 43–23–9
76 L March 28, 1985 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) 43–24–9
77 W March 30, 1985 4–3 New York Islanders (1984–85) 44–24–9
April: 2–1–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
78 L April 4, 1985 0–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) 44–25–9
79 W April 6, 1985 7–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 45–25–9
80 W April 7, 1985 7–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) 46–25–9

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs
1985 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. (P3) New York Islanders: N.Y. Islanders won 3–2
Game Date
Time (ET)		 Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap
1 April 10
8:05 p.m. EST		 NY Islanders 3–4 Washington OT Riggin Capital Centre 18,130 1–0
2 April 11
8:05 p.m. EST		 NY Islanders 1–2 Washington 2OT Jensen Capital Centre 17,993 2–0
3 April 13
8:05 p.m. EST		 Washington 1–2 NY Islanders Jensen Nassau Coliseum 16,002 2–1
4 April 14
7:05 p.m. EST		 Washington 4–6 NY Islanders Jensen Nassau Coliseum 16,002 2–2
5 April 16
8:05 p.m. EST		 NY Islanders 2–1 Washington Riggin Capital Centre 18,130 2–3

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Mike Gartner RW 80 50 52 102 71 17 17 0 11
Bobby Carpenter C 80 53 42 95 87 20 12 0 7
Dave Christian RW 80 26 43 69 14 20 5 0 2
Scott Stevens D 80 21 44 65 221 19 16 0 5
Larry Murphy D 79 13 42 55 51 21 3 0 0
Craig Laughlin RW 78 16 34 50 38 12 5 0 3
Alan Haworth C 76 23 26 49 48 19 4 0 2
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 51 14 29 43 8 13 6 1 3
Gaetan Duchesne LW 67 15 23 38 32 16 0 1 1
Mike McEwen D 56 11 27 38 42 22 4 0 3
Doug Jarvis C 80 9 28 37 32 19 1 1 1
Bobby Gould RW 78 14 19 33 69 10 0 1 3
Bryan Erickson RW 57 15 13 28 23 11 1 0 1
Rod Langway D 79 4 22 26 54 35 0 0 1
Gary Sampson LW 46 10 15 25 13 20 0 1 0
Darren Veitch D 75 3 18 21 37 31 2 0 0
Greg Adams LW 51 6 12 18 72 8 0 0 1
Lou Franceschetti RW 22 4 7 11 45 1 0 0 1
Peter Andersson D 57 0 10 10 21 5 0 0 0
Dean Evason C 15 3 4 7 2 9 0 0 1
Paul Gardner C 12 2 4 6 6 -1 2 0 0
Glen Currie C 44 1 5 6 19 2 0 0 0
Timo Blomqvist D 53 1 4 5 51 11 0 0 0
Jim McGeough C 11 3 0 3 12 0 0 0 0
Andre Hidi LW 6 2 1 3 9 2 1 0 0
Dave Shand D 13 1 1 2 34 1 0 0 0
Mark Taylor C 9 1 1 2 2 -1 0 0 0
Kevin Hatcher D 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
Mikko Leinonen C 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Bob Mason G 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Pat Riggin G 57 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Al Jensen G 14 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Pat Riggin 3388 57 28 20 7 168 2.98 2
Al Jensen 803 14 10 3 1 34 2.54 1
Bob Mason 661 12 8 2 1 31 2.81 1
Team: 4852 80 46 25 9 233 2.88 4

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Mike Gartner RW 5 4 3 7 9 1 0 1
Larry Murphy D 5 2 3 5 0 2 0 0
Bobby Carpenter C 5 1 4 5 8 0 0 0
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 5 1 3 4 0 1 0 0
Dave Christian RW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Lou Franceschetti RW 5 1 1 2 15 0 0 0
Alan Haworth C 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Doug Jarvis C 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 0
Gaetan Duchesne LW 5 0 1 1 7 0 0 0
Bobby Gould RW 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Rod Langway D 5 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Mike McEwen D 5 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Scott Stevens D 5 0 1 1 20 0 0 0
Darren Veitch D 5 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Greg Adams LW 5 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
Peter Andersson D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Timo Blomqvist D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kevin Hatcher D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Al Jensen G 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Craig Laughlin RW 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Mikko Leinonen C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pat Riggin G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gary Sampson LW 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Al Jensen 201 3 1 2 8 2.39 0
Pat Riggin 122 2 1 1 5 2.46 0
Team: 323 5 2 3 13 2.41 0

[4]

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;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1984 NHL entry draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 17 Kevin Hatcher  United States North Bay Centennials (OHL)
2 34 Steve Leach  United States Matignon High School (USHS-MA)
3 59 Michal Pivonka  Czechoslovakia Poldi Kladno (Czechoslovakia)
4 80 Kris King  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
6 122 Vito Cramarossa  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
7 143 Timo Iljina  Finland Karpat (Finland)
8 164 Frank Joo  Canada Regina Pats (WHL)
9 185 Jim Thomson  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
10 205 Paul Cavallini  Canada Henry Carr Crusaders (MetJHL)
11 225 Mikhail Tatarinov  Soviet Union Sokol Kiev (USSR)
12 246 Per Schederin  Sweden Brynäs IF (Sweden)

See also

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "1984-85 Washington Capitals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  4. ^ "1984-85 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
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