1984–85 Washington Capitals season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1984–85 1984 Washington Capitals 46–25–9 27–11–2 19–14–7 Wales 2nd Patrick 2nd 322 240 David Poile Bryan Murray Rod Langway None Capital Centre Bobby Carpenter (53) Mike Gartner (52) Mike Gartner (102) Scott Stevens (221) Rod Langway (+36) Pat Riggin (28) Al Jensen (2.54) The 1984–85 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals eleventh season in the National Hockey League (NHL). 2 Regular season Coming off their most successful season in their NHL history (48 wins, 101 points, second 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 Final. 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 WAS Record vs. opponents WSH Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 5px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 5px solid; 1984–85 regular season1984-85 Washington Capitals Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1985_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 22, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||0–0–1 |- |2||L||October 13, 1984||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||0–1–1 |- |3||W||October 14, 1984||5–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) ||1–1–1 |- |4||W||October 16, 1984||5–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) ||2–1–1 |- |5||L||October 20, 1984||5–6 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1984–85) ||2–2–1 |- |6||T||October 24, 1984||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) ||2–2–2 |- |7||L||October 25, 1984||3–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) ||2–3–2 |- |8||W||October 28, 1984||5–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) ||3–3–2 |- |9||W||October 31, 1984||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Calgary Flames (1984–85) ||4–3–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||5–3–2 |- |11||L||November 7, 1984||3–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1984–85) ||5–4–2 |- |12||L||November 9, 1984||5–8 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) ||5–5–2 |- |13||T||November 10, 1984||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||5–5–3 |- |14||T||November 13, 1984||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) ||5–5–4 |- |15||L||November 16, 1984||2–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) ||5–6–4 |- |16||W||November 17, 1984||3–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) ||6–6–4 |- |17||L||November 20, 1984||3–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1984–85) ||6–7–4 |- |18||T||November 21, 1984||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||6–7–5 |- |19||L||November 23, 1984||1–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1984–85) ||6–8–5 |- |20||W||November 25, 1984||5–0 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) ||7–8–5 |- |21||W||November 27, 1984||9–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) ||8–8–5 |- |22||W||November 28, 1984||2–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1984–85) ||9–8–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1984–85) ||10–8–5 |- |24||W||December 2, 1984||9–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||11–8–5 |- |25||W||December 4, 1984||4–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||12–8–5 |- |26||L||December 7, 1984||5–7 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) ||12–9–5 |- |27||W||December 9, 1984||4–0 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) ||13–9–5 |- |28||T||December 11, 1984||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) ||13–9–6 |- |29||W||December 12, 1984||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) ||14–9–6 |- |30||W||December 15, 1984||4–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1984–85) ||15–9–6 |- |31||W||December 16, 1984||6–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1984–85) ||16–9–6 |- |32||W||December 18, 1984||4–1 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) ||17–9–6 |- |33||T||December 20, 1984||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) ||17–9–7 |- |34||W||December 22, 1984||7–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1984–85) ||18–9–7 |- |35||L||December 23, 1984||4–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||18–10–7 |- |36||W||December 26, 1984||6–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||19–10–7 |- |37||W||December 27, 1984||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1984–85) ||20–10–7 |- |38||W||December 29, 1984||3–2 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1984–85) ||21–10–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1984–85) ||22–10–7 |- |40||L||January 4, 1985||3–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1984–85) ||22–11–7 |- |41||W||January 8, 1985||4–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) ||23–11–7 |- |42||W||January 9, 1985||4–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1984–85) ||24–11–7 |- |43||L||January 12, 1985||3–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||24–12–7 |- |44||W||January 14, 1985||6–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1984–85) ||25–12–7 |- |45||W||January 16, 1985||5–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||26–12–7 |- |46||W||January 17, 1985||6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||27–12–7 |- |47||W||January 19, 1985||7–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1984–85) ||28–12–7 |- |48||W||January 23, 1985||3–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1984–85) ||29–12–7 |- |49||W||January 26, 1985||5–1 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1984–85) ||30–12–7 |- |50||W||January 27, 1985||5–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1984–85) ||31–12–7 |- |51||L||January 29, 1985||3–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1984–85) ||31–13–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) ||31–13–8 |- |53||W||February 3, 1985||6–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) ||32–13–8 |- |54||W||February 5, 1985||4–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) ||33–13–8 |- |55||W||February 8, 1985||6–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) ||34–13–8 |- |56||L||February 9, 1985||4–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||34–14–8 |-style=background:#bbbfff |colspan="11"|37th All-Star Game in Calgary, Alberta |- |57||L||February 13, 1985||3–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1984–85) ||34–15–8 |- |58||W||February 14, 1985||4–3 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1984–85) ||35–15–8 |- |59||L||February 16, 1985||2–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1984–85) ||35–16–8 |- |60||W||February 21, 1985||6–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) ||36–16–8 |- |61||T||February 23, 1985||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1984–85) ||36–16–9 |- |62||W||February 26, 1985||3–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1984–85) ||37–16–9 |- |63||W||February 28, 1985||5–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1984–85) ||38–16–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1984–85) ||38–17–9 |- |65||W||March 5, 1985||4–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||39–17–9 |- |66||L||March 7, 1985||6–9 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||39–18–9 |- |67||L||March 8, 1985||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1984–85) ||39–19–9 |- |68||L||March 10, 1985||2–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1984–85) ||39–20–9 |- |69||W||March 14, 1985||4–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1984–85) ||40–20–9 |- |70||L||March 16, 1985||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1984–85) ||40–21–9 |- |71||W||March 19, 1985||4–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||41–21–9 |- |72||L||March 21, 1985||2–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) ||41–22–9 |- |73||W||March 22, 1985||3–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1984–85) ||42–22–9 |- |74||W||March 24, 1985||7–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||43–22–9 |- |75||L||March 27, 1985||1–3 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1984–85) ||43–23–9 |- |76||L||March 28, 1985||2–3 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1984–85) ||43–24–9 |- |77||W||March 30, 1985||4–3 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1984–85) ||44–24–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#D50032 2px solid; border-bottom:#003DA5 2px solid; 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 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1984–85) ||44–25–9 |- |79||W||April 6, 1985||7–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||45–25–9 |- |80||W||April 7, 1985||7–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1984–85) ||46–25–9 |- |- | #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid #000000 #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid #000000 #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid #000000 Playoffs 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#fe1134 5px solid; border-bottom:#00519e 5px solid; 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#fe1134 2px solid; border-bottom:#00519e 2px solid; Patrick Division Semifinals vs. (P3) New York Islanders: N.Y. Islanders won 3–2 Game DateTime (ET) Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap |- | 1 || April 10, 19858:05p.m. EST || NY Islanders || 3–4 || Washington || OT || Riggin || Capital Centre || 18,130 || 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 11, 19858:05p.m. EST || NY Islanders || 1–2 || Washington || 2OT || Jensen || Capital Centre || 17,993 || 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 13, 19858:05p.m. EST || Washington || 1–2 || NY Islanders || || Jensen || Nassau Coliseum || 16,002 || 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 14, 19857:05p.m. EST || Washington || 4–6 || NY Islanders || || Jensen || Nassau Coliseum || 16,002 || 2–2 || |- | 5 || April 16, 19858:05p.m. EST || NY Islanders || 2–1 || Washington || || Riggin || Capital Centre || 18,130 || 2–3 || |- |- | #cfc Win 1px solid #000000 #fcc Loss 1px solid #000000 Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Mike Gartner RW 80 50 52 102 711717011 Bobby Carpenter Bobby Carpenter (ice hockey) C 80 53 42 95 87201207 Dave Christian RW 80 26 43 69 1420502 Scott Stevens D 80 21 44 65 221191605 Larry Murphy Larry Murphy (ice hockey) D 79 13 42 55 5121300 Craig Laughlin RW 78 16 34 50 3812503 Alan Haworth ice hockey C 76 23 26 49 4819402 Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 51 14 29 43 813613 Gaetan Duchesne LW 67 15 23 38 3216011 Mike McEwen Mike McEwen (ice hockey) D 56 11 27 38 4222403 Doug Jarvis C 80 9 28 37 3219111 Bobby Gould Bobby Gould (ice hockey) RW 78 14 19 33 6910013 Bryan Erickson Bryan Erickson (ice hockey) RW 57 15 13 28 2311101 Rod Langway D 79 4 22 26 5435001 Gary Sampson Gary Sampson (ice hockey) LW 46 10 15 25 1320010 Darren Veitch D 75 3 18 21 3731200 Greg Adams Greg Adams (ice hockey b. 1960) LW 51 6 12 18 728001 Lou Franceschetti RW 22 4 7 11 451001 Peter Andersson Peter Andersson (ice hockey b. 1962) D 57 0 10 10 215000 Dean Evason C 15 3 4 7 29001 Paul Gardner Paul Gardner (ice hockey) C 12 2 4 6 6-1200 Glen Currie C 44 1 5 6 192000 Timo Blomqvist D 53 1 4 5 5111000 Jim McGeough C 11 3 0 3 120000 Andre Hidi LW 6 2 1 3 92100 Dave Shand D 13 1 1 2 341000 Mark Taylor Mark Taylor (ice hockey, born 1958) C 9 1 1 2 2-1000 Kevin Hatcher D 2 1 0 1 01010 Mikko Leinonen C 3 0 1 1 21000 Bob Mason ice hockey G 12 0 1 1 00000 Pat Riggin G 57 0 1 1 20000 Al Jensen G 14 0 0 0 60000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA 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 ice hockey 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 9101 Larry Murphy Larry Murphy (ice hockey) D 5 2 3 5 0200 Bobby Carpenter Bobby Carpenter (ice hockey) C 5 1 4 5 8000 Bengt-Ake Gustafsson RW 5 1 3 4 0100 Dave Christian RW 5 1 1 2 0000 Lou Franceschetti RW 5 1 1 2 15000 Alan Haworth ice hockey C 5 1 0 1 0001 Doug Jarvis C 5 1 0 1 2000 Gaetan Duchesne LW 5 0 1 1 7000 Bobby Gould Bobby Gould (ice hockey) RW 5 0 1 1 2000 Rod Langway D 5 0 1 1 6000 Mike McEwen Mike McEwen (ice hockey) D 5 0 1 1 4000 Scott Stevens D 5 0 1 1 20000 Darren Veitch D 5 0 1 1 4000 Greg Adams Greg Adams (ice hockey b. 1960) LW 5 0 0 0 9000 Peter Andersson Peter Andersson (ice hockey b. 1962) D 2 0 0 0 0000 Timo Blomqvist D 2 0 0 0 0000 Kevin Hatcher D 1 0 0 0 0000 Al Jensen G 3 0 0 0 2000 Craig Laughlin RW 5 0 0 0 2000 Mikko Leinonen C 1 0 0 0 0000 Pat Riggin G 2 0 0 0 0000 Gary Sampson Gary Sampson (ice hockey) LW 4 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA 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 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-02 1984-85 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/WSH/1985.html 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; 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)117Kevin HatcherUnited StatesNorth Bay Centennials (OHL)234Steve LeachUnited StatesMatignon High School (USHS-MA)359Michal PivonkaPoldi Kladno (Czechoslovakia)480Kris KingCanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)6122Vito CramarossaCanadaToronto Marlboros (OHL)7143Timo IljinaKarpat (Finland)8164Frank JooCanadaRegina Pats (WHL)9185Jim ThomsonCanadaToronto Marlboros (OHL)10205Paul CavalliniCanadaHenry Carr Crusaders (MetJHL)11225Mikhail TatarinovUSSRSokol Kiev (USSR)12246Per SchederinSwedenBrynäs IF (Sweden) See also 1984–85 NHL season References Category:Washington Capitals seasons Wash Washing Washing