2008–09 Washington Capitals season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 2008–09 2008 Washington Capitals Eastern 2nd Southeast 1st 50–24–8 29–9–3 21–15–5 272 245 George McPhee Bruce Boudreau Chris Clark Sergei FedorovAlexander Ovechkin Verizon Center 17,943 (98%) Alexander Ovechkin (56) Nicklas Backstrom (66) Alexander Ovechkin (110) Alexander Semin (+25) Donald Brashear (121) Jose Theodore (32) Semyon Varlamov (2.37) Yes The 2008–09 Washington Capitals season was the team's 35th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50–24–8 and a team-record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–3, overcoming a 3–1 series deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games. 2 Pre-season Schedule/Results from capitals.nhl.com Opponent Result Score @ Carolina Hurricanes W 4-1 vs Carolina Hurricanes W 5-2 @ Boston Bruins W 4-3 @ New Jersey Devils W 3-2 @ Philadelphia Flyers L 1-2 vs Philadelphia Flyers W 5-1 vs Boston Bruins OTL 4-5 Regular season Division standings WSH Conference standings WSH Schedule and results Full schedule, results, and recaps at capitals.nhl.com Green background indicates win. (2 points) Red indicates loss. (0 points) White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point). 2008–09 Game log October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 10 Washington 4 - 7 Atlanta Thrashers Johnson 18,545 0–1–0 0 2 11 Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 1-1-0 2 3 13 Vancouver Canucks 1 - 5 Washington Johnson 16,847 2-1-0 4 4 16 Washington 4 - 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Theodore 17,030 3-1-0 6 5 18 New Jersey Devils 4 - 3 Washington SO Theodore 17,904 3-1-1 7 6 21 Washington 1 - 2 Calgary Flames Theodore 19,289 3-2-1 7 7 23 Washington 1 - 2 Phoenix Coyotes Theodore 14,722 3-3-1 7 8 25 Washington 6 - 5 Dallas Stars OT Theodore 18,532 4-3-1 9 9 28 Nashville Predators 3 - 4 Washington SO Theodore 17,011 5-3-1 11 November: 8-5–2 (home: 6–0–0; road: 2-5–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 10 1 Washington 0 - 5 Buffalo Sabres Theodore 18,690 5-4-1 11 11 4 Washington 1 - 2 Ottawa Senators OT Johnson 18,485 5-4-2 12 12 6 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,874 6-4-2 14 13 8 New York Rangers 1 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,948 7-4-2 16 14 10 Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 4 Washington Johnson 17,932 8-4-2 18 15 12 Washington 5 - 1 Carolina Hurricanes Johnson 14,261 9-4-2 20 16 14 New Jersey Devils 1 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 10-4-2 22 17 15 Washington 5 - 6 New Jersey Devils SO Theodore 17,051 10-4-3 23 18 19 Washington 6 - 4 Anaheim Ducks Theodore 16,076 11-4-3 25 19 20 Washington 2 - 5 Los Angeles Kings Johnson 17,428 11-5-3 25 20 22 Washington 2 - 7 San Jose Sharks Johnson 17,496 11-6-3 25 21 24 Washington 3 - 4 Minnesota Wild Theodore 18,568 11-7-3 25 22 26 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 12-7-3 27 23 28 Montreal Canadiens 0 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 13-7-3 29 24 29 Washington 0 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Johnson 17,448 13-8-3 29 December: 11–3–0 (home: 6–1–0; road: 5–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 25 2 Florida Panthers 5 - 3 Washington Theodore 16,792 13-9-3 29 26 4 New York Islanders 2 - 5 Washington Johnson 18,130 14-9-3 31 27 6 Washington 2 - 1 Toronto Maple Leafs Johnson 19,416 15-9-3 33 28 7 Washington 1 - 3 Carolina Hurricanes Theodore 15,308 15-10-3 33 29 10 Boston Bruins 1 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,697 16-10-3 35 30 12 Ottawa Senators 1 - 5 Washington Johnson 17,973 17-10-3 37 31 13 Washington 2 - 1 Montreal Canadiens Varlamov 21,273 18-10-3 39 32 16 Washington 5 - 4 New York Islanders OT Johnson 11,655 19-10-3 41 33 18 St. Louis Blues 2 - 4 Washington Varlamov 18,277 20-10-3 43 34 20 Washington 1 - 7 Philadelphia Flyers Theodore 19,897 20-11-3 43 35 23 Washington 5 - 4 New York Rangers OT Theodore 18,200 21-11-3 45 36 26 Buffalo Sabres 2 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 22-11-3 47 37 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 23-11-3 49 38 30 Washington 4 - 2 Buffalo Sabres Theodore 18,690 24-11-3 51 January: 7–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 39 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 7 Washington Johnson 18,277 25-11-3 53 40 3 New York Rangers 1 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 26-11-3 55 41 6 Philadelphia Flyers 1 - 2 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 27-11-3 57 42 9 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 0 Washington Theodore 18,277 27-12-3 57 43 10 Washington 4 - 5 Montreal Canadiens Johnson 21,273 27-13-3 57 44 13 Edmonton Oilers 5 - 2 Washington Theodore 17,948 27-14-3 57 45 14 Washington 6 - 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Theodore 16,975 28-14-3 59 46 17 Boston Bruins 1 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 29-14-3 61 47 19 Washington 2 - 1 New York Islanders OT Theodore 15,221 30-14-3 63 48 20 Washington 2 - 3 Ottawa Senators Theodore 20,125 30-15-3 63 49 27 Washington 2 - 3 Boston Bruins OT Theodore 17,565 30-15-4 64 50 31 Detroit Red Wings 2 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 31-15-4 66 February: 9–3–1 (home: 5–3–0; road: 4–0–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 51 1 Ottawa Senators 4 - 7 Washington Johnson 18,277 32-15-4 68 52 3 Washington 5 - 2 New Jersey Devils Theodore 14,018 33-15-4 70 53 5 Los Angeles Kings 5 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 33-16-4 70 54 7 Florida Panthers 1 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 34-16-4 72 55 11 Washington 4-5 New York Rangers SO Theodore 18,200 34-16-5 73 56 14 Washington 5-1 Tampa Bay Lightning Neuvirth 17,249 35-16-5 75 57 15 Washington 4 - 2 Florida Panthers Theodore 17,279 36-16-5 77 58 18 Montreal Canadiens 4 - 5 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 37-16-5 79 59 20 Colorado Avalanche 4 - 1 Washington Theodore 18,277 37-17-5 79 60 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 38-17-5 81 61 24 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 38-18-5 81 62 26 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 4 Washington Neuvirth 18,277 39-18-5 83 63 28 Washington 4 - 3 Boston Bruins OT Theodore 17,565 40-18-5 85 March: 6–5–2; home: 2–3–1; road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 64 1 Florida Panthers 6 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 40-19-5 85 65 3 Carolina Hurricanes 5 - 2 Washington Neuvirth 17,903 40-20-5 85 66 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 - 1 Washington Theodore 18,277 40-21-5 85 67 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 3 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 40-21-6 86 68 10 Washington 2 - 1 Nashville Predators OT Theodore 20,066 41-21-6 88 69 12 Washington 2 - 1 Philadelphia Flyers Theodore 14,578 42-21-6 90 70 14 Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 5 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 43-21-6 92 71 16 Washington 1 - 5 Atlanta Thrashers Theodore 13,336 43-22-6 92 72 17 Washington 3 - 0 Florida Panthers Theodore 16,940 44-22-6 94 73 19 Washington 5 - 2 Tampa Bay Lightning Varlamov 17,565 45-22-6 96 74 21 Washington 1 - 4 Carolina Hurricanes Theodore 18,680 45-23-6 96 75 24 Washington 2 - 3 Toronto Maple Leafs SO Theodore 19,362 45-23-7 97 76 27 Tampa Bay Lightning 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 46-23-7 99 April: 4–1–1 (home: 2–0–1; road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 77 1 New York Islanders 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 47-23-7 101 78 3 Buffalo Sabres 5 - 4 Washington OT Varlamov 18,277 47-23-8 102 79 5 Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 6 Washington Theodore 18,277 48-23-8 104 80 7 Washington 4 - 2 Atlanta Thrashers Varlamov 16,027 49-23-8 106 81 9 Washington 4 - 2 Tampa Bay Lightning Theodore 18,891 50-23-8 108 82 11 Washington 4 - 7 Florida Panthers Theodore 18,527 50-24-8 108 Schedule Playoffs 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs The Washington Capitals won the Southeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Capitals would eventually win the first round against the New York Rangers, in seven games, after trailing the series 3–1 for their first playoff series victory since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1998. However, the Capitals would not get past the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost the series in seven games. Key: #ccffcc darkgray Win #ffbbbb darkgray Loss lightblue darkgray Clinch Playoff Series #9966cc darkgray Eliminated from playoffs 2009 Stanley Cup PlayoffsEastern Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (7) New York Rangers # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 15 NY Rangers 4 - 3 Capitals Theodore 18,277 Rangers lead 1 - 0 2 April 18 NY Rangers 1 - 0 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Rangers lead 2 - 0 3 April 20 Capitals 4 - 0 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Rangers lead 2 - 1 4 April 22 Capitals 1 - 2 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Rangers lead 3 - 1 5 April 24 NY Rangers 0 - 4 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Rangers lead 3 - 2 6 April 26 Capitals 5 - 3 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Series tied 3 - 3 7 April 28 NY Rangers 1 - 2 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals win series 4 - 3 Eastern Conference Semifinals: vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 2 Penguins 2-3 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals lead series 1-0 2 May 4 Penguins 3-4 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals lead series 2-0 3 May 6 Capitals 2-3 Penguins OT Varlamov 17,132 Capitals lead series 2-1 4 May 8 Capitals 3-5 Penguins Varlamov 17,132 Series tied 2-2 5 May 9 Penguins 4-3 Capitals OT Varlamov 18,277 Penguins lead series 3-2 6 May 11 Capitals 5-4 Penguins OT Varlamov 17,132 Series tied 3-3 7 May 13 Penguins 6-2 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Penguins win series 4-3 NHL.com - Recap: Penguins @ Capitals - 13 May 2009 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-wsh/2009/05/13/2008030227 https://web.archive.org/web/20090805071521/http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008030227 5 August 2009 live 2009-07-13 Player statistics Skaters player Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Alexander Ovechkin 79 56 54 110 +8 72 Nicklas Backstrom Nicklas Bäckström 82 22 66 88 +16 46 Alexander Semin 62 34 45 79 +25 77 Mike Green Mike Green (ice hockey, born 1985) 68 31 42 73 +24 68 Brooks Laich 82 23 30 53 -1 31 Viktor Kozlov 67 13 28 41 -9 16 Tomas Fleischmann Tomáš Fleischmann 73 19 18 37 -3 20 Sergei Fedorov 52 11 22 33 +4 50 Michael Nylander 72 9 24 33 0 32 Eric Fehr 61 12 13 25 +8 22 Dave Steckel 76 8 11 19 +2 34 Boyd Gordon 63 5 9 14 -4 16 Milan Jurcina Milan Jurčina 79 3 11 14 +1 68 Tom Poti 52 3 10 13 +3 28 Shaone Morrisonn 72 3 10 13 +4 77 Jeff Schultz 64 1 11 12 +13 21 Matt Bradley ice hockey, born 1978 81 5 6 11 -1 59 Chris Clark Chris Clark (ice hockey) 32 1 5 6 -3 32 Keith Aucoin 12 2 4 6 +5 4 Tyler Sloan 26 1 4 5 +4 14 Karl Alzner 30 1 4 5 -1 2 Donald Brashear 63 1 3 4 -6 121 John Erskine John Erskine (ice hockey) 52 0 4 4 +1 63 Sami Lepisto Sami Lepistö 7 0 4 4 -3 6 Bryan Helmer 12 0 3 3 -1 2 Brian Pothier 9 1 2 3 0 4 Alexandre Giroux 12 1 1 2 +4 10 Chris Bourque 8 1 0 1 0 0 Quintin Laing 1 0 0 0 +1 0 Graham Mink 2 0 0 0 0 0 Staffan Kronwall 3 0 0 0 -1 0 Andrew Gordon Andrew Gordon (ice hockey) 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jay Beagle 3 0 0 0 -3 2 Oskar Osala 2 0 0 0 -1 0 Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Alexander Ovechkin 14 11 10 21 +10 8 Nicklas Backstrom Nicklas Bäckström 14 3 12 15 +3 8 Alexander Semin 14 5 9 14 -1 16 Mike Green Mike Green (ice hockey, born 1985) 14 1 8 9 -5 12 Sergei Fedorov 14 1 7 8 +1 12 Tom Poti 14 2 5 7 +8 4 Brooks Laich 14 3 4 7 0 10 Matt Bradley ice hockey, born 1978 14 2 4 6 +3 0 Viktor Kozlov 14 4 2 6 +5 6 Dave Steckel 14 3 2 5 0 4 Tomas Fleischmann Tomáš Fleischmann 14 3 1 4 0 4 Boyd Gordon 14 0 3 3 -1 4 Brian Pothier 13 0 2 2 +1 8 Milan Jurcina Milan Jurčina 14 2 0 2 +6 12 Chris Clark Chris Clark (ice hockey) 8 1 0 1 -2 8 John Erskine John Erskine (ice hockey) 12 0 1 1 +1 16 Shaone Morrisonn 14 0 1 1 +1 8 Tyler Sloan 2 0 1 1 +1 0 Donald Brashear 4 0 0 0 0 18 Michael Nylander 3 0 0 0 -1 2 Eric Fehr 9 0 0 0 -3 0 Jeff Schultz 1 0 0 0 -1 0 Jay Beagle 4 0 0 0 -1 0 Goaltenders goalie Regular season Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Jose Theodore José Théodore 57 3286 32 17 5 157 2.87 1572 1415 .900 2 Brent Johnson 21 1131 12 6 2 53 2.81 579 526 .908 0 Semyon Varlamov 6 328 4 0 1 13 2.37 159 146 .918 0 Michal Neuvirth 5 219 2 1 0 11 3.00 102 91 .892 0 Playoffs Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Semyon Varlamov 13 758 7 6 32 2.53 389 357 .918 2 Jose Theodore José Théodore 2 96 0 1 6 3.72 33 27 .818 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. ‡Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record Awards and records Trophies and awards Alexander Ovechkin – Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) Alexander Ovechkin – Lester B. Pearson Award (Most Outstanding Player) Alexander Ovechkin – Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: (56 goals) Alexander Ovechkin – Kharlamov Trophy Alexander Ovechkin – NHL First All-Star Team Mike Green – NHL First All-Star Team Stars Alexander Semin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (October 2008) Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (November 2008) Nicklas Backstrom – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending November 28, 2008) Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending December 28, 2008) Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 1, 2009) Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 8, 2009) Records Mike Green – NHL-record 8-game goal-scoring streak by a defenseman Milestones Regular season Player Milestone Reached Brent Johnson 100th NHL win October 13, 2008 Sergei Fedorov 1200th NHL game October 16, 2008 Milan Jurcina 200th NHL game October 16, 2008 Tyler Sloan 1st NHL game October 21, 2008 Sergei Fedorov 474th NHL goal (most by a Russian-born player) October 25, 2008 Alexander Semin 200th NHL game October 25, 2008 Tyler Sloan 1st NHL goal October 25, 2008 Viktor Kozlov 500th NHL point November 14, 2008 Nicklas Backstrom 100th NHL game November 19, 2008 Karl Alzner 1st NHL game November 26, 2008 Alexander Ovechkin 200th NHL goal February 5, 2009 Mike Green 8-game goal-scoring streak by defenseman (NHL record) February 14, 2009 Transactions Trades June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick (21st overall) in 2008 – Anton Gustafsson To New Jersey Devils 1st-round pick (23rd overall) in 2008 – Tyler Cuma2nd-round pick in 2008 – Patrice Cormier June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick in 2008 – John Carlson To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Eminger3rd-round pick in 2008 – Jacob DeSerres Free agents Player Former team Contract terms Jose Theodore, G Colorado Avalanche $9 million, 2 yearsCapitals sign Theodore, Raycroft joins Avs Player New teamCristobal Huet,CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Chicago - Blackhawks and Cristobal Huet agree to four-year dealApril 2026 medicmedic G Chicago BlackhawksMatt Cooke,Penguins sign Cooke to two-year deal LW Pittsburgh PenguinsOlaf Kolzig, G Tampa Bay Lightning Claimed from waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers Staffan Kronwall, D Toronto Maple Leafs February 6, 2009 Draft picks Washington 's picks at the 2008 NHL entry drafthttp://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?page=DraftStats&service=page&supl=N&year=2008 NHL.com - Stats 2008-06-21 2008-06-21July 2026 medicmedic in Ottawa, Ontario. Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league) 1 21 (from New Jersey) Anton Gustafsson (C) Frölunda HC (Sweden Jr.) 1 27 (from Philadelphia) John Carlson (D) Indiana Ice (USHL) 2 57 (from San Jose) Eric Mestery (D) Tri-City Americans (WHL) 2 58 (from Philadelphia) Dmitri Kugryshev (RW) CSKA Moscow (RSL) 4 93 (from Los Angeles) Braden Holtby (G) Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 5 144 Joel Broda (C) Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) 6 174 Greg Burke (LW) New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) 7 204 Stefan Della Rovere (LW) Barrie Colts (OHL) See also 2008–09 NHL season Brett Leonhardt Farm teams Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. References Category:Washington Capitals seasons W Cap Cap