Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals hockey team, a member of the National Hockey League (NHL), was founded in 1974 as an expansion team. They play their home games at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., and have since 1997. Prior to that they played at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The history of the Washington Capitals, while not as long as some of the other teams in the NHL, has also been one of a not very successful team.

Their first play-off appearance was in 1983 and that began a 14 year string of playoff appearances. In the team's history they have made the playoffs 19 times, have been division champions five times, been in the conference finals twice, and only once made it to the Stanley Cup finals. Still, the Cup has eluded them. The addition of hockey star, Alexander Ovechkin during the 2004 draft heralded a new era, the "Ovechkin Era" for many Capitals fans. They would have to wait a season to see him play due to the lockout during the 04-05 season.

Since that time they have not been disappointed in his performance, though the performance of the team as a whole continued to frustrate. Things have been looking up in recent years with the team finishing with a record 108 points in the 2008-2009 season, though they lost in the conference semi-finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Washington Capitals continue to improve year after year and honor the four players whose numbers they have retired, as well as the four Hall of Fame members that have come from the team.