2013–14 Washington Capitals season

The 2013–14 Washington Capitals season was the 40th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. The Capitals failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2006–07 season, ending their six-season playoff streak. During this season, the Capitals also set the current NHL record for total shootouts in a season with 21 out of possible 82 games. This would be the last season the Capitals failed to make the playoffs until 2023.

2013–14 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Metropolitan
Conference	9th Eastern
2013–14 record	38–30–14
Home record	21–13–7
Road record	17–17–7
Goals for	235
Goals against	240
Team information
General manager	George McPhee
Coach	Adam Oates
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom Mike Green Brooks Laich
Arena	Verizon Center
Average attendance	18,054 (96.3%) (41 games)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) Reading Royals (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (51)
Assists	Nicklas Backstrom (61)
Points	Nicklas Backstrom Alexander Ovechkin (79)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (151)
Plus/minus	Steve Oleksy Joel Ward (+7)
Wins	Braden Holtby (23)
Goals against average	Jaroslav Halak (2.31)

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	51	24	7	44	249	207	+42	109
2	x – New York Rangers	82	45	31	6	41	218	193	+25	96
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	30	10	39	236	235	+1	94
4	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	43	32	7	38	231	216	+15	93
5	Washington Capitals	82	38	30	14	28	235	240	−5	90
6	New Jersey Devils	82	35	29	18	35	197	208	−11	88
7	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	34	207	230	−23	83
8	New York Islanders	82	34	37	11	25	225	267	−42	79

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	43	32	7	38	231	216	+15	93
2	AT	x – Detroit Red Wings	82	39	28	15	34	222	230	−8	93
3	ME	Washington Capitals	82	38	30	14	28	235	240	−5	90
4	ME	New Jersey Devils	82	35	29	18	35	197	208	−11	88
5	AT	Ottawa Senators	82	37	31	14	30	236	265	−29	88
6	AT	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	38	36	8	29	231	256	−25	84
7	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	34	207	230	−23	83
8	ME	New York Islanders	82	34	37	11	25	225	267	−42	79
9	AT	Florida Panthers	82	29	45	8	21	196	268	−72	66
10	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	21	51	10	14	157	248	−91	52

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Pre-season

2013 Pre-Season Game Log: 4–0–4 (Home: 2–0–2 ; Road: 2–0–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1[a]	September 14	Washington	4–3	Winnipeg	SO	Grubauer	3,257	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 16	Washington	4–3	Philadelphia	SO	Leggio	19,142	2–0–0	Recap
3[b]	September 17	Boston	3–2	Washington	SO	Grubauer	11,286	2–0–1	Recap
4	September 20	Chicago	5–4	Washington	SO	Leggio	17,047	2–0–2	Recap
5	September 23	Washington	2–3	Boston	OT	Holtby	17,006	2–0–3	Recap
6	September 25	Nashville	1–4	Washington		Neuvirth	16,748	3–0–3	Recap
7	September 27	Philadelphia	3–6	Washington		Neuvirth	17,121	4–0–3	Recap
8	September 28	Washington	3–4	Chicago	OT	Holtby	20,650	4–0–4	Recap
Notes: a Game was played at Yardmen Arena in Belleville, Ontario. b Game was played at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Regular season

2013–14 game log
October: 5–7–0 (Home: 3–3–0 ; Road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 1 Washington 4–6 Chicago Holtby 22,158 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 3 Calgary 4–5 Washington SO Neuvirth 18,506 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 5 Washington 1–2 Dallas Holtby 17,200 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 10 Carolina 3–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 October 12 Colorado 5–1 Washington Neuvirth 18,506 1–4–0 2 Recap 6 October 14 Edmonton 2–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–4–0 4 Recap 7 October 16 NY Rangers 2–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 2–5–0 4 Recap 8 October 19 Columbus 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 3–5–0 6 Recap 9 October 22 Washington 5–4 Winnipeg SO Holtby 15,004 4–5–0 8 Recap 10 October 24 Washington 4–1 Edmonton Holtby 16,839 5–5–0 10 Recap 11 October 26 Washington 2–5 Calgary Holtby 19,289 5–6–0 10 Recap 12 October 28 Washington 2–3 Vancouver Neuvirth 18,910 5–7–0 10 Recap
November: 9–4–2 (Home: 6–3–0 ; Road: 3–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Washington 7–0 Philadelphia Holtby 19,702 6–7–0 12 Recap 14 November 2 Florida 2–3 Washington SO Neuvirth 18,506 7–7–0 14 Recap 15 November 5 NY Islanders 2–6 Washington Holtby 18,506 8–7–0 16 Recap 16 November 7 Minnesota 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 9–7–0 18 Recap 17 November 9 Washington 3–4 Phoenix SO Neuvirth 16,106 9–7–1 19 Recap 18 November 10 Washington 1–4 Colorado Holtby 17,625 9–8–1 19 Recap 19 November 12 Columbus 3–4 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 10–8–1 21 Recap 20 November 15 Washington 4–3 Detroit SO Holtby 20,066 11–8–1 23 Recap 21 November 17 St. Louis 1–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 12–8–1 25 Recap 22 November 20 Pittsburgh 4–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 12–9–1 25 Recap 23 November 22 Montreal 3–2 Washington Neuvirth 18,506 12–10–1 25 Recap 24 November 23 Washington 1–2 Toronto SO Holtby 19,473 12–10–2 26 Recap 25 November 27 Ottawa 6–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 12–11–2 26 Recap 26 November 29 Montreal 2–3 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 13–11–2 28 Recap 27 November 30 Washington 3–2 NY Islanders OT Holtby 14,819 14–11–2 30 Recap
December: 6–4–3 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 28 December 3 Carolina 4–1 Washington Holtby 18,506 14–12–2 30 Recap 29 December 7 Nashville 2–5 Washington Holtby 18,506 15–12–2 32 Recap 30 December 8 Washington 4–1 NY Rangers Grubauer 18,006 16–12–2 34 Recap 31 December 10 Tampa Bay 5–6 Washington SO Grubauer 18,506 17–12–2 36 Recap 32 December 13 Washington 2–3 Florida SO Grubauer 15,097 17–12–3 37 Recap 33 December 15 Philadelphia 4–5 Washington SO Grubauer 18,506 18–12–3 39 Recap 34 December 17 Washington 2–5 Philadelphia Holtby 19,788 18–13–3 39 Recap 35 December 20 Washington 4–2 Carolina Grubauer 17,737 19–13–3 41 Recap 36 December 21 New Jersey 5–4 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 19–13–4 42 Recap 37 December 23 Anaheim 3–2 Washington Grubauer 18,506 19–14–4 42 Recap 38 December 27 NY Rangers 2–3 Washington Grubauer 18,506 20–14–4 44 Recap 39 December 29 Washington 1–2 Buffalo SO Grubauer 19,070 20–14–5 45 Recap 40 December 30 Washington 1–3 Ottawa Grubauer 20,193 20–15–5 45 Recap
January: 4–7–4 (Home: 1–1–3 ; Road: 3–6–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 2 Carolina 4–3 Washington OT Grubauer 18,506 20–15–6 46 Recap 42 January 4 Washington 3–5 Minnesota Holtby 19,022 20–16–6 46 Recap 43 January 9 Washington 4–3 Tampa Bay Grubauer 19,204 21–16–6 48 Recap 44 January 10 Toronto 2–3 Washington Neuvirth 18,506 22–16–6 50 Recap 45 January 12 Buffalo 2–1 Washington SO Grubauer 18,506 22–16–7 51 Recap 46 January 14 San Jose 2–1 Washington SO Grubauer 18,506 22–16–8 52 Recap 47 January 15 Washington 3–4 Pittsburgh Neuvirth 18,667 22–17–8 52 Recap 48 January 17 Washington 1–5 Columbus Grubauer 14,121 22–18–8 52 Recap 49 January 19 Washington 1–4 NY Rangers Grubauer 18,006 22–19–8 52 Recap 50 January 21 Ottawa 2–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 22–20–8 52 Recap 51 January 24 Washington 1–2 New Jersey Neuvirth 15,742 22–21–8 52 Recap 52 January 25 Washington 5–0 Montreal Holtby 21,273 23–21–8 54 Recap 53 January 28 Washington 5–4 Buffalo OT Holtby 18,923 24–21–8 56 Recap 54 January 30 Washington 2–5 Columbus Holtby 16,047 24–22–8 56 Recap 55 January 31 Washington 3–4 Detroit SO Neuvirth 20,066 24–22–9 57 Recap
February: 4–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 1–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 56 February 2 Detroit 5–6 Washington OT Neuvirth 18,506 25–22–9 59 Recap 57 February 4 NY Islanders 1–0 Washington Neuvirth 18,506 25–23–9 59 Recap 58 February 6 Winnipeg 2–4 Washington Holtby 18,506 26–23–9 61 Recap 59 February 8 New Jersey 0–3 Washington Holtby 18,506 27–23–9 63 Recap 60 February 27 Washington 5–4 Florida Holtby 14,180 28–23–9 65 Recap
March: 6–5–4 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 3–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 61 March 1 Washington 4–2 Boston Holtby 17,565 29–23–9 67 Recap 62 March 2 Philadelphia 5–4 Washington OT Holtby 18,506 29–23–10 68 Recap 63 March 5 Washington 4–6 Philadelphia Grubauer 19,919 29–24–10 68 Recap 64 March 6 Washington 0–3 Boston Holtby 17,565 29–25–10 68 Recap 65 March 8 Phoenix 2–3 Washington Halak 18,506 30–25–10 70 Recap 66 March 10 Pittsburgh 3–2 Washington Halak 18,506 30–26–10 70 Recap 67 March 11 Washington 0–2 Pittsburgh Halak 18,646 30–27–10 70 Recap 68 March 14 Vancouver 3–4 Washington Halak 18,506 31–27–10 72 Recap 69 March 16 Toronto 2–4 Washington Halak 18,506 32–27–10 74 Recap 70 March 18 Washington 3–2 Anaheim Halak 17,174 33–27–10 76 Recap 71 March 20 Washington 1–2 Los Angeles SO Halak 18,118 33–27–11 77 Recap 72 March 22 Washington 3–2 San Jose SO Holtby 17,562 34–27–11 79 Recap 73 March 25 Los Angeles 5–4 Washington SO Halak 18,506 34–27–12 80 Recap 74 March 29 Boston 4–2 Washington Holtby 18,506 34–28–12 80 Recap 75 March 30 Washington 3–4 Nashville SO Halak 16,553 34–28–13 81 Recap
April: 4–2–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 3–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 76 April 1 Dallas 5–0 Washington Holtby 18,506 34–29–13 81 Recap 77 April 4 Washington 1–2 New Jersey Halak 15,218 34–30–13 81 Recap 78 April 5 Washington 4–3 NY Islanders SO Holtby 16,008 35–30–13 83 Recap 79 April 8 Washington 4–1 St. Louis Holtby 17,447 36–30–13 85 Recap 80 April 10 Washington 5–2 Carolina Holtby 15,735 37–30–13 87 Recap 81 April 11 Chicago 0–4 Washington Halak 18,506 38–30–13 89 Recap 82 April 13 Tampa Bay 1–0 Washington SO Holtby 18,506 38–30–14 90 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Alexander Ovechkin	78	51	28	79	−35	48
Nicklas Backstrom	82	18	61	79	−20	54
Joel Ward	82	24	25	49	7	32
Marcus Johansson	80	8	36	44	−21	4
Troy Brouwer	82	25	18	43	−6	92
Jason Chimera	82	15	27	42	4	36
Mike Green	70	9	29	38	−16	64
John Carlson	82	10	27	37	−3	22
Mikhail Grabovski	58	13	22	35	6	26
Eric Fehr	73	13	18	31	0	32
Martin Erat‡	53	1	23	24	1	22
Karl Alzner	82	2	16	18	−7	26
Brooks Laich	51	8	7	15	−7	16
Dmitry Orlov	54	3	8	11	−1	19
Tom Wilson	82	3	7	10	1	151
Steve Oleksy	33	2	8	10	7	53
Jay Beagle	62	4	5	9	−9	28
Evgeny Kuznetsov	17	3	6	9	−2	6
Nate Schmidt	29	2	4	6	4	6
Connor Carrick	34	1	5	6	−9	23
Michael Latta	17	1	3	4	0	12
John Erskine	37	1	3	4	−5	56
Casey Wellman	13	2	1	3	3	0
Dustin Penner†	18	1	2	3	3	2
Patrick Wey	9	0	3	3	0	5
Aaron Volpatti	41	2	0	2	−3	49
Alexander Urbom‡	20	1	1	2	1	19
Julien Brouillette	10	1	1	2	3	0
Chris Brown	6	1	1	2	0	0
Tyson Strachan	18	0	2	2	−2	28
Jack Hillen	13	0	1	1	−4	4
Ryan Stoa	3	0	0	0	−1	0
Peter LeBlanc	1	0	0	0	0	0
Nicolas Deschamps	3	0	0	0	−1	0
Cameron Schilling	1	0	0	0	−2	0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	48	45	2,656:20	23	15	4	126	2.85	1475	0.915	4	0	2	7
Philipp Grubauer	17	14	883:23	6	5	5	35	2.38	469	0.925	0	0	0	0
Michal Neuvirth‡	13	11	766:57	4	6	2	36	2.82	383	0.914	0	0	1	0
Jaroslav Halak†	12	12	700:32	5	4	3	27	2.31	383	0.930	1	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2013–14 season.

Trades

June 30, 2013	To Winnipeg Jets 3rd-round pick in 2013 4th-round pick in 2013 CGY's 5th-round pick in 2013	To Washington Capitals CHI's 2nd-round pick in 2013
September 29, 2013	To Anaheim Ducks Mathieu Perreault	To Washington Capitals John Mitchell 4th-round pick in 2014
March 4, 2014	To Anaheim Ducks ANA's 4th-round pick in 2014	To Washington Capitals Dustin Penner
March 4, 2014	To Phoenix Coyotes Martin Erat John Mitchell	To Washington Capitals Chris Brown Rostislav Klesla 4th-round pick in 2015
March 5, 2014	To Buffalo Sabres Michal Neuvirth Rostislav Klesla	To Washington Capitals Jaroslav Halak 3rd-round pick in 2015
April 19, 2014	To Nashville Predators Jaynen Rissling	To Washington Capitals 7th-round pick in 2014
May 1, 2014	To New York Islanders Jaroslav Halak	To Washington Capitals CHI's 4th-round pick in 2014

Free agents acquired

Player	Former team	Contract terms
David Kolomatis	Manchester Monarchs	1 year, $550,000
Tyson Strachan	Florida Panthers	1 year, $550,000
Matt Watkins	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	1 year, $550,000
David Leggio	Rochester Americans	1 year, $550,000
Brandon Segal	Connecticut Whale	1 year, $550,000
Mikhail Grabovski	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 year, $3 million
Pheonix Copley	Michigan Tech	2 years, $1.41 million entry-level contract

Free agents lost

Player	New team	Contract terms
Wojtek Wolski	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	undisclosed
Dany Sabourin	Graz 99ers	undisclosed
Jeff Schultz	Los Angeles Kings	1 year, $700,000
Matt Hendricks	Nashville Predators	4 years, $7.4 million
Mike Ribeiro	Phoenix Coyotes	4 years, $22 million
Joey Crabb	Florida Panthers	2 years, $1.2 million

Claimed via waivers

Player	Previous team	Date
Alexander Urbom	New Jersey Devils	October 3, 2013

Lost via waivers

Player	New team	Date
Alexander Urbom	New Jersey Devils	January 8, 2014

Player signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Tomas Kundratek	July 2, 2013	2 years, $1.1 million
Karl Alzner	July 10, 2013	4 years, $11.2 million
Peter LeBlanc	July 10, 2013	1 year, $550,000
Nicolas Deschamps	July 22, 2013	1 year, $726,000
Andre Burakovsky	September 4, 2013	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
Marcus Johansson	September 7, 2013	2 years, $4 million
Connor Carrick	September 23, 2013	3 years, $2.35 million entry-level contract
Jason Chimera	November 8, 2013	2 years, $4 million contract extension
Evgeny Kuznetsov	March 8, 2014	2 years, $1.8 million entry-level contract
Dmitry Orlov	March 13, 2014	2 years, $4 million contract extension
Caleb Herbert	March 21, 2014	2 years, $1.48 million entry-level contract
Chandler Stephenson	April 12, 2014	3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract
Garrett Mitchell	May 13, 2014	1 year, $550,000
Christian Djoos	May 16, 2014	3 years, $2.135 million entry-level contract

Draft picks

See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks

Washington Capitals' picks at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, which was held in Newark, New Jersey on June 30, 2013.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	23	Andre Burakovsky	LW	Sweden	Malmö Redhawks (Swe-2)
2	53	Madison Bowey	D	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
3	61[a]	Zach Sanford	LW	United States	Islanders Hockey Club (EJHL)
5	144	Blake Heinrich	D	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
6	174	Brian Pinho	C	United States	St. John's Prep Eagles (USHS-MA)
7	204	Tyler Lewington	D	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

Draft notes

• ^a The Chicago Blackhawks' second-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013, that sent Washington's third and fourth-round picks in 2013 (84th and 114th overall) and Calgary's fifth-round pick in 2013 (127th overall) to Winnipeg in exchange for this pick.
       Winnipeg previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013 that sent Johnny Oduya to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's third-round pick in 2013 and this pick.
• The Washington Capitals' third-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013, that sent Chicago's second-round pick in 2013 (61st overall) to Washington in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2013 (114th overall), Calgary's fifth-round pick in 2013 (127th overall) and this pick.
• The Washington Capitals' fourth-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013, that sent Chicago's second-round pick in 2013 (61st overall) to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 2013 (84th overall), Calgary's fifth-round pick in 2013 (127th overall) and this pick.
• The Calgary Flames' fifth-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 30, 2013, that sent Chicago's second-round pick in 2013 (61st overall) to Washington in exchange for a third and fourth-round pick in 2013 (84th and 114th overall) and this pick.
       Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 27, 2012, that sent Dennis Wideman to Calgary in exchange for Jordan Henry and this pick.