Since hoisting the 34.5-pound, or 15.5 kilograms, Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals have been on the losing end of the handshake line after Round 1 five consecutive times. As the Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens prepare for Game 5 at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night, here is a look at the Capitals’ most recent playoff losses and what might be different this time.
Capitals Swept Out of Postseason by New York Rangers Last Season
After missing the playoffs in 2022-23, the Capitals returned to the postseason by securing the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference on the last day of the 2023-24 season. The reward was a date with the top-seeded New York Rangers. It was an ugly series for head coach Spencer Carbery’s squad, as the Rangers established multi-goal leads several times in a four-game sweep of the Capitals.
Game 1 in Madison Square Garden started with a scoreless first period. The Rangers then scored three times on the way to a 4-1 win. In Game 2, the Rangers established a 2-1 first-period lead, a common theme for the remaining three games of the series. Dylan Strome’s power-play goal tied things early in the second period, but New York scored the following two goals and skated to a 4-3 win.
When the series shifted to Washington, the Rangers opened up a 2-1 lead and celebrated a 3-1 road victory in Game 3. There was a glimmer of hope in Game 4, following Hendrix Lapierre’s second-period goal, before Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal at 3:21 of the third period sealed Washington’s fate in a 4-2 loss as the Rangers claimed the Round 1 series.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin did not record a point in the series and shouldered plenty of blame for the quick exit. “It’s always tough to lose a series,” he said after Game 4. “We had pretty good chances. We just didn’t score. Our line didn’t score lots of goals. Blame me. I didn’t play well.”
Verhaeghe’s Overtime Goals Silenced Washington in 2022
In 2021-22, the Capitals held a slim 2-1 series lead before dropping three straight games to the Florida Panthers in Round 1. Washington stole Game 1 on the road with three unanswered goals in the third period. The Panthers claimed Game 2 with a 5-1 win, and Washington responded with a 6-1 win on home ice in Game 3.
It was a brutal exit for the Capitals with two overtime losses at Capital One Arena. Florida tied the series in Game 4 behind Carter Verhaeghe’s overtime game-winning goal. Five nights later, Verhaeghe scored a series-clinching OT goal in Game 6 that shattered Capitals fans’ hearts and sent the Panthers to Round 2.
Bruins Claim Close Series Over Capitals in 2021 Playoffs
Nic Dowd’s overtime goal provided a 3-2 win in Game 1 at Capital One Arena for the Capitals to kickstart the postseason. Unfortunately, it was Washington’s only series lead in the 2021 Playoffs. Taylor Hall scored a late third-period goal that forced Game 2 past regulation. The Boston Bruins won the game on Brad Marchand’s goal just 39 seconds into overtime for a 4-3 win and an even 1-1 series.
After both opening games in the series went to OT in Washington, one overtime session wasn’t enough for Game 3 at TD Garden. The Bruins sent the Boston crowd home happy following Craig Smith’s game-winner at 5:48 of double overtime.
DOUBLE OT WINNER FROM CRAIG SMITH!! 🐻 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/yeDVHt2anj
— NHL (@NHL) May 20, 2021
Boston jumped out to multi-goal leads over the next two games in the series as Washington failed to find their scoring touch against goaltender Tuukka Rask. Once again, it was the Capitals who were on their way out of the postseason.
Islanders Set Sails for Second Round in the Bubble
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL’s postseason schedule needed some tweaks before the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs began in mid-August. A three-game seeding round was added for every NHL team to provide a return to action and adequately align the field. Washington finished the seeding round with two wins and a loss before matching up with the New York Islanders in Round 1 of the 2020 Playoffs.
The Capitals struggled to score on Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, managing a paltry eight goals over a five-game series loss. Washington was very familiar with their opposing netminder in the series – they drafted Varlamov with the 23rd overall selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He won 30 games over three seasons in Washington before an offseason trade to the Colorado Avalanche in July 2011 netted the Capitals a first-round and a second-round draft choice in the 2012 Draft.
Capitals’ Last Closeout Game Occurred in the 2019 Playoffs
The defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals won their first three games in Washington during their Round 1 series against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2019, including a dominant 6-0 shutout in Game 5. However, they could not score a road win in Carolina, and the Hurricanes forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on April 24 at Capital One Arena.
The Capitals scored two first-period goals for a 2-0 advantage before the Hurricanes responded with Sebastian Aho’s short-handed goal, which sliced the lead midway through the second. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a few minutes later to provide another two-goal advantage for Washington at 3-1. Teuvo Teravainen scored with under four minutes left in the second period, and Jordan Staal tied the game at three early in the third period.
Washington and Carolina scrapped for the remaining 16 minutes of regulation before sending the game into overtime tied at three. The first overtime also ended in a stalemate before Hurricanes forward Brock McGinn redirected a puck past Braden Holtby at 11:05 of double overtime for a 4-3 Hurricanes victory in Game 7.
DOUBLE OT WIN FOR THE @NHLCanes FROM @BrockMcGinn21! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Ye1Yxly8kf
— NHL (@NHL) April 25, 2019
McGinn scored twice in the Round 1 series against Washington. He finished with two goals and four assists in 15 games for the Hurricanes during the 2019 Playoff run, but his most significant moment was his double-OT dagger against the Capitals.
Washington Must Avoid Slow Start in Game 5 This Season
The Capitals survived Game 4 in Montreal despite what the 5-2 final score might indicate. The contest was tied with under four minutes to play in regulation before Andrew Mangiapane’s goal at 16:23 broke the 2-2 deadlock. Brandon Duhaime and Tom Wilson added empty-net goals to seal the win.
Washington enters Game 5 with momentum in the series and with the home crowd behind them. The Capitals must come out strong to avoid the doubts of the past several first-round losses. The Canadiens have showcased an ability to control play in this series. An early Montreal goal (or two) on Wednesday would start that anxious chatter inside Capital One Arena from the fans who have seen that way-too-familiar scene play out too many times over the last decade.
