1994–95 Washington Capitals season

1994–95 Washington Capitals
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	6th Eastern
1994–95 record	22–18–8
Home record	15–6–3
Road record	7–12–5
Goals for	136
Goals against	120
Team information
General manager	David Poile
Coach	Jim Schoenfeld
Captain	Dale Hunter
Alternate captains	Calle Johansson Joe Juneau Michal Pivonka
Arena	USAir Arena
Average attendance	14,158
Minor league affiliate(s)	Portland Pirates Hampton Roads Admirals
Team leaders
Goals	Peter Bondra (34)
Assists	Joe Juneau (38)
Points	Peter Bondra (43) Joe Juneau
Penalty minutes	Craig Berube (173)
Plus/minus	Joe Reekie (+10)
Wins	Jim Carey (18)
Goals against average	Jim Carey (2.13)

The 1994–95 Washington Capitals season was the team's 21st season of play. After stumbling to a 3–10–5 record by February 28, the Capitals caught a break in bringing up 20-year-old rookie goaltender Jim Carey from the Portland Pirates for their March 2 game against the New York Islanders. The Capitals edged the Islanders 4–3 and Carey made 21 saves. Carey would finish his rookie season with an impressive 18–6–3 record, a 2.13 goals against average (GAA) and four shutouts. With the help of Carey's superb goaltending, Washington would go on to win 19 of their final 30 games and finish in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with a 22–18–8 record for 52 points. Peter Bondra had an excellent season, leading all NHL skaters in goals (34) and shorthanded goals (6).

Regular season

The Capitals tied the Buffalo Sabres for the most short-handed goals scored (13) and tied the St. Louis Blues for the fewest short-handed goals allowed (2) during the regular season.

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Philadelphia Flyers	48	28	16	4	150	132	60
2	5	New Jersey Devils	48	22	18	8	136	121	52
3	6	Washington Capitals	48	22	18	8	136	120	52
4	8	New York Rangers	48	22	23	3	139	134	47
5	9	Florida Panthers	48	20	22	6	115	127	46
6	12	Tampa Bay Lightning	48	17	28	3	120	144	37
7	13	New York Islanders	48	15	28	5	126	158	35

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Quebec Nordiques	NE	48	30	13	5	185	134	65
2	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	48	28	16	4	150	132	60
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	48	29	16	3	181	158	61
4	Boston Bruins	NE	48	27	18	3	150	127	57
5	New Jersey Devils	AT	48	22	18	8	136	121	52
6	Washington Capitals	AT	48	22	18	8	136	120	52
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	48	22	19	7	130	119	51
8	New York Rangers	AT	48	22	23	3	139	134	47
9	Florida Panthers	AT	48	20	22	6	115	127	46
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	48	19	24	5	127	141	43
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	48	18	23	7	125	148	43
12	Tampa Bay Lightning	AT	48	17	28	3	120	144	37
13	New York Islanders	AT	48	15	28	5	126	158	35
14	Ottawa Senators	NE	48	9	34	5	117	174	23

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals faced their old rivals from 1991, 1992 and 1994, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington had defeated Pittsburgh in the first round one year earlier and were hoping to do the same in 1995. The series started out well for the Capitals, as they defeated the Penguins 5–4 in the opening game. In Game 2, Washington held a 3–1 lead after two periods, but Pittsburgh scored four times in the third period to win 5–3 and tie the series at 1–1. Washington won Games 3 and 4 at home by identical scores of 6–2. The two teams skated to a 5–5 tie in Game 5, and with just 4:30 into the first overtime period, Luc Robitaille scored his fourth of the playoffs to keep the Penguins alive in the series. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens each scored twice in the game. Leading three games to two, the Capitals had a chance to eliminate the Penguins on home ice in Game 6, but goaltender Jim Carey struggled, allowing six goals on just 13 shots. Washington got only one shot (by Keith Jones) past Pittsburgh goaltender Ken Wregget, who made 30 saves. The Penguins went on to win the game 7–1 and tied the series at three games apiece. Jaromir Jagr, Luc Robitaille and Tomas Sandstrom each scored twice. In Game 7, Carey played better than he had in Game 6, stopping 15 of 17 shots, but Ken Wregget was solid again and stopped all 33 Washington shots to get the shutout. Troy Murray would add an empty-net goal to give Pittsburgh a 3–0 win and the series victory, four games to three. It was the second time in four years that the Penguins had defeated the Capitals after trailing 3–1 in a playoff series.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1994–95 regular season
January: 1–3–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 T January 21, 1995 1–1 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 0–0–1 Recap 2 L January 24, 1995 1–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) 0–1–1 Recap 3 L January 25, 1995 0–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 0–2–1 Recap 4 W January 27, 1995 5–2 New York Islanders (1994–95) 1–2–1 Recap 5 L January 29, 1995 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 1–3–1 Recap
February: 2–7–4 (home: 2–2–1; road: 0–5–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 6 L February 2, 1995 0–1 Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 1–4–1 Recap 7 W February 4, 1995 3–2 Florida Panthers (1994–95) 2–4–1 Recap 8 L February 7, 1995 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 2–5–1 Recap 9 L February 8, 1995 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1994–95) 2–6–1 Recap 10 T February 11, 1995 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) 2–6–2 Recap 11 L February 13, 1995 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 2–7–2 Recap 12 L February 15, 1995 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 2–8–2 Recap 13 W February 18, 1995 4–2 Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) 3–8–2 Recap 14 L February 20, 1995 0–2 New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 3–9–2 Recap 15 T February 23, 1995 5–5 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 3–9–3 Recap 16 T February 25, 1995 3–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 3–9–4 Recap 17 T February 26, 1995 1–1 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 3–9–5 Recap 18 L February 28, 1995 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 3–10–5 Recap
March: 11–2–2 (home: 6–1–2; road: 5–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 19 W March 2, 1995 4–3 @ New York Islanders (1994–95) 4–10–5 Recap 20 W March 4, 1995 5–1 Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 5–10–5 Recap 21 W March 5, 1995 4–2 New York Rangers (1994–95) 6–10–5 Recap 22 W March 7, 1995 3–1 @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) 7–10–5 Recap 23 T March 10, 1995 2–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 7–10–6 Recap 24 W March 12, 1995 3–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 8–10–6 Recap 25 W March 13, 1995 3–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 9–10–6 Recap 26 L March 16, 1995 1–5 @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) 9–11–6 Recap 27 W March 18, 1995 4–1 New York Rangers (1994–95) 10–11–6 Recap 28 W March 20, 1995 5–0 @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 11–11–6 Recap 29 W March 21, 1995 1–0 Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 12–11–6 Recap 30 T March 25, 1995 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 12–11–7 Recap 31 L March 26, 1995 3–4 OT Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 12–12–7 Recap 32 W March 29, 1995 4–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 13–12–7 Recap 33 W March 31, 1995 6–4 Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) 14–12–7 Recap
April: 7–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 34 W April 2, 1995 2–1 Boston Bruins (1994–95) 15–12–7 Recap 35 W April 4, 1995 5–4 @ New York Islanders (1994–95) 16–12–7 Recap 36 L April 8, 1995 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 16–13–7 Recap 37 L April 11, 1995 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 16–14–7 Recap 38 L April 12, 1995 1–2 New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 16–15–7 Recap 39 W April 14, 1995 3–0 Florida Panthers (1994–95) 17–15–7 Recap 40 L April 16, 1995 2–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) 17–16–7 Recap 41 L April 17, 1995 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 17–17–7 Recap 42 W April 21, 1995 6–3 Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 18–17–7 Recap 43 W April 22, 1995 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 19–17–7 Recap 44 L April 24, 1995 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1994–95) 19–18–7 Recap 45 W April 26, 1995 6–5 New York Islanders (1994–95) 20–18–7 Recap 46 W April 28, 1995 5–1 Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 21–18–7 Recap 47 T April 30, 1995 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) 21–18–8 Recap
May: 1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 48 W May 2, 1995 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 22–18–8 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Pittsburgh Penguins – Penguins win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 W May 6, 1995 5–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Capitals lead 1–0 Recap 2 L May 8, 1995 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 W May 10, 1995 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Capitals lead 2–1 Recap 4 W May 12, 1995 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Capitals lead 3–1 Recap 5 L May 14, 1995 5–6 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Capitals lead 3–2 Recap 6 L May 16, 1995 1–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Series tied 3–3 Recap 7 L May 18, 1995 0–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins win 4–3 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
12	Peter Bondra	RW	47	34	9	43	9	24	7	5	3	8	0	10
90	Joe Juneau	C	44	5	38	43	−1	8	7	2	6	8	−2	2
20	Michal Pivonka	C	46	10	23	33	3	50	7	1	4	5	2	21
6	Calle Johansson	D	46	5	26	31	−6	35	7	3	1	4	6	0
8	Dmitri Khristich	LW	48	12	14	26	0	41	7	1	4	5	4	0
22	Steve Konowalchuk	LW	46	11	14	25	7	44	7	2	5	7	2	12
10	Kelly Miller	LW	48	10	13	23	5	6	7	0	3	3	−2	4
32	Dale Hunter	C	45	8	15	23	−4	101	7	4	4	8	0	24
26	Keith Jones	RW	40	14	6	20	−2	65	7	4	4	8	−1	22
3	Sylvain Cote	D	47	5	14	19	2	53	7	1	3	4	−9	2
4	Jim Johnson	D	47	0	13	13	6	43	7	0	2	2	3	8
24	Mark Tinordi	D	42	3	9	12	−5	71	1	0	0	0	−2	2
9	Dave Poulin	C	29	4	5	9	2	10	2	0	0	0	−1	0
17	Sergei Gonchar	D	31	2	5	7	4	22	7	2	2	4	8	2
29	Joe Reekie	D	48	1	6	7	10	97	7	0	0	0	−4	2
27	Craig Berube	LW	43	2	4	6	−5	173	7	0	0	0	−3	29
25	Rob Pearson	RW	32	0	6	6	−6	96	3	1	0	1	0	17
2	Ken Klee	D	23	3	1	4	2	41	7	0	0	0	1	4
36	Mike Eagles†	C	13	1	3	4	2	8	7	0	2	2	1	4
14	Pat Peake	C	18	0	4	4	−6	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Jason Allison	C	12	2	1	3	−3	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Martin Gendron	RW	8	2	1	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	John Slaney	D	16	0	3	3	−3	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Kevin Kaminski	C	27	1	1	2	−6	102	5	0	0	0	−1	36
15	Jeff Nelson	C	10	1	0	1	−2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Rick Tabaracci‡	G	8	0	1	1		2	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Igor Ulanov†	D	3	0	1	1	3	2	2	0	0	0	0	4
18	Randy Burridge‡	LW	2	0	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Jim Carey	G	28	0	0	0		0	7	0	0	0		4
35	Byron Dafoe	G	4	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0
37	Olaf Kolzig	G	14	0	0	0		4	2	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Jim Carey	28	18	6	3	654	57	2.13	.913	4	1604	7	2	4	151	25	4.19	.834	0	358
37	Olaf Kolzig	14	2	8	2	305	30	2.49	.902	0	724	2	1	0	21	1	1.35	.952	0	44
35	Byron Dafoe	4	1	1	1	80	11	3.53	.863	0	187	1	0	0	3	1	3.00	.667	0	20
31	Rick Tabaracci‡	8	1	3	2	147	16	2.44	.891	0	394	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Jim Carey (Goaltender)
League (in-season)	NHL Player of the Month	Jim Carey (March)
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Jim Carey (March)

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Ken Klee	January 25, 1995
	Sergei Gonchar	February 7, 1995
	Jim Carey	March 2, 1995
	Jeff Nelson	March 5, 1995
	Martin Gendron	March 26, 1995
600th assist	Dale Hunter	January 27, 1995

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	Nolan Baumgartner	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
1	15	Alexander Kharlamov	Russia	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
2	41	Scott Cherrey	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
4	93	Matt Herr	United States	The Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT)
5	119	Yanick Jean	Canada	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
6	145	Dmitri Mekeshkin	Russia	Avangard Omsk (Russia)
7	171	Dan Reja	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
8	197	Chris Patrick	United States	Kent School (USHS-CT)
9	223	John Tuohy	United States	South Kent School (USHS-CT)
10	249	Richard Zednik	Slovakia	Banska Bystrica (Slovakia)
11	275	Sergei Tertyshny	Russia	Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia)

See also

• 1994–95 NHL season

References

• "Washington Capitals 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
• "1994-95 Washington Capitals Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2023.