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

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

|1||January 21, 1995||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) ||0–0–1 ||

|2||January 24, 1995||1–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||0–1–1 ||

|3||January 25, 1995||0–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||0–2–1 ||

|4||January 27, 1995||5–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1994–95) ||1–2–1 ||

|5||January 29, 1995||1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||1–3–1 ||

|6||February 2, 1995||0–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||1–4–1 ||

|7||February 4, 1995||3–2 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||2–4–1 ||

|8||February 7, 1995||1–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||2–5–1 ||

|9||February 8, 1995||4–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1994–95) ||2–6–1 ||

|10||February 11, 1995||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||2–6–2 ||

|11||February 13, 1995||3–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||2–7–2 ||

|12||February 15, 1995||2–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||2–8–2 ||

|13||February 18, 1995||4–2 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||3–8–2 ||

|14||February 20, 1995||0–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||3–9–2 ||

|15||February 23, 1995||5–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||3–9–3 ||

|16||February 25, 1995||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||3–9–4 ||

|17||February 26, 1995||1–1 OT|| align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||3–9–5 ||

|18||February 28, 1995||2–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||3–10–5 ||

|19||March 2, 1995||4–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1994–95) ||4–10–5 ||

|20||March 4, 1995||5–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||5–10–5 ||

|21||March 5, 1995||4–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1994–95) ||6–10–5 ||

|22||March 7, 1995||3–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||7–10–5 ||

|23||March 10, 1995||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||7–10–6 ||

|24||March 12, 1995||3–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||8–10–6 ||

|25||March 13, 1995||3–0 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||9–10–6 ||

|26||March 16, 1995||1–5 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||9–11–6 ||

|27||March 18, 1995||4–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1994–95) ||10–11–6 ||

|28||March 20, 1995||5–0 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) ||11–11–6 ||

|29||March 21, 1995||1–0 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||12–11–6 ||

|30||March 25, 1995||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||12–11–7 ||

|31||March 26, 1995||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1994–95) ||12–12–7 ||

|32||March 29, 1995||4–2 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||13–12–7 ||

|33||March 31, 1995||6–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||14–12–7 ||

|34||April 2, 1995||2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||15–12–7 ||

|35||April 4, 1995||5–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1994–95) ||16–12–7 ||

|36||April 8, 1995||1–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||16–13–7 ||

|37||April 11, 1995||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||16–14–7 ||

|38||April 12, 1995||1–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||16–15–7 ||

|39||April 14, 1995||3–0 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||17–15–7 ||

|40||April 16, 1995||2–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||17–16–7 ||

|41||April 17, 1995||2–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||17–17–7 ||

|42||April 21, 1995||6–3 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1994–95) ||18–17–7 ||

|43||April 22, 1995||2–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||19–17–7 ||

|44||April 24, 1995||4–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1994–95) ||19–18–7 ||

|45||April 26, 1995||6–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1994–95) ||20–18–7 ||

|46||April 28, 1995||5–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||21–18–7 ||

|47||April 30, 1995||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||21–18–8 ||

|48||May 2, 1995||7–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||22–18–8 ||

Legend:

Playoffs

| 1 || May 6, 1995 || 5–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Capitals lead 1–0 ||

| 2 || May 8, 1995 || 3–5 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Series tied 1–1 ||

| 3 || May 10, 1995 || 6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Capitals lead 2–1 ||

| 4 || May 12, 1995 || 6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Capitals lead 3–1 ||

| 5 || May 14, 1995 || 5–6 OT || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Capitals lead 3–2 ||

| 6 || May 16, 1995 || 1–7 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Series tied 3–3 ||

| 7 || May 18, 1995 || 0–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Penguins win 4–3 ||

Legend:

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. Player Regular season Playoffs 12 RW 47 34 9 43 9 24 7 5 3 8 0 10 90 C 44 5 38 43 −1 8 7 2 6 8 −2 2 20 C 46 10 23 33 3 50 7 1 4 5 2 21 6 D 46 5 26 31 −6 35 7 3 1 4 6 0 8 LW 48 12 14 26 0 41 7 1 4 5 4 0 22 LW 46 11 14 25 7 44 7 2 5 7 2 12 10 LW 48 10 13 23 5 6 7 0 3 3 −2 4 32 C 45 8 15 23 −4 101 7 4 4 8 0 24 26 RW 40 14 6 20 −2 65 7 4 4 8 −1 22 3 D 47 5 14 19 2 53 7 1 3 4 −9 2 4 D 47 0 13 13 6 43 7 0 2 2 3 8 24 D 42 3 9 12 −5 71 1 0 0 0 −2 2 9 C 29 4 5 9 2 10 2 0 0 0 −1 0 17 D 31 2 5 7 4 22 7 2 2 4 8 2 29 D 48 1 6 7 10 97 7 0 0 0 −4 2 27 LW 43 2 4 6 −5 173 7 0 0 0 −3 29 25 RW 32 0 6 6 −6 96 3 1 0 1 0 17 2 D 23 3 1 4 2 41 7 0 0 0 1 4 36 C 13 1 3 4 2 8 7 0 2 2 1 4 14 C 18 0 4 4 −6 12 41 C 12 2 1 3 −3 6 34 RW 8 2 1 3 3 2 28 D 16 0 3 3 −3 6 23 C 27 1 1 2 −6 102 5 0 0 0 −1 36 15 C 10 1 0 1 −2 2 31 G 8 0 1 1 2 44 D 3 0 1 1 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 18 LW 2 0 0 0 0 2 30 G 28 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 4 35 G 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 37 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. Player Regular season Playoffs 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 TypeAward/honorRecipientRef 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 MilestonePlayerDateRef 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)110Nolan BaumgartnerKamloops Blazers (WHL)115Alexander KharlamovCSKA Moscow (Russia)241Scott CherreyNorth Bay Centennials (OHL)493Matt HerrThe Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT)5119Yanick JeanChicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)6145Dmitri MekeshkinAvangard Omsk (Russia)7171Dan RejaLondon Knights (OHL)8197Chris PatrickKent School (USHS-CT)9223John TuohySouth Kent School (USHS-CT)10249Richard ZednikBanska Bystrica (Slovakia)11275Sergei TertyshnyTraktor Chelyabinsk (Russia)

See also 1994–95 NHL season

References