2020–21 Washington Capitals season

The 2020–21 Washington Capitals season was the 47th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[2] This was the first season for Peter Laviolette as head coach of the Capitals[3] after their former head coach Todd Reirden was fired from the team on August 23, 2020.[4] On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Capitals would play this season in the East Division and would play against only the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs.

2020–21 Washington Capitals
Division2nd East
2020–21 record36–15–5
Home record17–8–3
Road record19–7–2
Goals for191
Goals against163
Team information
General managerBrian MacLellan
CoachPeter Laviolette[1]
CaptainAlexander Ovechkin
Alternate captainsNicklas Backstrom
John Carlson
ArenaCapital One Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)Hershey Bears (AHL)
South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsAlexander Ovechkin (24)
AssistsNicklas Backstrom (38)
PointsNicklas Backstrom (53)
Penalty minutesTom Wilson (96)
Plus/minusDmitry Orlov (+16)
WinsVitek Vanecek (21)
Goals against averageCraig Anderson (2.13)

On April 29, the Capitals clinched a playoff berth after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[5] As a result of the Capitals winning in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers while the Penguins won in regulation against the Buffalo Sabres on May 8, the Penguins won the East division title,[6] and the Capitals failed to win the division for the first time since the 2014–15 season. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the First Round with a 3–1 loss to the Boston Bruins in game five on May 23.

Standings

Divisional standings
East Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL RW GF GA GD Pts
1 y – Pittsburgh Penguins 56 37 16 3 29 196 156 +40 77
2 x – Washington Capitals 56 36 15 5 29 191 163 +28 77
3 x – Boston Bruins 56 33 16 7 25 168 136 +32 73
4 x – New York Islanders 56 32 17 7 24 156 128 +28 71
5 e – New York Rangers 56 27 23 6 24 177 157 +20 60
6 e – Philadelphia Flyers 56 25 23 8 17 163 201 −38 58
7 e – New Jersey Devils 56 19 30 7 15 145 194 −49 45
8 e – Buffalo Sabres 56 15 34 7 11 138 199 −61 37
Source: National Hockey League[7]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[8]

2020–21 game log
January: 6–0–3 (Home: 4–0–1; Road: 2–0–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1January 14@ Buffalo6–4Samsonov01–0–02[9]
2January 15@ Buffalo2–1Vanecek02–0–04[10]
3January 17@ Pittsburgh3–4SOSamsonov02–0–15[11]
4January 19@ Pittsburgh4–5OTVanecek02–0–26[12]
5January 22Buffalo4–3SOVanecek03–0–28[13]
6January 24Buffalo3–4SOVanecek03–0–39[14]
7January 26NY Islanders3–2Vanecek04–0–311[15]
8January 28NY Islanders6–3Vanecek05–0–313[16]
9January 30Boston4–3OTVanecek06–0–315[17]
February: 6–5–1 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 3–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
10February 1Boston3–5Vanecek06–1–315[18]
11February 4@ NY Rangers2–4Vanecek06–2–315[19]
12February 7Philadelphia4–7Anderson06–3–315[20]
–February 9Philadelphia–Postponed due to COVID-19.[21] Rescheduled for April 13.[22]
–February 11@ Buffalo–Postponed due to COVID-19.[23] Rescheduled for March 15.[24]
–February 13@ Buffalo–Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 9.[24]
13February 14@ Pittsburgh3–6Vanecek06–4–315[25]
14February 16@ Pittsburgh3–1Vanecek07–4–317[26]
15[upper-alpha 1]February 18Buffalo3–1Vanecek08–4–319[28]
16February 20NY Rangers1–4Vanecek08–5–319[29]
17[upper-alpha 2]February 21New Jersey4–3Anderson09–5–321[30]
18February 23Pittsburgh2–3OTVanecek09–5–422[31]
19February 25Pittsburgh5–2Vanecek010–5–424[32]
20February 27@ New Jersey5–2Vanecek011–5–426[33]
21[upper-alpha 1]February 28@ New Jersey3–2Samsonov012–5–428[34]
March: 11–3–0 (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 5–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
22March 3@ Boston2–1SOVanecek013–5–430[35]
23March 5@ Boston1–5Vanecek013–6–430[36]
24[upper-alpha 2]March 7@ Philadelphia3–1Samsonov3,02314–6–432[37]
25March 9New Jersey5–4OTVanecek015–6–434[38]
26March 11@ Philadelphia5–3Samsonov2,80716–6–436[39]
27March 13@ Philadelphia5–4Samsonov3,08317–6–438[40]
28March 15@ Buffalo6–0Vanecek018–6–440[41]
29March 16NY Islanders3–1Samsonov019–6–442[42]
30March 19NY Rangers2–1Vanecek020–6–444[43]
31[upper-alpha 2]March 20NY Rangers1–3Samsonov020–7–444[44]
32March 25New Jersey4–3Vanecek021–7–446[45]
33March 26New Jersey4–0Samsonov022–7–448[46]
34March 28NY Rangers5–4Samsonov023–7–450[47]
35March 30@ NY Rangers2–5Vanecek1,76123–8–450[48]
April: 9–5–1 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 7–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
36April 1@ NY Islanders4–8Samsonov1,40023–9–450[49]
37April 2@ New Jersey2–1OTVanecek3,60024–9–452[50]
38April 4@ New Jersey5–4Samsonov3,60025–9–454[51]
39April 6@ NY Islanders0–1Vanecek1,40025–10–454[52]
40April 8Boston2–4Samsonov025–11–454[53]
41April 9@ Buffalo4–3Vanecek—[lower-alpha 1]26–11–456[54]
42[upper-alpha 3]April 11@ Boston8–1Vanecek2,19127–11–458[56]
43April 13Philadelphia6–1Samsonov028–11–460[57]
44April 15Buffalo2–5Vanecek028–12–460[58]
45April 17@ Philadelphia6–3Samsonov3,43029–12–462[59]
46April 18@ Boston3–6Vanecek2,19129–13–462[60]
47April 22@ NY Islanders1–0SOSamsonov1,40030–13–464[61]
48April 24@ NY Islanders6–3Samsonov1,40031–13–466[62]
49[upper-alpha 2]April 27NY Islanders1–0Vanecek2,13332–13–468[63]
50April 29Pittsburgh4–5OTVanecek2,13332–13–569[64]
May: 4–2–0 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 2–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
51May 1Pittsburgh0–3Samsonov2,13332–14–569[65]
52May 3@ NY Rangers6–3Vanecek1,80033–14–571[66]
53May 5@ NY Rangers4–2Vanecek1,80034–14–573[67]
54May 7Philadelphia2–4Vanecek2,13334–15–573[68]
55May 8Philadelphia2–1OTAnderson2,13335–15–575[69]
56[upper-alpha 3]May 11Boston2–1Vanecek2,13336–15–577[70]

  Win (2 Points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Playoffs
Main article: 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs
2021 Stanley Cup playoffs
East Division First Round vs. (E3) Boston Bruins: Boston won 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 15Boston3–2OTAnderson5,3331–0[71]
2May 17Boston3–4OTAnderson5,3331–1[72]
3May 19@ Boston2–32OTSamsonov4,5651–2[73]
4May 21@ Boston1–4Samsonov4,5651–3[74]
5May 23Boston1–3Samsonov5,3331–4[75]

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders
Regular season[78]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Vitek Vanecek37362,115:2921104952.691,031.9082000
Ilya Samsonov19181,092:491341492.69499.9022010
Craig Anderson42168:4421062.1371.9150000
Playoffs[79]
Player GP GS TOI W L GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Craig Anderson21112:101152.6770.9290000
Ilya Samsonov33200:5503102.9999.8990000
Vitek Vanecek1113:100014.564.7500000

†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.

Draft picks
See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks

Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 6–7, 2020 the draft was held virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 22 Hendrix Lapierre C Canada Canada Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
4 117 Bogdan Trineyev RW Russia Russia Dynamo Moscow 2 (MHL)
5 148 Bear Hughes D United States United States Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
6 179 Garin Bjorklund G Canada Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7 211 Oskar Magunsson LW Sweden Sweden Malmö Redhawks (SHL)

References
  1. "Capitals Name Peter Laviolette Head Coach". NHL.com. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. National Hockey League (2012). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2013. Triumph Books. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-60078-785-0.
  3. Kaplan, Emily (September 15, 2020). "Peter Laviolette named head coach of Washington Capitals". ESPN.com. ESPN Enterprises. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. Gulitti, Tom (August 23, 2020). "Reirden fired as Capitals coach after another loss in Eastern First Round". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  5. "Penguins, Capitals each clinch playoff berth in OT game". NHL.com. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  6. "Penguins Clinch East Division Title". NHL.com. May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
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Notes
  1. Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.
  1. The following games have been rescheduled:[27]
    • Buffalo at Washington originally scheduled for April 13, is now scheduled for February 18.
    • Washington at New Jersey originally scheduled for March 1, is now scheduled for February 28.
  2. The following games have been rescheduled:[24]
    • New Jersey at Washington originally scheduled for March 7, is now scheduled for February 21.
    • Washington at Philadelphia originally scheduled for April 27, is now scheduled for March 7.
    • NY Rangers at Washington originally scheduled for February 21, is now scheduled for March 20.
    • NY Islanders at Washington originally scheduled for March 15, is now scheduled for April 27.
  3. The following games have been rescheduled:[55]
    • Washington at Boston originally scheduled for April 20, is now scheduled for April 11.
    • Boston at Washington originally scheduled for April 10, was moved to April 11,[24] is now scheduled for May 11.
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