It was another fun and exciting year for the Washington Capitals and their fans in 2017.  While the Capitals fell a bit short of their goal of winning the Stanley Cup, the Capitals provided plenty of great moments on and off the ice in 2017.  From magical goals to earth shattering hits, the Capitals gave fans plenty of awesome memories in the calendar year.

What were the top moments of the Washington Capitals in 2017?  What were the best goals, assists, and fights?  What other fun moments did the players give to the fans?

Let’s look at some of the Washington Capitals best moments of 2017:

BEST GOAL

Evgeny Kuznetsov had the tally of the year against the Oilers on October 28.  It was a wonderful individual effort, and it helped propel the Capitals to victory in this game.

BEST ASSIST

Nicklas Backstrom has the magic mits and eyes in the back of his head.  How did he even know Justin Williams was going to be there?  Magical, no-look pass to set up a sweet goal.  What makes it even sweeter is that it happened against the Flyers.

MILESTONE AWARDS

Nicklas Backstrom hit over 500 career assists earlier in 2017.  He was given a golden stick for his achievement.

Also on January 11, Alex Ovechkin hit the 1000-point plateau in a big win versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.

DIRTBAG OF THE YEAR

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri delivered a questionable hit to Alex Ovechkin’s knees during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  He was only given a 2-minute penalty.  You be the judge…

BEST GOALIE SLASH

While we just referred to Nazem Kadri has “Dirtbag of the Year,” Braden Holtby got a nice slash on him in Game 2 in the first-round matchup between the Leafs and Capitals.  Kadri even tried to sell the slash a bit.  Somewhere, Daniel Sedin smiled.

BEST HIT FROM OVI

Ovechkin loves to throw his weight around, and 2 Penguins players found that out the hard way all at once last season.

BEST HIT

Earlier this year, Brooks Orpik delivered a crushing hit to Devils forward Taylor Hall.  He hit him so hard, Hall’s stick snapped immediately.

BEST TOMMY TKO

Devils forward Blake Coleman found out the hard way why Tom Wilson is an expert at dropping the gloves.  This good old fashioned Stone Cold Steve Austin mugging that Tom Wilson produced is something that even Good Ol’ JR would be proud of.

BEST “LEFT HANGING” MOMENT

Evgeny Kuznetsov and Brett Connolly had a slight miscue on the bench for a celebratory goal fist bump.

BEST BURKY BEATDOWN

One player that is not accustomed to dropping the gloves is Andre Burakovsky.  Speaking of Blake Coleman, Burakovsky even wanted a piece of him after he delivered a questionable check to Dmitry Orlov.

BEST HOLIDAY CHEER

The Washington Capitals tried their best at some of the holiday tunes.  Even with the fancy holiday sweaters, they tried their best.

BEST GOAL SONG

The Capitals got a new goal song in 2017-18.  If you are familiar with the NXT brand in WWE, you will likely recognize that it is the theme for NXT superstar Oney Lorcan.

BEST GOAL CELEBRATION

Kuznetsov’s “bird flying” celebration has to be one of the most unique goal celebrations of all time.

By: George Foussekis