At the All-Star Break of the 2018-19 season, the Washington Capitals have played 50 games and have a 27-17-6 record.  They are currently in second place in the Metropolitan division and have lost their last seven games, a losing streak that includes two overtime losses.  NoVa Caps is now examining how the Caps were faring during previous All-Star breaks, including the team’s record, how they fared prior to the break, how they fared after the break, and how they ended the season.  This examination is limited to their performance during the “Rock The Red” era; i.e. the 2007-08 season and afterwards. 

2007-08 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2007-08 season, the Caps were 23-22-5 after 50 games played.  The Caps’ last opponent prior to the break was the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 24.  The Caps were in second place in the Southeast Division, a point behind division-leading Carolina, and were in tenth place in the Eastern Conference and out of playoff position.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 7-3-0, with three of those wins in either overtime or a shootout.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 5-4-1, which included three overtime wins.  Their final record was 43-31-8.  They ended up winning the Southeast Division title, were seeded third in the playoffs for their conference, and lost in Round 1 of the playoffs in a seven-game series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

2008-09 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2008-09 season, the Caps were 30-15-3 after 48 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a road game against the Ottawa Senators on January 20.  The Caps led the Southeast Division and had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, behind the Boston Bruins.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 6-4-0, with two of those wins in either overtime or a shootout.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 7-1-2, which included one overtime win.  Their final record was 50-24-8.  They ended up winning the Southeast Division title, were seeded second in the playoffs for their conference, won Round 1 of the playoffs in a seven-game series against the New York Rangers, and lost Round 2 of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2009-10 Season

There was no All-Star Break during the 2009-10 season because 2010 was an Olympic year. Players chosen for their nations’ Olympic teams would leave their NHL team to do so.  At the 50-game mark, roughly equivalent to the time-frame of a typical All-Star break, the Caps were 32-16-6 and had won five games in a row, as they were en route to their franchise record winning streak of 14 games.   Their 50^th game was against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 21.  At that point, they had the best record in the Eastern Conference but a worse record than two teams in the Western Conference.  At their actual breakpoint for the Olympics on February 13, the Caps were 41-13-8 and had just lost their last three games, which had occurred immediately after that 14-game winning streak.  They had the best record in the NHL.  Their final record was 54-15-13 which resulted in winning the Presidents’ Trophy.  The Caps were the top seed of the entire playoffs but lost a seven-game series in Round 1 to the Montreal Canadiens.

2010-11 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2010-11 season, the Caps were 27-15-9 after 51 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a road game against the Atlanta Thrashers on January 27.  The Caps were second place in the Southeast Division, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and had the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference, behind the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 4-3-3.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 5-4-1.  Their final record was 48-23-11.  They ended up winning the Southeast Division title and had the best record in the Eastern Conference and were seeded first in the playoffs for their conference.  They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a five-game series against the New York Rangers but lost Round 2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they got swept in four games.

2011-12 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2011-12 season, the Caps were 26-19-3 after 48 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a home game against the Boston Bruins on January 24.  The Caps were tied for first place in the Southeast Division with the Florida Panthers and were tied for sixth place in points in the Eastern Conference with the Panthers, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs and were behind the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, and Ottawa Senators.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 5-4-1.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 3-5-2.  Their final record was 42-32-8.  They ended up finishing second in the Southeast Division, behind Florida and had the sixth best record in the Eastern Conference. They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a seven-game series against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins but lost Round 2 of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in a seven-game series.

2012-13 Season

There was no All-Star game during the 2012-13 season due to the NHL Lockout that resulted in cancelling the 2012 portion of the season and only a 48-game schedule.

2013-14 Season

There was no All-Star Break during the 2013-14 season because 2014 was an Olympic year and players chosen for their nations’ Olympic teams would leave their NHL team to do so.  At the 50-game mark, roughly equivalent to the time frame of a typical All-Star break, the Caps were 22-20-8 and had lost six games in a row as they were en route to a seven-game losing streak.   Their 50^th game was against the Ottawa Senators on January 21.  At that point, they were in sixth place in the Metro Division.  At their actual breakpoint for the Olympics on February 8, the Caps were 27-23-9 and had just won their last two games.  They were tied for fourth place in the Metro Division in points but, due to games in hand, Columbus was ahead of them in the standings.  Their final record was 38-30-14 which was fifth in the Metropolitan Division and resulted in missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

 2014-15 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2014-15 season, the Caps were 24-13-9 after 46 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a home game against the Edmonton Oilers on January 20.  The Caps were in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, behind the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh Penguins.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 6-2-2.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 5-4-1.  Their final record was 45-26-11.  They ended up finishing second in the Metropolitan Division, behind the Rangers. They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a seven-game series against the New York Islanders but lost Round 2 to the New York Rangers in a seven-game series.

2015-16 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2015-16 season, the Caps were 35-8-4 after 47 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a home game against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 27.  The Caps led the Metropolitan Division with 74 points and had more points than any other team in the NHL.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 7-1-2.   Their schedule was anomalous in that they played a road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 19 but did not play against until January 27.  This was because they had two home games postponed because of a major snowstorm in the Washington DC area.  In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 8-2-0. Their final record was 56-18-8.  They ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy.  They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a six-game series against the Philadelphia Flyers but lost Round 2 of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a seven-game series.

 2016-17 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2016-17 season, the Caps were 33-10-6 after 49 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a home game against the New Jersey Devils on January 27.  The Caps led the Metropolitan Division with 72 points and had more points than any other team in the NHL.  In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 8-1-1.   In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 7-2-1. Their final record was 55-19-8.  They ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy.  They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a six-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs but lost Round 2 of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a seven-game series.

2017-18 Season

At the All-Star Break in the 2017-18 season, the Caps were 29-15-5 after 49 games played.  Their last opponent prior to the break was a road game against the Florida Panthers on January 25.  The Caps led the Metropolitan Division with 63 points and had the second-best record in their conference, after the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 6-2-2.   In the 10 games after the break, the Caps were 5-3-2. Their final record was 49-26-7.  They ended up winning the Metropolitan Division.  They won Round 1 of the playoffs in a six-game series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, won Round 2 against in a six-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, won the Conference Finals (Round 3) against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and won the Stanley Cup in six games.  The Capitals had won their first championship in their history.

2018-19 Season

At the All Star Break in the 2018-19 season, the Caps are 27-17-6 after 50 games played.  Their last opponent priot to the break was a road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 24.  The Caps are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 60 points and are three points behind the division leading New York Islanders who have 63 points.  They have the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference, behind the Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens.

In the 10 games prior to the break, the Caps were 3-5-2 and have lost seven games in a row, including two games in overtime.

By Diane Doyle