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This past decade was one that Washington Capitals fans will remember for the rest of their lives with nine Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, three Presidents’ Trophies, and one Stanley Cup under their belt. In the closing hours of the decade, NoVa Caps looks at some of the best Capitals hits of the decade.

Alex Ovechkin Puts P.K. Subban On His Back And Lays Him Down

As 2010 Stanley Cup rivals squared off in a tight game, Ovechkin tried to swing the momentum for his team with a huge open-ice hit on the Montreal Canadiens’ star defenseman and would draw a power-play when Subban retaliated. Unfortunately, it would not light a fire in the Capitals and they fell 3-2 in a shootout.

Dmitry Orlov Flips Matt Duchene In The Air

In a scoreless opening period, Orlov flipped Duchene into the air as he entered the Capitals’ defensive zone, sending him cartwheeling to the ice. The Capitals went on to win 3-0.

Ovechkin Lays Thunderous Hit On Tuomo Ruutu Along The Boards

After falling to the ice himself, Ovechkin got up and promptly rocked the Carolina Hurricanes forward along the boards. The Caps led 2-1 at the time, and the score would remain the same the rest of the way.

Ovechkin Lays Out Tomas Nosek

After forward Tom Wilson turned the puck over in the offensive zone, Ovechkin took Nosek down on open ice. The Capitals would go on to give up four third-period goals to fall to the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-3.

Brooks Orpik Puts Taylor Hall Down With Open Ice Hit

With the New Jersey Devils trying to enter the zone down 4-2 in the third, Orpik took out their biggest threat in Hall at the blueline. A scrum ensued and the Capitals would hang on for a 5-2 victory.

Orpik Destroys Vladislav Kamenev At Center Ice

With the Capitals down 2-0 to the Colorado Avalanche in one of their worst performances of the season, Orpik tried to swing the momentum with a huge hit on Kamenev, who was making his Avalanche debut after being acquired from the Nashville Predators in a trade a week and a half earlier. Kamenev would go on to miss five months and the hit would not boost the Capitals as they would go on to lose 6-2.

Wilson Crunches Lubomir Visnovsky On Forecheck

After Wilson attempted to dump the puck in, he throttled the New York Islanders defenseman in Game 4 of the 2015 First Round. After dropping two of the first three games of the series, the Capitals would go on to win the game in overtime and the series in seven. Visnovsky would not play in the NHL again after the hit.

Wilson Crunches Josh Anderson Along The Wall

At the beginning of a game between two Stanley Cup Playoff rivals from the previous season, Wilson laid a big hit along the boards on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson. The Capitals would go on to lose the game 3-0 and were never able to get going until the waning minutes of the third period when it was too late.

Wilson Crushes Vladislav Gavrikov On The End Boards

With time winding down, Wilson laid a big hit on the Blue Jackets defenseman as the Capitals were trailing 3-0 with just over two minutes to go. It was the first time the Capitals were shut out this season,

Wilson Rattles Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Along The Wall

After the Capitals dropped two straight in their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Wilson tried to grab the momentum back as he dumped Bellemare on the boards. The Capitals would go on to win 1-0, ending the series in six games.

Wilson Dumps Jonathan Marchessault At Center Ice

In the middle of a wild Game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, Wilson rocked Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault with a shoulder-to-shoulder hit at center ice. The Golden Knights would score the final two goals to take Game 1, 6-4, but the Capitals won the next four games to hoist their first Stanley Cup.

John Erskine Puts Dominic Moore Down In The Slot

With the Tampa Bay Lightning leading the Capitals 4-3 in the third period, the defenseman cleaned out Moore in front of his goaltender after he shot the puck. The Lightning would go on to win the game and would sweep the series.

Wilson Runs Brayden Schenn Into The Endwall

With the Capitals down 3-2 to the Flyers, Wilson drilled Schenn into the boards and got handed a game misconduct. The Flyers would score twice on a five-minute power-play to win 5-2.

Ovechkin Sends Zdeno Chara Into Capitals’ Bench

After he turned the puck over to the 6’4″ defenseman, Ovechkin dumped Chara into the Capitals’ bench. The Capitals would go on to win 4-2 in a game where the Bruins mostly controlled the play.

Ovechkin Runs Over Jonathan Drouin

In a scoreless game, Ovechkin took down Drouin with a shoulder-to-shoulder hit in the defensive zone. Unfortunately for the Capitals, they gave up four straight goals in the second and went on to lose 5-2 while Drouin has not played since that hit.

Ovechkin Crunches Sam Girard Behind The Net

Down 4-1 to the Avalanche, Ovechkin tried to tilt the ice with a big hit on the defenseman behind the net off the forecheck. The Capitals would score the next goal but fell 6-3.

Ovechkin Drills Aleksander Barkov Shoulder-To-Shoulder

Down 5-4 in the third period, Ovechkin took the Florida Panthers star center down at the right dot with a shoulder hit. The Capitals would tie the game to force overtime, then a shootout but lost 6-5.

Ovechkin Levels Ennis Along The Boards

Ovechkin crunched the Buffalo Sabres forward along the wall trying to swing the momentum down 1-0 halfway through the game. Ennis would leave the game and not return the rest of the season. After giving up the next goal, the Capitals would score four unanswered in the third to win 5-2.

Wilson Creams Alexander Wennberg On Open Ice

Wilson crunched Wennberg on open-ice at the beginning of the first game after the holiday break. Wilson would later get injured on a hit by McInnis and would not play the next game for the Capitals, who would go on to win 2-1.

Ovechkin Takes Connor Brown Out On The Boards

After Brown attempted to retrieve the puck back Orlov, Ovechkin buried him along the boards. The Capitals went on to win, 4-1.

Ovechkin Runs And Dumps Jamie Benn

Skating behind the Dallas Stars’ net, Ovechkin takes a run at Benn and dumps him to the ice with the game tied at one. The Capitals would trail twice but won 4-3 in overtime.

Ovechkin Launches Schenn Into Flyers’ Bench

As the puck came to Schenn near the Flyers’ bench, Ovechkin took a run and dumped him into the bench with a shoulder-to-shoulder check. The Capitals would go on to win the game, 4-1, and the series in six games.

Orlov Lowers The Body On Brendan Smith

As Smith entered the Capitals’ zone all alone, Orlov followed and dumped him down to the ice. The Capitals would go on to win 2-0 to capture their third Presidents’ Trophy of the decade.

Orlov Flips Steve Downie

As Downie entered the zone and floated one on goal, Orlov hit him down below and forced him to mini-cartwheel on the ice. The Capitals would go on to win 4-2.

Ovechkin Drills Dennis Seidenberg In The Corner

As Seidenberg went to retrieve the puck in the corner, Ovechkin laid him out with an elbow hit and he tumbled to the ice. The Capitals would go on to win the game 2-1 and the series in seven games.

Ovechkin Throws Reverse Hit On Seidenberg

As Seidenberg went for a hit on Ovechkin, he passed the puck and went for a reverse hit on him to force him down to the ice by the Capitals bench to kick off the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series. The Bruins won the game, 1-0, in overtime, and this would be a big head-to-head matchup for the remainder of the series.

Ovechkin Throws Nazem Kadri Off Back

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— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 24, 2017

In a scramble with Ovechkin along the boards, Kadri climbs on Ovechkin’s back. As Ovechkin tries to get back on his feet, he dumps Kadri onto the ice. One game earlier, Kadri threw a knee-on-knee hit on Ovechkin that would force him to leave the game momentarily.

By Harrison Brown