2020–21 Washington Capitals season

2020–21 Washington Capitals
Division	2nd East
2020–21 record	36–15–5
Home record	17–8–3
Road record	19–7–2
Goals for	191
Goals against	163
Team information
General manager	Brian MacLellan
Coach	Peter Laviolette
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom John Carlson
Arena	Capital One Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (24)
Assists	Nicklas Backstrom (38)
Points	Nicklas Backstrom (53)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (96)
Plus/minus	Dmitry Orlov (+16)
Wins	Vitek Vanecek (21)
Goals against average	Craig Anderson (2.13)

The 2020–21 Washington Capitals season was the 47th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. This was the first season for Peter Laviolette as head coach of the Capitals after their former head coach Todd Reirden was fired from the team on August 23, 2020. 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 played this season in the East Division and played against only the other teams in their new division during the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.

On April 29, the Capitals clinched a playoff berth after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 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, and the Capitals failed to win the division for the first time since the 2014–15 season.

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

Schedule and results

Regular season

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

2020–21 game log
January: 6–0–3 (Home: 4–0–1; Road: 2–0–2) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 January 14 @ Buffalo 6–4 Samsonov 0 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 January 15 @ Buffalo 2–1 Vanecek 0 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 January 17 @ Pittsburgh 3–4 SO Samsonov 0 2–0–1 5 Recap 4 January 19 @ Pittsburgh 4–5 OT Vanecek 0 2–0–2 6 Recap 5 January 22 Buffalo 4–3 SO Vanecek 0 3–0–2 8 Recap 6 January 24 Buffalo 3–4 SO Vanecek 0 3–0–3 9 Recap 7 January 26 NY Islanders 3–2 Vanecek 0 4–0–3 11 Recap 8 January 28 NY Islanders 6–3 Vanecek 0 5–0–3 13 Recap 9 January 30 Boston 4–3 OT Vanecek 0 6–0–3 15 Recap
February: 6–5–1 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 3–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 10 February 1 Boston 3–5 Vanecek 0 6–1–3 15 Recap 11 February 4 @ NY Rangers 2–4 Vanecek 0 6–2–3 15 Recap 12 February 7 Philadelphia 4–7 Anderson 0 6–3–3 15 Recap — February 9 Philadelphia – Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 13. — February 11 @ Buffalo – Postponed due to COVID-19. Reschduled for March 15. — February 13 @ Buffalo – Postponed due to COVID-19. Reschduled for April 9. 13 February 14 @ Pittsburgh 3–6 Vanecek 0 6–4–3 15 Recap 14 February 16 @ Pittsburgh 3–1 Vanecek 0 7–4–3 17 Recap 15 February 18 Buffalo 3–1 Vanecek 0 8–4–3 19 Recap 16 February 20 NY Rangers 1–4 Vanecek 0 8–5–3 19 Recap 17 February 21 New Jersey 4–3 Anderson 0 9–5–3 21 Recap 18 February 23 Pittsburgh 2–3 OT Vanecek 0 9–5–4 22 Recap 19 February 25 Pittsburgh 5–2 Vanecek 0 10–5–4 24 Recap 20 February 27 @ New Jersey 5–2 Vanecek 0 11–5–4 26 Recap 21 February 28 @ New Jersey 3–2 Samsonov 0 12–5–4 28 Recap
March: 11–3–0 (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 5–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 22 March 3 @ Boston 2–1 SO Vanecek 0 13–5–4 30 Recap 23 March 5 @ Boston 1–5 Vanecek 0 13–6–4 30 Recap 24 March 7 @ Philadelphia 3–1 Samsonov 3,023 14–6–4 32 Recap 25 March 9 New Jersey 5–4 OT Vanecek 0 15–6–4 34 Recap 26 March 11 @ Philadelphia 5–3 Samsonov 2,807 16–6–4 36 Recap 27 March 13 @ Philadelphia 5–4 Samsonov 3,083 17–6–4 38 Recap 28 March 15 @ Buffalo 6–0 Vanecek 0 18–6–4 40 Recap 29 March 16 NY Islanders 3–1 Samsonov 0 19–6–4 42 Recap 30 March 19 NY Rangers 2–1 Vanecek 0 20–6–4 44 Recap 31 March 20 NY Rangers 1–3 Samsonov 0 20–7–4 44 Recap 32 March 25 New Jersey 4–3 Vanecek 0 21–7–4 46 Recap 33 March 26 New Jersey 4–0 Samsonov 0 22–7–4 48 Recap 34 March 28 NY Rangers 5–4 Samsonov 0 23–7–4 50 Recap 35 March 30 @ NY Rangers 2–5 Vanecek 1,761 23–8–4 50 Recap
April: 9–5–1 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 7–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 36 April 1 @ NY Islanders 4–8 Samsonov 1,400 23–9–4 50 Recap 37 April 2 @ New Jersey 2–1 OT Vanecek 3,600 24–9–4 52 Recap 38 April 4 @ New Jersey 5–4 Samsonov 3,600 25–9–4 54 Recap 39 April 6 @ NY Islanders 0–1 Vanecek 1,400 25–10–4 54 Recap 40 April 8 Boston 2–4 Samsonov 0 25–11–4 54 Recap 41 April 9 @ Buffalo 4–3 Vanecek — 26–11–4 56 Recap 42 April 11 @ Boston 8–1 Vanecek 2,191 27–11–4 58 Recap 43 April 13 Philadelphia 6–1 Samsonov 0 28–11–4 60 Recap 44 April 15 Buffalo 2–5 Vanecek 0 28–12–4 60 Recap 45 April 17 @ Philadelphia 6–3 Samsonov 3,430 29–12–4 62 Recap 46 April 18 @ Boston 3–6 Vanecek 2,191 29–13–4 62 Recap 47 April 22 @ NY Islanders 1–0 SO Samsonov 1,400 30–13–4 64 Recap 48 April 24 @ NY Islanders 6–3 Samsonov 1,400 31–13–4 66 Recap 49 April 27 NY Islanders 1–0 Vanecek 2,133 32–13–4 68 Recap 50 April 29 Pittsburgh 4–5 OT Vanecek 2,133 32–13–5 69 Recap
May: 4–2–0 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 2–0–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 51 May 1 Pittsburgh 0–3 Samsonov 2,133 32–14–5 69 Recap 52 May 3 @ NY Rangers 6–3 Vanecek 1,800 33–14–5 71 Recap 53 May 5 @ NY Rangers 4–2 Vanecek 1,800 34–14–5 73 Recap 54 May 7 Philadelphia 2–4 Vanecek 2,133 34–15–5 73 Recap 55 May 8 Philadelphia 2–1 OT Anderson 2,133 35–15–5 75 Recap 56 May 11 Boston 2–1 Vanecek 2,133 36–15–5 77 Recap
Win (2 Points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)       Postponement

Playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs
East Division First Round vs. (E3) Boston Bruins: Boston won 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 15 Boston 3–2 OT Anderson 5,333 1–0 Recap 2 May 17 Boston 3–4 OT Anderson 5,333 1–1 Recap 3 May 19 @ Boston 2–3 2OT Samsonov 4,565 1–2 Recap 4 May 21 @ Boston 1–4 Samsonov 4,565 1–3 Recap 5 May 23 Boston 1–3 Samsonov 5,333 1–4 Recap
Win       Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom 55 15 38 53 0 14 Carlson, JohnJohn Carlson 52 10 34 44 −5 12 Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 53 22 21 43 −3 18 Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin 45 24 18 42 −7 12 Wilson, TomTom Wilson 47 13 20 33 +1 96 Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov 41 9 20 29 +7 18 Schultz, JustinJustin Schultz 46 3 24 27 +12 10 Vrana, JakubJakub Vrana ‡ || 39 || 11 || 14 || 25 || +9 || 8 Eller, LarsLars Eller 44 8 15 23 −1 21 Sheary, ConorConor Sheary 53 14 8 22 −1 14 Orlov, DmitryDmitry Orlov 51 8 14 22 +16 20 Sprong, DanielDaniel Sprong 42 13 7 20 +7 12 Dillon, BrendenBrenden Dillon 56 2 17 19 +15 49 Hathaway, GarnetGarnet Hathaway 56 6 12 18 +7 66 Hagelin, CarlCarl Hagelin 56 6 10 16 +7 19 Dowd, NicNic Dowd 56 11 4 15 +4 31 Jensen, NickNick Jensen 53 2 12 14 +5 14 Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara 55 2 8 10 +5 44 Panik, RichardRichard Panik ‡ || 36 || 3 || 6 || 9 || −9 || 16 Mantha, AnthonyAnthony Mantha † || 14 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 0 || 8 Raffl, MichaelMichael Raffl † || 10 || 1 || 2 || 3 || +1 || 7 van Riemsdyk, TrevorTrevor van Riemsdyk 20 1 2 3 −1 2 Sgarbossa, MichaelMichael Sgarbossa 5 0 2 2 +2 0 Carr, DanielDaniel Carr 6 0 1 1 −2 2 Siegenthaler, JonasJonas Siegenthaler ‡ || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || −3 || 2 Pilon, GarrettGarrett Pilon 1 0 0 0 0 0 Pinho, BrianBrian Pinho 2 0 0 0 −2 0 McMichael, ConnorConnor McMichael 1 0 0 0 0 2 Maillet, PhilippePhilippe Maillet 2 0 0 0 −1 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin 5 2 2 4 −2 2 Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 5 1 3 4 −2 0 Hathaway, GarnetGarnet Hathaway 5 2 1 3 +2 4 Orlov, DmitryDmitry Orlov 5 0 3 3 −1 6 Dowd, NicNic Dowd 5 2 0 2 +1 4 Wilson, TomTom Wilson 5 1 1 2 −3 6 Carlson, JohnJohn Carlson 5 0 2 2 −2 6 Mantha, AnthonyAnthony Mantha 5 0 2 2 0 6 Dillon, BrendenBrenden Dillon 5 1 0 1 −4 0 Sheary, ConorConor Sheary 5 1 0 1 −4 2 Sprong, DanielDaniel Sprong 3 0 1 1 0 4 Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom 5 0 1 1 −2 0 Hagelin, CarlCarl Hagelin 5 0 1 1 +1 0 Eller, LarsLars Eller 4 0 1 1 0 0 Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov 3 0 0 0 −1 0 Carr, DanielDaniel Carr 1 0 0 0 0 2 Jensen, NickNick Jensen 5 0 0 0 0 2 Raffl, MichaelMichael Raffl 4 0 0 0 −2 4 Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara 5 0 0 0 +1 2 Schultz, JustinJustin Schultz 5 0 0 0 −2 2

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Vanecek, VitekVitek Vanecek	37	36	2,115:29	21	10	4	95	2.69	1,031	.908	2	0	0	0
Samsonov, IlyaIlya Samsonov	19	18	1,092:49	13	4	1	49	2.69	499	.902	2	0	1	0
Anderson, CraigCraig Anderson	4	2	168:44	2	1	0	6	2.13	71	.915	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Anderson, CraigCraig Anderson	2	1	112:10	1	1	5	2.67	70	.929	0	0	0	0
Samsonov, IlyaIlya Samsonov	3	3	200:55	0	3	10	2.99	99	.899	0	0	0	0
Vanecek, VitekVitek Vanecek	1	1	13:10	0	0	1	4.56	4	.750	0	0	0	0

^†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	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
4	117	Bogdan Trineyev	RW	Russia	Dynamo Moscow 2 (MHL)
5	148	Bear Hughes	D	United States	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
6	179	Garin Bjorklund	G	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7	211	Oskar Magunsson	LW	Sweden	Malmo Redhawks (SHL)