2005–06 Washington Capitals season

The 2005–06 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

2005–06 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Southeast
Conference	14th Eastern
2005–06 record	29–41–12
Goals for	237
Goals against	306
Team information
General manager	George McPhee
Coach	Glen Hanlon
Captain	Jeff Halpern
Alternate captains	Dainius Zubrus Brian Sutherby Brendan Witt
Arena	MCI Center
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (52)
Assists	Alexander Ovechkin (54)
Points	Alexander Ovechkin (106)
Penalty minutes	Brendan Witt (141)
Wins	Olaf Kolzig (20)
Goals against average	Brent Johnson (3.44)

Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a shootout against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal in a 5–4 win. The Capitals finished the 2005–06 season in fifth and last place of the Southeast Division with a 29–41–12 campaign, having 12 more points than the 2003–04 season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing two-thirds of those games. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of the hometown Capitals. At the 2006 trade deadline, March 8, Witt was traded to the Nashville Predators. Several Capitals achieved career highs in several offensive categories, including Matt Pettinger and Dainius Zubrus, who both achieved career highs in all offensive categories. Jeff Halpern set a new career high in assists for the second consecutive season.

Off-season

NHL Draft

Washington's draft picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	14	Sasha Pokulok (D)	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
1	27	Joe Finley (D)	United States	University of North Dakota (NCAA)
4	109	Andy Thomas (D)	United States	University of Denver (WCHA)
4	118	Patrick McNeill (D)	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
5	143	Daren Machesney (G)	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6	181	Tim Kennedy (LW)	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
7	209	Viktor Dovgan (D)	Russia	CSKA Moscow Jr. (Russia)

Regular season

Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. Two notable landmarks were also hit by Capitals, as the team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal and Andrew Cassels became the 204th player to play 1,000 games, although he did not finish out his season with the team.

• November 22, 2005 – Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face each other for the first time
• On January 13, 2006 in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. His hat trick goals went past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for his first ever hat trick game.
• January 29, 2006 – Dainius Zubrus scored the Game Winning Goal in a 2-1 victory for the Capitals.
• April 1, 2006 – Brent Johnson earned a shutout in a 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
• April 7, 2006 – In a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Olaf Kolzig played his 600th game as a Washington Capitals.
• April 13, 2006 – Alexander Ovechkin becomes the second rookie in history to record 50 goals and 100 points in a season. Teemu Selanne was the first rookie to reach the accomplishment.

The Capitals were the most penalized team during the regular season, with 550 power-play opportunities against. They also allowed the most power-play goals, with 116, and the most short-handed goals, with 18.[1]

Alexander Ovechkin

Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005-06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals; and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. He had 21 power play goals and a plus-minus rating of plus 2. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Final standings

Southeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Carolina Hurricanes	82	52	22	8	294	260	112
2	8	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	43	33	6	252	260	92
3	10	Atlanta Thrashers	82	41	33	8	281	275	90
4	11	Florida Panthers	82	37	34	11	240	257	85
5	14	Washington Capitals	82	29	41	12	237	306	70

[2] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	52	21	9	314	211	113
2	Y- Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	52	22	8	294	260	112
3	Y- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	27	9	242	229	101
4	X- Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	52	24	6	242	239	110
5	X- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	45	26	11	267	259	101
6	X- New York Rangers	AT	82	44	26	12	257	215	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	42	31	9	243	247	93
8	X- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	43	33	6	252	260	92
8.5
9	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	41	33	8	257	270	90
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	41	33	8	281	275	90
11	Florida Panthers	SE	82	37	34	11	240	257	85
12	New York Islanders	AT	82	36	40	6	230	278	78
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	29	37	16	230	266	74
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	29	41	12	237	306	70
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	22	46	14	244	316	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 5, 2005	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06)	1–0–0
2	L	October 7, 2005	3–7	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	1–1–0
3	L	October 8, 2005	1–8	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	1–2–0
4	L	October 10, 2005	2–3	New York Rangers (2005–06)	2–2–0
5	L	October 12, 2005	2–7	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	2–3–0
6	L	October 13, 2005	3–5	New York Islanders (2005–06)	2–4–0
7	W	October 16, 2005	3–2 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	3–4–0
8	L	October 20, 2005	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	3–5–0
9	L	October 22, 2005	0–4	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	3–6–0
10	W	October 26, 2005	3–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	4–6–0
11	L	October 28, 2005	2–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	4–7–0
12	L	November 3, 2005	1–8	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	4–8–0
13	W	November 4, 2005	3–2 SO	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	5–8–0
14	W	November 6, 2005	5–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	6–8–0
15	L	November 8, 2005	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	6–9–0
16	L	November 11, 2005	3–4	New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	6–10–0
17	L	November 12, 2005	2–3	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	6–11–0
18	W	November 15, 2005	4–3 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	7–11–0
19	L	November 17, 2005	5–8	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	7–12–0
20	W	November 19, 2005	5–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)	8–12–0
21	L	November 22, 2005	4–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	8–13–0
22	L	November 23, 2005	3–4 SO	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	8–13–1
23	L	November 26, 2005	2–3 SO	@ New York Rangers (2005–06)	8–13–2
24	L	November 27, 2005	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	8–14–2
25	L	December 1, 2005	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	8–15–2
26	W	December 3, 2005	5–1	New York Rangers (2005–06)	9–15–2
27	L	December 7, 2005	2–5	Nashville Predators (2005–06)	9–16–2
28	L	December 9, 2005	3–4	Detroit Red Wings (2005–06)	9–17–2
29	W	December 14, 2005	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)	10–17–2
30	L	December 16, 2005	1–4	@ San Jose Sharks (2005–06)	10–18–2
31	L	December 18, 2005	2–3	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	10–19–2
32	W	December 22, 2005	6–5 SO	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	11–19–2
33	W	December 23, 2005	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)	12–19–2
34	L	December 27, 2005	3–4 OT	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	12–19–3
35	L	December 28, 2005	2–7	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	12–20–3
36	W	December 31, 2005	4–3 SO	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	13–20–3
37	L	January 1, 2006	2–5	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	13–21–3
38	L	January 4, 2006	1–3	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	13–22–3
39	L	January 6, 2006	1–3	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	13–23–3
40	L	January 8, 2006	3–4 SO	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	13–23–4
41	L	January 10, 2006	3–4 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06)	13–23–5
42	L	January 12, 2006	1–4	@ Dallas Stars (2005–06)	13–24–5
43	W	January 13, 2006	3–2 OT	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)	14–24–5
44	W	January 16, 2006	6–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)	15–24–5
45	W	January 19, 2006	5–4 SO	St. Louis Blues (2005–06)	16–24–5
46	W	January 21, 2006	5–2	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	17–24–5
47	L	January 23, 2006	2–3	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	17–25–5
48	L	January 25, 2006	1–8	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	17–26–5
49	L	January 26, 2006	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	17–27–5
50	W	January 29, 2006	2–1	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	18–27–5
51	L	January 31, 2006	3–5	@ New York Islanders (2005–06)	18–28–5
52	W	February 3, 2006	4–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	19–28–5
53	L	February 4, 2006	0–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	19–29–5
54	L	February 7, 2006	0–5	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	19–30–5
55	L	February 10, 2006	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	19–31–5
56	L	February 11, 2006	3–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	19–32–5
57	W	February 28, 2006	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	20–32–5
58	L	March 2, 2006	1–7	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	20–33–5
59	L	March 4, 2006	2–3 OT	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	20–33–6
60	W	March 6, 2006	5–2	New York Islanders (2005–06)	21–33–6
61	W	March 8, 2006	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	22–33–6
62	L	March 10, 2006	3–4 SO	New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	22–33–7
63	L	March 12, 2006	2–5	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	22–34–7
64	L	March 14, 2006	4–6	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	22–35–7
65	L	March 16, 2006	4–5	@ New York Rangers (2005–06)	22–36–7
66	L	March 18, 2006	3–4 SO	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	22–36–8
67	L	March 20, 2006	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)	22–37–8
68	L	March 22, 2006	2–3	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	22–38–8
69	L	March 23, 2006	3–4 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	22–38–9
70	W	March 25, 2006	3–1	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	23–38–9
71	W	March 29, 2006	5–1	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	24–38–9
72	L	March 30, 2006	2–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)	24–38–10
73	W	April 1, 2006	1–0	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	25–38–10
74	L	April 3, 2006	5–6 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	25–38–11
75	L	April 5, 2006	3–4 SO	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	25–38–12
76	L	April 7, 2006	3–4	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	25–39–12
77	L	April 8, 2006	0–5	@ New York Islanders (2005–06)	25–40–12
78	W	April 10, 2006	2–1 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	26–40–12
79	L	April 13, 2006	3–5	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	26–41–12
80	W	April 15, 2006	2–1 SO	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	27–41–12
81	W	April 17, 2006	6–4	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	28–41–12
82	W	April 18, 2006	4–1	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	29–41–12

Playoffs

The Capitals missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Alexander Ovechkin	LW	81	52	54	106	52	2	21	3	5
Dainius Zubrus	C	71	23	34	57	84	3	13	0	5
Jeff Halpern	C	70	11	33	44	79	-8	6	0	1
Brian Willsie	RW	82	19	22	41	77	-19	8	1	2
Chris Clark	RW	78	20	19	39	110	9	1	3	0
Matt Pettinger	LW	71	20	18	38	39	-2	4	5	2
Ben Clymer	RW	77	16	17	33	72	-7	3	0	3
Brian Sutherby	C	76	14	16	30	73	-17	0	2	0
Jamie Heward	D	71	7	21	28	54	-5	4	0	2
Bryan Muir	D	72	8	18	26	72	-9	4	0	0
Brooks Laich	C	73	7	14	21	26	-9	1	0	1
Matt Bradley	RW	74	7	12	19	72	-8	0	0	1
Steve Eminger	D	66	5	13	18	81	-12	1	0	0
Shaone Morrisonn	D	80	1	13	14	91	7	0	0	0
Mathieu Biron	D	52	4	9	13	50	-11	3	0	0
Andrew Cassels	C	31	4	8	12	14	-3	2	0	0
Brendan Witt	D	58	1	10	11	141	-5	0	0	0
Ivan Majesky	D	57	1	8	9	66	-2	0	1	0
Jeff Friesen	LW	33	3	4	7	24	-11	0	0	0
Nolan Yonkman	D	38	0	7	7	86	1	0	0	0
Rico Fata	RW	21	3	3	6	8	3	1	0	0
Petr Sykora	C	10	2	2	4	6	0	0	0	0
Jakub Klepis	C	25	1	3	4	8	-11	0	0	0
Mike Green	D	22	1	2	3	18	-8	0	0	0
Olaf Kolzig	G	59	0	3	3	14	0	0	0	0
Tomas Fleischmann	LW	14	0	2	2	0	-7	0	0	0
Boyd Gordon	C	25	0	1	1	4	-4	0	0	0
Boyd Kane	LW	5	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	0
Kris Beech	C	5	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Frederic Cassivi	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Doug Doull	LW	2	0	0	0	19	-1	0	0	0
Eric Fehr	RW	11	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Colin Forbes	C	9	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Jonas Johansson	RW	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Brent Johnson	G	26	0	0	0	14	0	0	0	0
Graham Mink	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stephen Peat	RW	1	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Louis Robitaille	LW	2	0	0	0	5	-1	0	0	0
Dave Steckel	C	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Joey Tenute	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Olaf Kolzig	3506	59	20	28	11	206	3.53	0	1987	1781	.896
Brent Johnson	1413	26	9	12	1	81	3.44	1	854	773	.905
Frederic Cassivi	59	1	0	1	0	4	4.07	0	30	26	.867
Team:	4978	82	29	41	12	291	3.51	1	2871	2580	.899

[4]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

• Ovechkin was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for December 2005.[5]
• Alexander Ovechkin, Calder Memorial Trophy

Roster

Goaltenders 1 – Brent Johnson  37 – Olaf Kolzig		Defensemen 6 – Jamie Heward  26 – Shaone Morrisonn  47 – Bryan Muir  52 – Mike Green  34 – Mathieu Biron  19 – Brendan Witt		Wingers 8 – Alexander Ovechkin  9 – Dainus Zubrus  – A 10 – Matt Bradley  17 – Chris Clark  18 – Matt Pettinger  24 – Brian Willsie  27 – Ben Clymer		Centers 11 – Jeff Halpern  – C 16 – Brian Sutherby  21 – Brooks Laich  20 – Rico Fata  General Manager: George McPhee Coach: Glen Hanlon

Farm teams

• Hershey Bears, American Hockey League
• South Carolina Stingrays, East Coast Hockey League[6]

References

• Capitals on Hockey Database
• Capitals Game Log on Database Hockey
• Capitals on Database Hockey

1. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2006.html
2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162.
3. "2005–2006 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
4. "2005-06 Washington Capitals Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
5. "Ovechkin Named NHL Rookie of the Month". Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
6. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.14, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5