2005–06 Washington Capitals season

The 2005–06 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals' 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.

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 9, 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.

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.

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.

Schedule and results

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Scoring

 * Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.

Transactions
The Capitals were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

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

Farm teams

 * Hershey Bears, American Hockey League
 * South Carolina Stingrays, East Coast Hockey League