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Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Are Washington Capitals On Their Way To Their Best Season Ever?
What was supposed to be a rebuilding season in the Nation’s Capital has suddenly become one to remember for fans of the Washington Capitals. The Caps are atop the Eastern Conference with 86 points and comfortably ahead in the Metropolitan Division despite a recent three-game losing streak.
Despite the team’s form, oddsmakers from DraftKings Virginia Sportsbook have Washington down as a +1100 proposition to win the club’s second Stanley Cup this spring. That ties the league-leading Winnipeg Jets for fifth in the 32-team league, well behind the Edmonton Oilers (+650), defending champion Florida Panthers (+750) and the Carolina Hurricanes (both +750) and Dallas Stars (+800).
How does this Washington Capitals team stack up in franchise history? BetVirginia.com, where the best Virginia sports betting promos reside, compared the 2024-25 Washington Capitals to the best teams in franchise history. These seasons are in order by points percentage.
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Best Seasons in Capitals History
Season | Points, Point % | Playoff result |
2009-10 | 121 (82 games), .738 | Lost first round |
2015-16 | 120 (82 games), .732 | Lost second round |
2016-17 | 118 (82 games), .720 | Lost second round |
2024-25* | 86 (61 games), .705 | TBD |
2020-21 | 77 (56 games), .688 | Lost first round |
1985-86 | 107 (80 games), .669 | Lost second round |
2008-09 | 108 (82 games), .659 | Lost second round |
2019-20 | 90 (69 games), .652 | Lost first round |
2010-11 | 107 (82 games), .652 | Lost second round |
2017-18 | 105 (82 games), .640 | Won Stanley Cup |
*Statistics through March 5
This story is part of the Virginia sports betting coverage at BetVirginia.
So far, Washington’s .705 points percentage is on pace to be the fourth-best figure in the club’s half-century run in D.C., ranking behind the 2009-10, 2015-16 and 2016-17 teams that flamed out early in the NHL playoffs. This season’s Caps remain on pace for 116 points and only trail the Winnipeg Jets (88 points in 62 games) by two points in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.
Note that a couple of the seasons on this list were shortened because of COVID-19 restrictions. The NHL adopted an 82-game regular-season schedule in the 1995-96 season.
Amid all of the excitement of the playoff race, there's a huge personal milestone looming. Alexander Ovechkin is up to 884 career goals and is just 10 goals from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time league record. Track the Alexander Ovechkin goal scoring record chase with us at BetVirginia.com.
Where This Year’s Capitals Team Ranks
This season’s pace is just ahead of the 2020-21 squad that had a .688 points percentage in a COVID-shortened season before flaming out in the second round of the postseason.
Oddsmakers did not see this resurgence coming in 2024-25; just before the season, BetMGM Sportsbook Virginia had +6600 odds on coach Spencer Carbery’s team to win the Stanley Cup.
Washington’s lone Stanley Cup championship team in 2017-18 finished with 105 points, posting a year-end points percentage of .640 to rank 10th in franchise history. But they’re the ones that finally brought the big trophy to D.C., speaking to the randomness of the sport’s postseason through the years.
The Caps, who broke a three-game skid with Monday's 5-4 shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators, look to gain more momentum tonight when they visit Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers. Caesars Virginia Sportsbook lists the Caps at +500 odds to win the East and advance to the Stanley Cup final. That's tied for third with the Tampa Bay Lightning, behind the Hurricanes (+400) and the Panthers (+425).
USA Today photo by Geoff Burke
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