The Capitals finished the 2016-2017 regular-season with 55 wins — one less than the franchise record of 56 set last year — after a 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. A remarkable 32 of those wins were on home ice, which was a new franchise record for home wins in one season.
Behind the scenes, the team was keeping tabs. After every win this season, the player who scored the game-winning goal signed, what appears to be, the GWG puck. All 55 pucks were presented in a plaque that hung behind the scenes of Kettler.
55 wins. #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/ADgNDdJMJ6
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 10, 2017
17 different Capitals scored a game-winning goal this season. Alex Ovechkin lead the team with seven (7) followed by Nicklas Backstrom (5), and Marcus Johansson (5).
Here’s the full list.
| Player | # of GWGs |
|---|---|
| Alex Ovechkin | 7 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 5 |
| Marcus Johansson | 5 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | 4 |
| TJ Oshie | 4 |
| Justin Williams | 4 |
| Jay Beagle | 4 |
| John Carlson | 3 |
| Daniel Winnik | 3 |
| Brett Connolly | 3 |
| Matt Niskanen | 2 |
| Lars Eller | 2 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | 2 |
| Jakub Vrana | 2 |
| Andre Burakovsky | 1 |
| Taylor Chorney | 1 |
| Zach “Nips” Sanford | 1 |
* The Caps’ two shootout wins are not included in our table.
Now go get 16 more, Capitals.
