1978–79 Washington Capitals season

1978–79 Washington Capitals
Division4th Norris
Conference8th Campbell
1978–79 record24–41–15
Home record15–19–6
Road record9–22–9
Goals for273
Goals against338
Team information
General managerMax McNab
CoachDanny Belisle
CaptainGuy Charron
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaCapital Centre
Team leaders
GoalsDennis Maruk
Tom Rowe (31)
AssistsDennis Maruk (59)
PointsDennis Maruk (90)
Penalty minutesGord Lane (147)
Plus/minusRolf Edberg (+12)
WinsGary Inness (14)
Goals against averageGary Inness (3.71)

The 1978–79 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals failed to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 52 17 11 337 204 115
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 36 31 13 281 279 85
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 34 12 292 286 80
80 24 41 15 273 338 63
Detroit Red Wings 80 23 41 16 252 295 62

[1]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

1978–79 regular season[3]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1978 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 1–0–0
2 T October 13, 1978 3–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 1–0–1
3 L October 14, 1978 3–6 Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 1–1–1
4 L October 18, 1978 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 1–2–1
5 L October 20, 1978 4–6 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 1–3–1
6 L October 21, 1978 1–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 1–4–1
7 T October 25, 1978 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 1–4–2
8 L October 28, 1978 1–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 1–5–2
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
9 W November 1, 1978 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 2–5–2
10 L November 2, 1978 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 2–6–2
11 L November 4, 1978 1–4 @ New York Islanders (1978–79) 2–7–2
12 T November 5, 1978 3–3 Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 2–7–3
13 L November 8, 1978 0–6 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 2–8–3
14 L November 9, 1978 2–6 @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 2–9–3
15 L November 11, 1978 0–2 Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 2–10–3
16 W November 14, 1978 8–7 Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 3–10–3
17 W November 15, 1978 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 4–10–3
18 L November 17, 1978 2–4 New York Islanders (1978–79) 4–11–3
19 W November 21, 1978 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 5–11–3
20 L November 22, 1978 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 5–12–3
21 T November 25, 1978 5–5 Boston Bruins (1978–79) 5–12–4
22 L November 26, 1978 4–9 @ New York Rangers (1978–79) 5–13–4
23 L November 29, 1978 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 5–14–4
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
24 L December 1, 1978 4–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 5–15–4
25 L December 2, 1978 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 5–16–4
26 L December 4, 1978 2–10 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 5–17–4
27 W December 5, 1978 4–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 6–17–4
28 W December 9, 1978 7–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 7–17–4
29 L December 12, 1978 3–4 Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 7–18–4
30 L December 14, 1978 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 7–19–4
31 L December 15, 1978 1–6 Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 7–20–4
32 W December 17, 1978 7–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 8–20–4
33 T December 19, 1978 4–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 8–20–5
34 L December 21, 1978 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 8–21–5
35 T December 23, 1978 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 8–21–6
36 L December 27, 1978 1–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 8–22–6
37 T December 30, 1978 5–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 8–22–7
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
38 W January 3, 1979 8–3 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 9–22–7
39 W January 6, 1979 4–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 10–22–7
40 L January 7, 1979 3–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 10–23–7
41 L January 9, 1979 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 10–24–7
42 L January 11, 1979 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 10–25–7
43 W January 12, 1979 8–1 Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 11–25–7
44 W January 14, 1979 5–3 Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 12–25–7
45 L January 16, 1979 2–6 @ New York Islanders (1978–79) 12–26–7
46 W January 19, 1979 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 13–26–7
47 W January 20, 1979 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 14–26–7
48 W January 24, 1979 5–1 New York Rangers (1978–79) 15–26–7
49 W January 27, 1979 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 16–26–7
50 T January 28, 1979 2–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 16–26–8
51 L January 30, 1979 4–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 16–27–8
52 W January 31, 1979 5–3 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 17–27–8
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
53 L February 3, 1979 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 17–28–8
54 L February 4, 1979 4–8 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 17–29–8
55 W February 15, 1979 9–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 18–29–8
56 L February 17, 1979 0–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 18–30–8
57 T February 18, 1979 6–6 @ New York Rangers (1978–79) 18–30–9
58 L February 20, 1979 3–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 18–31–9
59 L February 21, 1979 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 18–32–9
60 L February 24, 1979 4–6 Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 18–33–9
61 L February 25, 1979 5–8 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 18–34–9
62 T February 28, 1979 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 18–34–10
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
63 W March 2, 1979 6–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 19–34–10
64 W March 4, 1979 5–4 Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 20–34–10
65 T March 5, 1979 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 20–34–11
66 W March 10, 1979 7–5 St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 21–34–11
67 T March 11, 1979 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 21–34–12
68 L March 14, 1979 1–4 Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) 21–35–12
69 L March 17, 1979 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 21–36–12
70 T March 18, 1979 3–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 21–36–13
71 T March 20, 1979 2–2 New York Rangers (1978–79) 21–36–14
72 T March 21, 1979 2–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 21–36–15
73 L March 24, 1979 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 21–37–15
74 L March 25, 1979 4–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 21–38–15
75 L March 28, 1979 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 21–39–15
76 L March 31, 1979 1–4 Boston Bruins (1978–79) 21–40–15
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
77 W April 1, 1979 6–4 New York Islanders (1978–79) 22–40–15
78 W April 3, 1979 6–2 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 23–40–15
79 L April 7, 1979 3–10 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 23–41–15
80 W April 8, 1979 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 24–41–15

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Dennis Maruk C 76 31 59 90 71 -14 6 2 3
Guy Charron C 80 28 42 70 24 -14 9 0 4
Robert Picard D 77 21 44 65 85 3 8 0 2
Tom Rowe RW 69 31 30 61 137 -6 4 0 4
Ryan Walter C/LW 69 28 28 56 70 -1 6 0 1
Bob Sirois RW 73 29 25 54 6 -6 9 0 3
Rolf Edberg C 76 14 27 41 6 11 1 0 2
Rick Green D 71 8 33 41 62 -45 2 1 0
Leif Svensson D 74 2 29 31 28 -3 0 0 0
Bob Girard LW 79 9 15 24 36 -15 0 0 0
Mark Lofthouse RW/C 52 13 10 23 10 -11 1 0 0
Blair Stewart C 45 7 12 19 48 1 0 0 0
Greg Polis LW 19 12 6 18 6 3 6 0 1
Gord Lane D 64 3 15 18 147 -15 0 0 0
Yvon Labre D 51 1 13 14 80 7 0 0 0
Michel Bergeron RW 30 7 6 13 7 -18 1 0 1
Paul Mulvey LW 55 7 4 11 81 -18 1 0 1
Greg Carroll C 24 5 6 11 12 -2 0 0 0
Dennis Hextall LW 26 2 9 11 43 -13 0 0 0
Peter Scamurra D 30 3 5 8 12 -13 0 1 0
Jack Lynch D 30 2 6 8 14 2 1 0 0
Gary Rissling LW 26 3 3 6 127 -5 1 0 1
Gerry Meehan C 18 2 4 6 0 -3 1 0 1
Bill Riley RW 24 2 2 4 64 -6 0 0 0
Ron Lalonde C 18 1 3 4 4 -1 0 1 0
Eddy Godin RW 9 0 3 3 6 -2 0 0 0
Craig Patrick RW 3 1 1 2 0 -1 0 0 0
Chuck Arnason RW 13 0 2 2 4 -1 0 0 0
Gary Inness G 37 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0
Doug Patey RW 6 1 0 1 2 -2 0 0 0
Dave Forbes LW 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Gord Smith D 39 0 1 1 22 -7 0 0 0
Bryan Watson D 20 0 1 1 36 -7 0 0 0
Jim Bedard G 30 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Rollie Boutin G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rick Bragnalo C 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Nelson Burton LW 3 0 0 0 13 -2 0 0 0
Mike Marson LW 4 0 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0
Brent Tremblay D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bernie Wolfe G 18 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Gary Inness 2107 37 14 14 8 130 3.70 0
Jim Bedard 1740 30 6 17 6 126 4.34 0
Bernie Wolfe 863 18 4 9 1 68 4.73 0
Rollie Boutin 90 2 0 1 0 10 6.67 0
Team: 4800 80 24 41 15 334 4.17 0

[4]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 1978 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 2 Ryan Walter  Canada Seattle Breakers (WCHL)
1 18 Tim Coulis  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
2 20 Paul Mulvey  Canada Portland Winterhawks (WCHL)
2 23 Paul MacKinnon  Canada Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
3 38 Glen Currie  Canada Laval National (QMJHL)
3 45 Jay Johnston  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
4 55 Bengt-Ake Gustafsson  Sweden Färjestad BK Karlstad (SEL)
5 71 Lou Franceschetti  Canada Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
6 88 Vince Magnan  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
7 105 Mats Hallin  Sweden Södertälje SK (Sweden)
8 122 Rich Sirois  Canada Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)
9 139 Denis Pomerleau  Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
10 156 Barry Heard  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
11 172 Mark Toffolo  United States Port Huron Flags (IHL)
12 187 Paul Hogan  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)
12 189 Steve Barger  United States Boston College (ECAC)
13 202 Rod Pacholzuk  Canada University of Michigan (WCHA)
14 213 Wes Jarvis  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
14 215 Ray Irwin  Canada Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)

See also

References

  1. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1978-79 Washington Capitals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  4. ^ "1978-79 Washington Capitals Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
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