There are only two entries left here on this second NHL Saturday miniseries, including today’s exploration of the Washington Capitals. They won the Stanley Cup in 2018, even though that squad ranks 23rd overall in the history of the franchise—dating back 48 seasons to 1974. Overall, the Caps have made the postseason 32 times as well, so there’s been a lot of success for this organization, generally speaking. Enjoy this list!

No. 5: 1991-92 Washington Capitals

Finishing second in the old Patrick Division with a 45-27-8 record for 98 points, this team boasted the No. 2 offense and the No. 10 defense. Overall, Washington was the second-best sabermetric team in the league, according to the SRS rankings. In a drag of a coincidence, the Caps had to face the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, and it took 7 games for the eventual champions to win the series.

Four players topped 70-plus points: center Michal Pivoňka (23G, 57A, 47 PIMs), C Dale Hunter (28G, 50A, 205 PIMs), right wing Dino Ciccarelli (38G, 38A, 78 PIMs), and left wing Dmitri Khristich (36G, 37A). In the net, goaltender Don Beaupre (29-17-6, 1 shutout) was the No. 1 guy. In the playoffs, Washington took a 3-1 lead on Pittsburgh, but the Caps lost Games 5 and 7 at home by multiple goals each time. Very crushing.

No. 4: 2009-10 Washington Capitals

With a (still) team record 121 points, these Caps posted a 54-15-13 record to win the Southeast Division. The offense was No. 1; the defense was 16th; and the overall SRS ranking was tops in the NHL. However, Washington once again lost its opening playoff series in 7 games, with the deciding loss coming on home ice. This time, though, it was the sub-.500 Montréal Canadiens sticking it to the Caps, which hurt a lot.

Four skaters posted at least a point a game: LW Alex Ovechkin (50G, 59A, 89 PIMs), C Nicklas Bäckström (33G, 68A, 50 PIMs), LW Alexander Semin (40G, 44A, 66 PIMs), and defenseman Mike Green (19G, 57A, 54 PIMs). Gs José Théodore (30-7-7, 1 SO) and Semyon Varlamov (15-4-6, 2 SOs) split time in the crease. Again, Washington blew a 3-1 series lead by losing Games 5 and 7 at home by 1 goal each. Really crushing.

No. 3: 1983-84 Washington Capitals

Another second-place finish in the Patrick was the result for this Washington squad: No. 12 on offense, No. 1 on defense, and No. 5 in the SRS rankings. The Caps posted a 48-27-5 record for 101 points. This time around, the postseason was a little kinder: Washington swept the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. Alas, the four-time defending champion New York Islanders awaited, and they beats the Caps in 5 games.

The top two scorers were RWs Mike Gartner (40G, 45A, 90 PIMs) and Dave Christian (29G, 52A), the latter being one of the 1980 Olympic champions. Two goalies split quality time: Al Jensen (25-13-3, 4 SOs) and Pat Riggin (21-14-2, 4 SOs). The duo beat the Flyers easily. But the Islanders were a different beast: Riggin took 3 losses in the series, although he was better (.881 S%) than Jensen (.776). No shame here at all.

No. 2: 1984-85 Washington Capitals

Broken-record time as Washington finished second in the Patrick Division with a 46-25-9 record for 101 points. The Caps were No. 8 on offense, No. 2 on defense, and No. 3 in the overall SRS rankings. However, once again, the Islanders showed up on the playoff doorstep, first this time. Even though N.Y. was on its way down from the NHL mountaintop, the team still had a lot of championship experience on it. Checkmate.

Gartner (50G, 52A, 71 PIMs) was joined this season by C Bob Carpenter (53G, 42A, 87 PIMs) at the top of the team’s scoring list. Riggin (28-20-7, 2 SOs) got the bulk of the starts, though his backups—Jensen and Bob Mason—were better (18-5-2, 2 SOs). The playoffs were heartbreaking, though: Washington won the first two games in overtime and then dropped three straight (both Games 3 and 5 by one goal each).

No. 1: 2016-17 Washington Capitals

Winners of the President’s Trophy, the Caps went 55-19-8 for 118 points to win the Southeast again. Washington was No. 3 on offense, No. 1 on defense, and No. 1 in the overall SRS rankings. After beating Toronto in six games to open the postseason, the Caps had to face the defending champions from Pittsburgh (sound familiar?). Washington proceeded to get shutout at home in Game 7 of the series.

Fourteen skaters notched at least 23 points, led by Bäckström (23G, 63A) and Ovechkin (33G, 36A, 50 PIMs). In the crease this year, Braden Holtby (42-13-6, 9 SOs) was stellar and ably supported by Philipp Grubauer (13-6-2, 3 SOs). Holtby got the team past Toronto in a series with five OT games, three of which the Caps won. But then the Pens took a 3-1 series lead, and Washington was unable to recover for survival.