LEFT: Rick Green (5) and Ryan Walter (9), who went to Montreal in the big 1982 trade.
RIGHT: Rod Langway, who headlined that swap, compares Hall of Fame speech notes with Scott Stevens.
Even though faded, this is my all-time favorite Capitals photo. Probably because in one snapshot, it captures so much.First, there's Greg Joly, confidently skating the puck out of trouble and up the ice. Then there's Yvon Labre, giving up his body, down but definitely not out. Finally, there's Ron Low, standing tall as the last line of defense.
If only the mid-'70s Caps had been as good as they are in this photo!
LEFT: Gerry Meehan followed his playing career by earning a law degree, and serving as General Mgr. in Buffalo.
RIGHT: While Bryan Watson waits for a faceoff, Rick Green notices dandruff on a Boston player.
Mike Gartner's patented move, called "We score during a road game, I turn my back to the camera, and celebrate in front of the other team's fans." It came in two varieties - the one-arm raised, in front of Philly's Ron Hextall, and the two-armer, which the Isles' Billy Smith can't bear to watch.
LEFT: Bryan Murray, Capitals coach from 1981-1990. RIGHT: Pete Peeters corrals a wayward puck.
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LEFT: Mike Palmateer is hoping to distract the Islander with his confederate flag mask.
RIGHT: The Caps didn't put names on sweaters their first two seasons. Perhaps that was wise.
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LEFT: Pat Ribble, at 6-feet-4, has no trouble seeing around Darryl Sittler.
CENTER: After retiring, Bob Sirois told the National Post he felt like an NHL outsider as a French-Canadian.
RIGHT: Gilles Meloche & Dennis Maurk share a smile; they were teammates on Seals, Barons, and North Stars.
LEFT: Guy Charron and Terry O'Reilly get their backs up.
RIGHT: Ken Houston checks Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli. Dino checks out his future team.
LEFT: Craig Laughlin zigs, the puck zags on the MSG ice. RIGHT: Dave Parro makes a glove save.
LEFT: Larry Bolonchuk (#4) appears to be getting scalded by the Flames' Eric Vail.
RIGHT: Tom Rowe is merely stunned by the Canucks uniform; it's positively freaking out the guy wearing it.
Left:After scoring, Ryan Walter does his best Bobby Orr celebration impression.
Right:
Speaking of Boston, Yvon Labre keeps a B from buzzing.
The view from the first ten rows along the blue line at Capital Centre.Back when I took this picture, you didn't need to own a company or take out a bank loan to occasionally sit in seats this good.
Dennis Maruk, Ryan Walter and Bob Sirois celebrate a goal against the Rangers.For whatever reason, the Capitals had more success in the early years against New York than any other of the top teams.
LEFT: Pete Scamurra and Yvon Labre battle the Blues.
CENTER: I don't know if Ron Lalonde drew a hooking penalty against his Atlanta Flames opponent, but I hope so.
RIGHT: The witness protection program would be proud of how all four Caps hid their faces while celebrating. However, Guy Charron's name is probably a giveaway, and I can also make out Gerry Meehan and Yvon Labre.
LEFT: Lou Franceschetti's grit helped make the '80's battles with the Flyers fun (plus, we started winning).
CENTER: Longtime NHL broadcaster Bill Clement played 46 games in D.C. in 1975-76, and was captain.
LEFT: Tim Tookey wants to control the puck, but NYI's Butch Goring isn't playing nice with Tookey's stick.
The most unique hockey photo ever taken at Capital Centre.A camera with a special lens embedded at center ice captures the moment before a faceoff, during a mid 1970's game between the Capitals and Bruins.
The white rectangles above the players and referee are the undersides of the four TelScreen scoreboards.
This shot made
the cover of the
NHL's Goal magazine.
