2009-05-28T22:08:00.001-07:00

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.

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.

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.

Ah, pro wrestling. Always a big draw at Capital Centre.

Here, Grappling Gordie Lane applies a spinebuster on some jabroni pencil-necked geek from Colorado.

Lane spent three full seasons and parts of two others as a babyface with the Capitals between 1975 and 1979. Then the defenseman turned heel and joined a rival promotion - the Islanders.

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: Pat Riggin 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.

2009-05-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

If the NHL used a Mercy Rule in the mid '70's, more than a few Capitals games would have ended early.

Some lopsided losing scores:
11-1, 10-0, 14-2,
11-2, 12-1, 11-0.

Here, a photo essay of one such red-light special.

These shots are the work of Boston Globe photographer Dan Goshtigian, positioned behind the corner glass at the historic Garden.

It's Nov. 7, 1974, less than a month into the Capitals existence. Merciless schedule-makers demand a match against the powerful Bruins.

Boston has Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, and two Stanley Cups in the past five years.

The Caps have a 1-9-1 record in 11 total games, including 4 losses by shutout.
Goshtigian captures the onslaught against D.C. goalies Ron Low (1) and Michel Belhumeur (31).

"Bobby Orr can't beat the Washington Capitals by himself. It just looked that way tonight," marveled Bob Fachet in the Washington Post. "Orr collected 3 goals and 3 assists to trigger a Boston massacre, 10-4."

Goshtigian's photos provide a rare glimpse into the travails of an expansion franchise on a long, and long-forgotten, night.

Above: Caps converge on Darryl Sittler	Above: Bill Mikkelson
Above: Bill Lesuk breaks in alone	Above: Mike Marson thinks offense
Above: Yvon Labre (D), Ron Low (G)	Above: John Adams shakes a leg
Above: Doug Mohns rakes a Leaf	Above: Doug Mohns (2), Steve Atkinson (21)

SPIRIT OF '76 Imagine if snapshots of long-ago hockey moments - like sitting in the Capital Center stands - could be plucked from your memory. They’d probably look like these grainy images from the Caps second season. In a contest from March of 1976, Tony White, Bob Sirois, Yvon Labre, and Caps fans celebrate a goal in a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers. In another March game vs. Pittsburgh, Capitals players are sprawled on the ice like so many bowling pins. Meanwhile, the referee tells a spare Penguin he better split without any more gutter language. From a February, 1976 game against St. Louis, Gerry Meehan, Blair Stewart and Harvey Bennett put pressure on the Blues defense.

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