1976–77 Washington Capitals season

The 1976–77 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals third season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

1976–77 Washington Capitals
Division	4th Norris
Conference	Campbell
1976–77 record	24–42–14
Goals for	221
Goals against	307
Team information
General manager	Max McNab
Coach	Tom McVie
Captain	Yvon Labre
Alternate captains	None
← 1975–76 1977–78 →

This season was much better than the past two seasons, with the Capitals winning 24 games.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	60	8	12	387	171	132
Los Angeles Kings	80	34	31	15	271	241	83
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	34	33	13	240	252	81
Washington Capitals	80	24	42	14	221	307	62
Detroit Red Wings	80	16	55	9	183	309	41

^[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1976–77 NHL records^[2] Team DET LAK MTL PIT WSH Total Detroit — 0–5–1 0–5–1 2–4 0–3–3 2–17–5 Los Angeles 5–0–1 — 0–4–2 3–2–1 5–0–1 13–6–5 Montreal 5–0–1 4–0–2 — 4–0–2 6–0 19–0–5 Pittsburgh 4–2 2–3–1 0–4–2 — 1–4–1 7–13–4 Washington 3–0–3 0–5–1 0–6 4–1–1 — 7–12–5 Vs. Adams Division 1976–77 NHL records Team BOS BUF CLE TOR Total Detroit 1–4 1–4 3–2 1–3–1 6–13–1 Los Angeles 2–2–1 2–3 2–1–2 1–2–2 7–8–5 Montreal 2–3 2–2–1 5–0 2–1–1 11–6–2 Pittsburgh 1–3–1 4–0–1 3–0–2 2–1–2 10–4–6 Washington 0–4–1 1–4 0–5 3–2 4–15–1 Vs. Patrick Division 1976–77 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI Total Detroit 1–2–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 5–10–1 Los Angeles 2–2 2–2 3–0–1 0–4 7–8–1 Montreal 3–0–1 4–0 3–1 4–0 14–1–1 Pittsburgh 0–3–1 2–2 2–1–1 1–3 5–9–2 Washington 1–3 0–1–3 2–2 0–2–2 3–8–5 Vs. Smythe Division 1976–77 NHL records Team CHI COL MIN STL VAN Total Detroit 0–4 0–4 0–3–1 0–3–1 3–1 3–15–2 Los Angeles 2–2 2–0–2 1–3 2–2 0–2–2 7–9–4 Montreal 3–0–1 3–0–1 3–0–1 3–1 4–0 16–1–3 Pittsburgh 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–1–1 12–7–1 Washington 1–2–1 3–1 1–1–2 3–1 2–2 10–7–3

Schedule and results

No.	R	Dated in Herelov perspective	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 5, 1976	6–5	Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	1–0–0
2	T	October 7, 1976	3–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	1–0–1
3	L	October 9, 1976	3–6	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	1–1–1
4	L	October 13, 1976	1–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	1–2–1
5	L	October 16, 1976	1–7	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	1–3–1
6	L	October 19, 1976	0–6	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	1–4–1
7	T	October 21, 1976	5–5	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	1–4–2
8	L	October 24, 1976	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	1–5–2
9	W	October 29, 1976	2–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	2–5–2
10	L	October 31, 1976	4–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	2–6–2
11	L	November 3, 1976	0–7	@ Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	2–7–2
12	L	November 5, 1976	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	2–8–2
13	W	November 7, 1976	4–1	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	3–8–2
14	W	November 9, 1976	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	4–8–2
15	W	November 10, 1976	7–5	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	5–8–2
16	L	November 12, 1976	4–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	5–9–2
17	L	November 14, 1976	2–3	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	5–10–2
18	L	November 18, 1976	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	5–11–2
19	L	November 19, 1976	1–4	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	5–12–2
20	W	November 21, 1976	3–1	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	6–12–2
21	L	November 24, 1976	2–6	@ Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	6–13–2
22	L	November 27, 1976	1–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	6–14–2
23	W	November 30, 1976	6–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	7–14–2
24	L	December 1, 1976	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	7–15–2
25	T	December 3, 1976	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	7–15–3
26	T	December 5, 1976	5–5	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	7–15–4
27	W	December 7, 1976	4–3	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	8–15–4
28	L	December 10, 1976	1–7	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	8–16–4
29	L	December 11, 1976	2–4	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	8–17–4
30	L	December 14, 1976	2–4	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	8–18–4
31	W	December 17, 1976	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	9–18–4
32	W	December 18, 1976	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	10–18–4
33	L	December 23, 1976	2–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	10–19–4
34	L	December 26, 1976	2–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	10–20–4
35	L	December 28, 1976	2–5	New York Rangers (1976–77)	10–21–4
36	L	December 29, 1976	1–3	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	10–22–4
37	L	January 1, 1977	1–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	10–23–4
38	W	January 2, 1977	2–1	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	11–23–4
39	T	January 4, 1977	2–2	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	11–23–5
40	T	January 6, 1977	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	11–23–6
41	L	January 8, 1977	2–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	11–24–6
42	W	January 10, 1977	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	12–24–6
43	L	January 11, 1977	2–3	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	12–25–6
44	L	January 15, 1977	1–2	@ New York Islanders (1976–77)	12–26–6
45	T	January 16, 1977	2–2	New York Islanders (1976–77)	12–26–7
46	L	January 18, 1977	0–3	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	12–27–7
47	W	January 19, 1977	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	13–27–7
48	L	January 22, 1977	2–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	13–28–7
49	W	January 23, 1977	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	14–28–7
50	W	January 27, 1977	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	15–28–7
51	W	January 29, 1977	5–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	16–28–7
52	T	January 30, 1977	5–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	16–28–8
53	L	February 2, 1977	2–7	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	16–29–8
54	T	February 5, 1977	3–3	@ New York Islanders (1976–77)	16–29–9
55	L	February 6, 1977	2–5	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	16–30–9
56	T	February 9, 1977	4–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	16–30–10
57	L	February 10, 1977	2–9	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	16–31–10
58	L	February 12, 1977	0–10	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	16–32–10
59	T	February 15, 1977	3–3	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	16–32–11
60	T	February 17, 1977	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	16–32–12
61	L	February 19, 1977	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	16–33–12
62	T	February 20, 1977	2–2	New York Islanders (1976–77)	16–33–13
63	W	February 22, 1977	3–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	17–33–13
64	W	February 25, 1977	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	18–33–13
65	L	February 26, 1977	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	18–34–13
66	L	March 1, 1977	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	18–35–13
67	W	March 3, 1977	7–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	19–35–13
68	L	March 6, 1977	2–4	Atlanta Flames (1976–77)	19–36–13
69	L	March 9, 1977	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	19–37–13
70	L	March 10, 1977	0–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	19–38–13
71	T	March 13, 1977	3–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	19–38–14
72	L	March 15, 1977	1–5	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	19–39–14
73	W	March 18, 1977	5–0	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	20–39–14
74	L	March 20, 1977	2–6	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	20–40–14
75	W	March 25, 1977	7–2	New York Rangers (1976–77)	21–40–14
76	W	March 27, 1977	7–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	22–40–14
77	W	March 29, 1977	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	23–40–14
78	W	March 30, 1977	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	24–40–14
79	L	April 2, 1977	0–11	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	24–41–14
80	L	April 3, 1977	1–2	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	24–42–14

Playoffs

The Capitals missed the playoffs for the third year in a row.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Guy Charron	C	80	36	46	82	10	-28	6	1	4
Gerry Meehan	C	80	28	36	64	13	-11	9	1	6
Hartland Monahan	RW	79	23	27	50	37	-28	7	1	4
Garnet Bailey	LW	78	19	27	46	51	-21	2	0	2
Bob Sirois	RW	45	13	22	35	2	1	1	0	1
Jack Lynch	D	75	5	25	30	90	-15	0	0	0
Ron Lalonde	C	76	12	17	29	24	-20	0	0	0
Bill Riley	RW	43	13	14	27	124	4	5	0	2
Bill Collins	RW	54	11	14	25	26	-7	0	2	1
Rick Bragnalo	C	80	11	12	23	16	-16	1	2	1
Tony White	LW	72	12	9	21	44	-15	2	1	3
Craig Patrick	RW	28	7	10	17	2	-10	1	0	0
Gord Lane	D	80	2	15	17	207	-25	0	0	0
Rick Green	D	45	3	12	15	16	-20	1	0	0
Bryan Watson	D	56	1	14	15	91	-5	0	0	0
Yvon Labre	D	62	3	11	14	169	-5	0	2	0
Gord Smith	D	79	1	12	13	92	-27	1	0	0
Mike Lampman	LW	22	6	5	11	4	-4	1	0	0
Jean Lemieux	D	15	4	4	8	2	-9	2	0	0
Harvey Bennett	C	18	2	6	8	34	-9	0	0	0
Blair Stewart	C	34	5	2	7	85	-6	0	0	0
Bob Paradise	D	22	0	5	5	20	-3	0	0	0
Doug Patey	RW	37	3	1	4	6	-15	0	0	0
Tom Rowe	RW	12	1	2	3	2	-6	0	0	0
Peter Scamurra	D	21	0	2	2	8	-6	0	0	0
Mike Marson	LW	10	0	1	1	18	-1	0	0	0
Paul Nicholson	LW	9	0	1	1	2	-6	0	0	0
Bernie Wolfe	G	37	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Larry Bolonchuk	D	9	0	0	0	12	-12	0	0	0
Roger Crozier	G	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alex Forsyth	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brian Kinsella	C	6	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Ron Low	G	54	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Bill Mikkelson	D	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Steve Self	C	3	0	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Ron Low	2918	54	16	27	5	188	3.87	0
Bernie Wolfe	1779	37	7	15	9	114	3.84	1
Roger Crozier	103	3	1	0	0	2	1.17	0
Team:	4800	80	24	42	14	304	3.80	1

^[3]

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 1976 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	1	Rick Green	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
1	15	Greg Carroll	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
3	37	Tom Rowe	United States	London Knights (OMJHL)
4	55	Al Glendinning	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
5	73	Doug Patey	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
6	91	Jim Bedard	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
6	100	Don Wilson	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)
7	109	Dale Rideout	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
8	119	Al Dumba	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)

Farm teams

See also

• 1976–77 NHL season

References

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "1976-77 Washington Capitals Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.

External links

• "1976–77 Washington Capitals Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2009.