Caps make franchise history with 8-game sweep of Devils originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
With a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, the Capitals pulled off a very rare feat. The game was Washington's eighth and final game against the Devils this season. All eight of those games resulted in victories for the Caps.
According to the team, it is only the 13th time that a team has won eight games against an opponent in the expansion era dating back to 1967-68. It is also the first time in franchise history that Washington has accomplished such a feat.
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“I don’t even think you think about [sweeping a team] at the beginning of the year," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "You think about going one game at a time and, hopefully, get one win."
Winning eight games against a team is not possible in the current format of a normal season as divisional opponents play each other four times. The temporary realignment of the 2021 season allowed for this possibility.
Reflecting how difficult this task is to accomplish is the fact that every game between Washington and New Jersey played out differently. Six of the eight games were decided by only one goal and two of those games went into overtime.
Feb. 21: 4-3 vs. Devils
Feb. 27: 5-2 at Devils
Feb. 28: 3-2 at Devils
March 9: 5-4 OT vs. Devils
March 25: 4-3 vs. Devils
March 26: 4-0 vs. Devils
April 2: 2-1 OT at Devils
April 4: 5-4 at Devils
"I thought we’ve played a good style of hockey against them," Carl Hagelin said. "It hasn’t been perfect at all, except for when we won here 4-0 or something, other than that there have been really close games."
"Some games we were really good, some games we could’ve been better, and some games it’s the opponent that’s making things happen," Laviolette said. "So I don’t think anybody plans on going 8-0-0. You hope to play somebody once and work hard and get one win and through the course of the year at the end of the year there will be a result."
With the 2021 season moving strictly to a divisional format and each team playing divisional opponents eight times (nine in the North), there is a possibility we could see more teams accomplish this in 2021.
The Buffalo Sabres may well fall victim to this stat. This season, the New York Islanders are 6-0-0 against the Sabres while the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins also remain undefeated against Buffalo with a 4-0-0 and 3-0-0 record, respectively.
The Vancouver Canucks also are 5-0-0 against the Ottawa Senators this year. Vancouver is scheduled to play four more times against Ottawa this season, but a COVID outbreak in Vancouver has suddenly cast doubt on whether the Canucks will be able to play their full schedule at all.
But that's the point.
Part of what makes an eight-game season sweep so difficult is how the circumstances for both teams can change over time. A team could suffer injuries, make trades, it could be on a lengthy losing streak or a game just might be outright postponed or canceled.
A team does not just have to beat another eight times in a single season, it also has to deal with circumstances beyond its control, such as the Caps did in their first game against the Devils this season. In the second leg of a back-to-back and with Ilya Samsonov still recovering from COVID, Craig Anderson started in the net on Feb. 21, Washington's first game against New Jersey. That game remains Anderson's only start to the season.
That's what makes an eight-game sweep so unique.
With the NHL expected to return to a normal season schedule for 2021-22, fans should remember this season and this stat for Washington. Who knows the next time such a feat will even be possible in the NHL again?
