If the Caps won that first game in NY, they could have boasted that the franchise had a winning all-time record at least once. Instead, it wouldn't happen for 35 years!The low-water mark came early in the 1982-83 season. When the Capitals lost a 4-3 home decision to St. Louis, the franchise dropped 216 games under .500 since their inception.
Langway & Co. then undertook the long trek back to respectability. Ovechkin & Co. grabbed the baton, completing the Everest-like climb beyond even with a 5-2 home victory over Atlanta on April 9, 2010.
It took a mere 2,944 games and 12,935 days for the Capitals to reach the heights of one game above .500 for the first time ever. Their record: 1,215 wins, 1,214 losses, 303 ties, and 71 overtime defeats.
Uh, 71 OT defeats? Doesn't that mean the Caps still are really 70 games underwater? Not according to the New Math, NHL style.