Editing Washington Capitals (section)

===Gartner–Langway era (1982–1993)===
[[File:Mike Gartner 81-82.JPG|thumb|upright|left|[[Mike Gartner]] helped lift the Capitals to becoming a playoff contender in the 1980s.]]
In August 1982, the team hired [[David Poile]] as general manager.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caps History: The Hiring of David Poile |url=https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/caps-history-the-hiring-of-david-poile/c-286255168 |access-date=October 19, 2022 |website=NHL.com|date=January 30, 2017}}</ref> As his first move, Poile pulled off one of the largest trades in franchise history on September 9, 1982, when he dealt longtime regulars Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the [[Montreal Canadiens]] in exchange for [[Rod Langway]] (named captain only a few weeks later), [[Brian Engblom]], [[Doug Jarvis]] and [[Craig Laughlin]]. This move turned the franchise around, as Langway's solid defense helped the team to dramatically reduce its goals-against, and the explosive goal-scoring of [[Dennis Maruk]], [[Mike Gartner]] and Bobby Carpenter fueled the offensive attack. Another significant move was the drafting of defenseman [[Scott Stevens]] during the [[1982 NHL entry draft]] (the pick was made by interim general manager [[Roger Crozier]], prior to Poile's hiring). The result was a 29-point jump, a third-place finish in the powerful [[Patrick Division]], which had teams such as the high-powered [[New York Islanders]], [[Philadelphia Flyers]], and [[New York Rangers]]. Another result was the team's first playoff appearance in [[1982–83 NHL season|1983]]. Although they were eliminated by the three-time defending (and eventual) Stanley Cup champion Islanders three games to one, the Caps' dramatic turnaround ended any talk of the club leaving Washington.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/01/sports/capitals-to-keep-tax-advantage.html | title=Capitals to Keep Tax Advantage | newspaper=The New York Times | date=December 1983}}</ref>

====Fourteen consecutive playoff appearances (1983–1996)====
The Capitals would make the playoffs for each of the next 14 years in a row, becoming known for starting slow before catching fire in January and February. However, regular season success did not carry into the playoffs. Despite a continuous march of stars like Gartner, Carpenter, Langway, Gustafsson, Stevens, [[Mike Ridley]], [[Dave Christian]], [[Dino Ciccarelli]], [[Larry Murphy (ice hockey)|Larry Murphy]], and [[Kevin Hatcher]], Washington was knocked out in either the first or second round seven years in a row. In [[1985–86 NHL season|1985–86]], for instance, the Caps finished with 107 points and won 50 games for the first time in franchise history, good enough for the third-best record in the NHL. They defeated the Islanders in the first round but were eliminated in the second round by the New York Rangers.

[[File:Just Say No. National Hockey League.jpg|thumb|First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] shooting a puck against Washington goaltender [[Pete Peeters]] while attending a Capitals–Flyers game in 1988.]]
The [[1986–87 NHL season|1986–87 season]] brought even more heartbreak, with a loss to the Islanders in the division semifinals. This series was capped off by the classic [[Easter Epic]] game, which ended at 1:56 am on Easter Sunday 1987. The Capitals had thoroughly dominated most of the game, outshooting the Islanders 75–52, but lost in overtime when goaltender [[Bob Mason (ice hockey)|Bob Mason]] was beaten on a [[Pat LaFontaine]] shot from the blue line. For the [[1989 Stanley Cup playoffs|1989 playoffs]] push, Gartner and Murphy were traded to the [[Minnesota North Stars]] in exchange for Ciccarelli and defenseman [[Bob Rouse]]. However, the goaltending once again faltered and they were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals finally made the conference finals in [[1990 Stanley Cup playoffs|1990]], but went down in a four-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Boston Bruins.