The Capitals have a chance to end a long, and ignominious, drought Wednesday night. At least by a North American city that has at least three major sports teams.
Since 1998, Washington is the only such city that has failed to see a team reach a conference final. The Capitals were the last team to do so, winning a conference crown after the 1997-98 season en route to a Stanley Cup loss to Detroit.
Recommended Stories
In fact, the Capitals are the only area team in a major sports league that has won more than it has lost in the past 10 years. But when you factor in ties and shootout losses, the Caps slip below .500.
Heck, Sports Illustrated included Redskins owner Dan Snyder and Nats owner Ted Lerner among the top five worst owners in their respective sport.
Here’s how bad it has been:
» The Redskins haven’t been to a conference title game since January 1992 en route to a Super Bowl victory. Since that time, the Redskins have won two playoff games and qualified for the postseason only four times. In the last 10 years, the Redskins are 76-84.
» The Wizards have not been to a conference championship since the 1978-79 season and have won just one playoff series in the past 26 seasons. The franchise is 337-483 in the past decade.
» The Nationals have only been here for the past four years, so it’s hard to lump them in here. We’re guessing there is no NLCS in their immediate future, however. Just a hunch. Did we mention they’re 79 games under .500 since their arrival (excluding this season)?