On Easter Sunday, April 18-19rd, 1987, the Capitals’ season ended in agony. Game 7 of the first round against the New York Islanders stretched all the way to the fourth overtime before Pat Lafontaine slipped a shot past Bob Mason and sealed what became known as the “Easter Epic.” Families who had gathered for Easter dinner across the DMV and stayed up to watch were left crushed.
That loss did more than end a playoff run. After the season, general manager David Poile traded for Dale Hunter, a move that changed the franchise’s direction. Hunter had already built a reputation as a proven playoff performer with the Nordiques, and the Capitals badly needed that kind of edge.
But the bigger question is the one that lingers: what if the Caps had beaten the Islanders?
A win would have given the Capitals the first seven-game series victory in franchise history. It still would not have made the road easy.
Next up would have been the 1986-87 Philadelphia Flyers, who won the Eastern Conference and later reached the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and the dominant Edmonton Oilers. Even if Washington had gotten past New York, the path would have run through the Flyers, then the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, before any shot at the Oilers in the Finals.
And if that Easter Sunday ends differently, maybe Poile never makes the Hunter deal at all. That would have left Washington holding its first-round pick, No. 15 overall - the pick Quebec used on Joe Sakic, who went on to become a future Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup winner.
It’s not hard to picture how that might have looked. A Capitals core with Scott Stevens, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy, Kevin Hatcher, Mike Gartner and Sakic would have been a different kind of team entirely. Sakic finished with 625 goals and 1052 assists, and the idea of him becoming the No. 1 center Washington didn’t truly have until Nick Backstrom is enough to make the what-if sting even more.
Hunter still left a huge mark. In his first 10 years with the Capitals, the team got out of the first round five times, reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice and made the Stanley Cup Finals once in 1998. His Game 7 goal against the Flyers in the 1988 first round remains one of the most famous in franchise history, and his number is retired.
Still, the Easter Epic hangs over it all. Win that night, and the Capitals’ history might have taken a very different turn.
In Other News...
Capitals Face A Risky Offseason Question With Evander Kane
The Capitals have already spent much of the offseason trying to deepen the roster, but there is still room for another forward if the right fit comes at the right price. Evander Kane is one of the more interesting names still floating around, a veteran winger who brings a physical edge and enough offense to make teams look twice, even if his last stop in Vancouver did not produce a long-term landing spot.
For Washington, the appeal is obvious on paper: a short-term addition to the bottom six who could add some bite and secondary scoring without changing the financial picture much. The question is whether the fit is worth the risk, because Kanes game has long come with defensive warts, and any team considering him has to weigh what he adds against the moments he can give back in his own zone. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Face One Big Offseason Crease Question Behind Logan Thompson
Logan Thompson has settled in as Washingtons clear No. 1 in net, but the offseason picture behind him is still taking shape. Charlie Lindgren remains in place as the backup, and the Capitals are not expected to trade him, which gives the crease a stable foundation even as the front office keeps looking for ways to sharpen the competition.
One possibility is a low-risk addition on a professional tryout, with Connor Ingram among the names being discussed as a fit. If Washington goes that route, it could open the door to a three-goalie battle that also involves Clay Stevenson, turning the backup job into one of the more interesting camp storylines for a team trying to line up every detail for another Cup push. [Read more 🡒]