March 28, 1975: The Washington Capitals Parade a Trash Can

March 28, 1975: The Washington Capitals beat the California Golden Seals, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Nelson Pyatt scored 2 goals in the 3rd period to win it.

It was the Caps' 1st win on the road all season long, with 1 away game to go. They picked up a trash can, and paraded it around the ice as if it was the Stanley Cup.

(This sounds like a myth. I couldn't find a photograph. I hope it's true.)

Like the NBA's Washington Bullets, the Caps made their home at the Capital Centre, a saddle-roofed arena in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. In their 1st regular-season game, on October 9, 1974, they got pounded by the New York Rangers 6-3. Jim Hryculk scored the Caps' 1st goal. In their 1st home game, on October 15, they managed a 1-1 tie with the Los Angeles Kings. Two days later, they got their 1st win, 4-3, home to the Chicago Black Hawks.

The Cap Centre

That 1st season was historically bad: 8 wins, 67 losses, 5 ties, for 21 points. Their defense was so bad that they set a League record for most goals allowed, 446, 235 of them by goaltender Ron Low in just 48 games. Tom Williams led the team in both goals, with 22, and assists, with 36.

It took them until 1983 to make the Playoffs, but seemed snakebit, losing Playoff series they should have won, including the 4-overtime "Easter Epic" Game 7 against the New York Islanders in 1987.

Moving to the MCI Center in downtown D.C. in 1997 seemed to help, as they went on to make their 1st Stanley Cup Finals in their 1st season there. But they got swept in 4 straight, and continued to fall short, as the name of the arena was changed to the Verizon Center. But with the name changed again to the Capital One Arena, they finally got back to the Finals in 2018, and won their 1st Cup.

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March 28, 1975 was a Friday. There were 2 other games in the NHL that day. The Atlanta Flames beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at The Omni in Atlanta. And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Toronto Toros beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-4 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Phoenix Roadrunners played to a tie, 2-2 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was in midweek. There were 7 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the New Orleans Jazz, 111-102 at the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. Pete Maravich scored 32 points.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 97-92 at the Boston Garden.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-104 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 112-105 at the Hofheinz Pavilion (now the Fertitta Center) in Houston.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 128-105 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena. a.k.a. The MECCA. (It has been the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena since 2014.)

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, 114-103 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Gail Goodrich scored 53 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors, 96-92 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets lost to the Memphis Sounds, 111-106 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Virginia Squires, 110-88 at The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

* And the Spirits of St. Louis beat the Indiana Pacers at the St. Louis Arena.