99 – Number of games the Capitals have played against the three current California teams in California since the franchise’s inaugural season back in 1974-75. Over that time, they have played the Kings at Staples Center 58 times, visited the Shark Tank 22 times, and taken to the Pond in Anaheim 19 times.
Sadly, California hasn’t exactly been the stuff of dreams for the Caps over the years.
Of the three teams in the Golden State, they’ve only come close to .500 against Anaheim, with a 9-9-1 record when visiting the Ducks. The Sharks have been a tougher task for the Caps since their first year back in 1991-92 – after winning the first three in San Jose, the Caps then embarked on a lengthy stretch of futility in which they lost 11 of 12 between 1995-96 and 2013-14 (with the one exception being a tie back in 1997-98).
And then there’s the Kings, the team they’ve faced the most over the years with a less-than-stellar record of 17-33-6-2.
Despite these rough patches, their last visit to California was actually one of their best, as they took all three games against the Kings, Ducks and Sharks in 2019-20 – marking just the second time the Caps swept the trio, and the first since Anaheim’s inaugural season back in 1993-94.