This Date in Caps History - January 9

On January 9, 1998, the Washington Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a 4-1 score at the MCI Center. Capitals captain Dale Hunter enjoyed a three-point night and reached the 1,000-point mark for his NHL career in the process.

Philadelphia’s Rod Brind’Amour started the scoring at 1:15 of the first period when he beat Washington netminder Olaf Kolzig. The Caps drew even at 7:07 when Andrew Brunette tallied with an assist from Sergei Gonchar. The Flyers outshot the Capitals 10-4 in the first period.

At 3:11 of the second, Hunter registered point number 998 when he assisted on Peter Bondra’s goal. Bondra’s marker put the Caps in front, 2-1. Less than a minute later, Mark Tinordi scored for Washington, with Craig Berube and Hunter picking up the assists. With 1:39 remaining in the second period, Hunter crossed the blueline with the puck and left a drop pass for Berube. The “Chief” fired it past Philadelphia’s Garth Snow and Hunter had his 1,000th point. His teammates left the bench to congratulate him on the remarkable accomplishment. The Caps and Flyers each had eight shots on goal in the second period.

The third period was scoreless, with Philadelphia holding a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. The Flyers held a 25-17 edge in shots on goal for the evening.

Hunter was the obvious choice for number one star. A rare two-point night from Berube earned him the second star designation and Gonchar was named as the game’s third star.