The Air-Knit material is very prominent in newer jerseys and is identified by its tiny holes that allow air to flow through the jersey. The pictures below show the slightly open weave that gives the material its name. The Air-Knit material has been used in Capitals jerseys from 1986-87 to the present. There are two variations of this material, referred to as the large hole and small hole varieties. The large hole variety is a heavier material and has slightly larger airholes. I believe this type of Air-Knit was only used in 1986-87. The small hole variety has been used from 1986-87 to the present. From the first two pictures it can be seen that the large hole Air-Knit has a slightly different texture to it.

Large hole Air-Knit jersey scanned at 100 dpi	Small hole Air-Knit jersey scanned at 100 dpi
Large hole Air-Knit jersey scanned at 600 dpi	Small hole Air-Knit jersey scanned at 600 dpi