The National Hockey League announced the full regular season schedule on Sportscenter Thursday night as part of celebrating the league returning to ESPN. The Washington Capitals will have a tough stretch right off the bat as they’ll open with three home games in front of a full Capital One Arena.
First up they’ll open on Wednesday Oct. 13 against the New York Rangers. In their second game three nights later the defending back to back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning come to town. Start times for all 82 games as well as broadcast information will be released at a later date.
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The Caps have four homesteads of at least three games on the schedule. The longest is a four game stretch at Capital One Arena from Dec. 2-10. The Caps will also have four stretches of at least three consecutive road games including a season long five game road trip from April 14-22. There will also be 13 sets of back to back games.
18 of Washington’s 41 home games fall on the weekend. That includes three games on Friday, seven on Saturday and eight on Sunday. The Caps will travel to Seattle to face the brand new Kraken on Nov. 21 and will host them on March 5.
The 2022 Honda NHL All Star Weekend will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Feb. 4-5. The skills challenge will take place on the fourth with the game itself taking place on the fifth. There has been no agreement on the NHL sending players to the Winter Olympics yet but there will be a break after the All Star festivities in case the NHL does decide to participate.
This year ESPN and TNT will be carrying national NHL broadcasts after the NHL’s contract with NBC expired at the end of last season. The Caps open up against the Rangers, the defending Cup champs and the defending President’s Trophy winners right off the bat.
The Caps will host the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time this season on Sunday Nov. 14. 10 days later, the Caps will take on the Montreal Canadiens on the eve before Thanksgiving. The Caps will host the Florida Panthers on Black Friday.
The Caps will open the 2022 portion of the schedule on Jan. 2 when they host the New Jersey Devils. The Caps will rematch with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 10 for the first time since the first round when the Bruins eliminated the Caps in five games.
Other notable games include a home contest on Jan. 24 against the Vegas Golden Knights and the regular season finale which will take place on April 28. You can view the full schedule here.